Luvy Duvy’s Cafe

I finally got the chance to eat here after months of visiting the stl250 cake they have sitting outside. It was sad and surprising news when I heard they were closing at the end of March ’15, so I went and checked it out as soon as I could. The food was good, service was all right, and the interior of the place was unique when I discovered the place had a Caribbean/​Southern combination theme. I even chatted it up with the owner, who was grilling in front of the people. I also got a free piece of their special spice cake, after I told them it was my first time eating there.
Overall, the Benton Park/​Soulard area (let alone St. Louis) will lose one of its grandest places. But its comforting to say that they closed it on a good note, and they were satisfied. Many legions of fans (including its newest one — me!) will miss the food and atmosphere. My regrets were that I didn’t make it here sooner… but I do know their cooking will be at a place in Soulard very soon (can’t remember which offhand…).

We love it, it’s amazing, service is a little overwhelmed for brunch, but get a bloody mary, you won’t regret it!

I have been hearing about this place for a long time. I went for a late lunch on the weekend. It is a smallish place with about 5 tables plus a bar area. I got the chicken salad on the croissant with the potato salad. I would give the potato salad 5 stars, the chicken salad a 3. It was good but not outstanding. I decided to try the spice cake. I was told they are famous for it. It was again just okay to me. It seems a bit dry even with the sauce.
They have a great looking patio. I would come back for the breakfast and to try other things on the menu. It is free street parking for those not familiar with the area.

So first time at this place, decided to sit at the bar area which seemed like the perfect idea… And it was! I love to see my food cooked right in front of me! The two ladies severing seemed to be very polite, and the Bloody Mary is going down like a champ! I would def recommend this place to all my friends to try. It’s a little cold now, but I can’t wait to come back and sit on their patio! Thanks ladies

Has outdoor seating, fun on a nice day. It has a dive feel. Sandwiches use a lot of butter, but that makes them taste yummy.

Friendly staff. The restaurant has all the shtick of a Soulard stop without the narcissism. The biscuits and gravy were respectable. With crumbled sausage, it was great. Half orders are available.
There is a different biscuit special each day, typically with some sweet topping.
The French toast was your standard two slices of bread cut diagonally. A little powdered sugar would go a long way.
A breakfast burrito was a simple flour tortilla rolled around one scrambled egg, a sliced piece of sausage, and a piece of cheese. Hash browns were included in the burrito which is unusual. I would’ve liked to have seen the burrito grilled or served warm. The salsa appeared to be made in-​house, good stuff there too.
Finally, the bloody Mary was spot on. Served in a mason jar, garnished with a piece of bacon, a stuffed olive, and a pepper. The rim was coated in celery salt.
A nice place near Benton Park. Street side parking and a nice size patio for warmer weather.
Seems dog friendly.

Very enjoyable little corner restaurant for breakfast or lunch. Pretty much your classic American mix menu. Quick food. Inexpensive. Eclectic décor is very cool. You can play photo hunt or iSpy with friends of items adorning the walls. Super neat. Friendly owners. I recommend this place for a relaxing corner counter bistro.

My best childhood friend took me here during a visit to St Louis She’d been wanting to try it for quite some time and I’m glad she opted to wait for me. I’m not big on Southern Food outside the south as they usually get it wrong. These folks did a great
job.
they are known for their speciality cocktails and they are not to be missed. I loved the Bloody Mary personally and who doesn’t love a drink served in a mason jar?
My friend had the b reakfast burrito and it was pretty lackluster; however my biscuits and graby were amazing. Light and fluffy biscuits are hard to come by in certain parts but these made the cut as did the delicious sausage gravy.
Adorable patio is available during the warm months but the inside is quaint and charming. You feel like you’re eating at someone’s house.

They use latex gloves in their kitchen to prep food. Latex gloves cause sever illness to ppl allergic by using them in food prep they are potentially poisoning unknowing ppl. Not to mention that latex is an allergy of exposure, so just being exposed to the gloves could make you allergic to them overtime.
I talked to the manager they were unwilling to change even tho my whole family has this allergy and we live within walking distance.
Thoroughly disappointed.

Great food! Fun atmosphere. Patio seating is awesome. We had breakfast on a Saturday — it was a fun crowd. The biscuits and gravy are excellent. BLT and breakfast burrito were fantastic.
This is our 4^th time here and we will for sure be back. Great service. Locally owned and operated!

Biscuits and gravy-​best in the Lou!
Great Cuban too. Side of jalapeños makes everything better. We will be back!
The owner was super nice and gave us her story. All in-​great experience.

Epic failure = MAJOR disappointment
My last two visits have been lackluster, with today’s being a major disappointment. We both ordered the daily special, Ham and Cheese Quiche with Hash Browns for $ 8.95. Overpriced for what we were served.
It was not a true quiche. The crust was house made, but had no flavor and was to thick. The bottom was almost half as thick as the «quiche». Their so called quiche, was basically just scrambled eggs with small cubes of ham baked in a pie shell. There was no flavor what so ever. Our hash browns were cold, I admit we were eating outside, but they shouldn’t have cooled down that fast.
Our server was sweet and attentive. However, her coworker was another story. When he was serving coffee to his table, which was next to ours, he totally ignored us and did not fill our cups. To get more coffee, we had to flag down the hostess and she seemed bewildered that we’d ask.
The outside patio is a great place to enjoy breakfast and Cassidy as always was great at greeting all the regular customers. However, after two disappointing breakfast, Luvy Duvy’s going down to 3 Stars. It is just A-​Ok in my eyes now. I am also taking Luvy Duvy’s off my Breakfast List.

Came in for breakfast on a snowy morning during the week and was surprised to have the place pretty much to ourselves.
While I normally order biscuits and gravy whenever possible, I branched out and had a breakfast burrito. Every order something and find it to be exactly what you need at that very moment? The burrito was perfect for me. Large portion and I was the ultimate lady and finished every tasty bit smothered in sour cream and salsa. Very reasonably priced and I loved being able to see my food cooked on the flat top. The décor and small intimate restaurant makes it feel like you are at home.
What really stood out to me was the woman who was taking care of the patrons. To only say she was a waitress would be to sell her short. She checked on an elderly regular and talked super heroes with a kiddo at the counter. I haven’t seen anyone enjoy their job so much in a long time.
I’ll be back and I fully expect to inhale some biscuits and gravy.

Fun décor and friendly staff. I had the Truck Stop sandwich (BLT with fried egg) which was similar to one I’d enjoyed at a beachfront café in San Diego so I was happy to see a hometown joint with it on the menu. Very tasty and good thick cut bacon. He had the biscuits & gravy with side of hash browns. The sausage was well spiced and the dish was altogether tasty. Small menu but solid offerings. We’ll be back in nicer weather to enjoy a Bloody Mary on the patio which is right across from Benton Park.

Luvy Duvy’s is about as laid-​back as it gets, and totally hits the spot if you’re in the market for a cute diner-​esque experience. I’d recommend the breakfast burrito (order a side of avocado if you want to be indulgent) with a Bloody Mary– now THAT is a brunch of champions.
They have a great patio with lots of shade and beautiful potted plants all around, so you’re not relegated to enjoying your meal indoors. The grub is on the cheaper end too, so that’s a bonus! I’d tell my hungover Unilocaler friends to head over here for hearty post-​big night recovery meals.

Bottom Line:
1.) Nice neighborhood place with a homey feel and excellent service.
2.) Food is average to a notch above average.
3.) Plan on your meal taking longer than planned.
Details:
I finally visited Luvy Duvy’s Café after driving past it and being attracted to it many times.
The menu, found here on Unilocal,seem like they have limited themselves to doing a few things well. With most entrees, that seemed to be the case, especially with my Dad’s and my Daughter’s sandwiches. My Cuban, however, was sub-​par. So you might want to avoid it. Kinda light on the meat. Also, there is no sweet element to balance the sharp and dark flavors in the Blue Cheese Coleslaw, so I probably won’t order that again. Others might like it just fine.
Service was attentive, but the kitchen was S-​L-​O-​W… Perhaps since we arrived for a late lunch they thought we wanted to linger? Or the cook was just tired after a long day of breakfast and lunch? Not sure. But the food was s l o w in arriving.
They did, however, give my Dad a complimentary cinnamon roll with a candle in it for his Birthday. That was very nice, and the cinnamon roll was very good.

Yummy, yummy, yummy I got Luvy Duvy’s in my tummy. That is how I feel after leaving this place. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some BCD but Luvy Duvy’s is a great change of pace if you are looking for a sandwich in Benton Park.
The inside is small but very inviting. You can either belly up to the bar and watch them make your food or sit in a booth surrounding the bar. They also have a patio area where pooches are welcome. I recently ordered my food to go and enjoyed a delicious Bloody Mary served in a Mason jar while I waited. The Bloody Mary gets an A, the perfect amount of spice and garnish. As for the sandwiches, I had the Tuna on a croissant, so simple yet so tasty. I have also had their Cuban sandwich that is warm goodness that you dip into a mustard they serve on the side. Heavenly!!!
If you are in the Benton Park area and looking for a change of pace from BCD, check out Luvy Duvy’s.
Come for the sandwich, stay for the Bloody Mary.

I actually happened upon Luvy Duvy’s after being misled by my GPS when trying to find Iowa Buffet… can’t say that I’m upset in the least. Actually ended up noticing a few restaurants on S. Jefferson that I’ve heard about here on Unilocal… The Choice, Parma, and of course… Luvy Duvy’s. It was about time for a late lunch, so I parked the demo and wandered in.
First impressions: Cozy space, very focused menu, neighborhood diner feel, reasonably priced. My type of place!
I immediately settled on the shrimp & corn chowder when offered, though I sampled the chili as well. The chowder was damn good… plenty of corn, shrimp, and potato, along with a fair amount of cream. The sampling of chili I has was good, though I thought it needed a touch more salt… it’s one of those personal preferences… plenty of meat, beans, and tomatoes, though.
If you’ve only been for breakfast, do like my virgin self did… come for lunch, and get the burger. Seriously, one of the best burgers I’ve had in a good while. Super fresh ingredients… lettuce, tomato, onion, beef. They added a little mayo, and had help yourself ketchup & mustard (not needed), and that perfectly cooked, surprisingly juicy, medium-​well burger was gone in no time… along with the seed bun it came on.
Looking forward to heading back here when I’m in the neighborhood, which is often enough, since I work in SoCo…

Luvy Duvy’s was definitely an experience — so much to the extent that our food wasn’t even that good, but I want to go back.
We went for breakfast around 11 am on a Saturday and it was packed. When I say packed, I mean people were seated so close to each other that you could barely scoot through to get to your table and waitresses had to carry the coffee pot over your head when they walked by to give refills to other tables.
Still, I was intrigued and took this as a sign that this place had something special. And it does. It oozes with character. There are all kinds of Jamaican knick knacks that make you just want to sit around all day and drink fruity rum drinks. The staff is incredibly nice and personable and, although busy, service never suffered.
I went with the plain old breakfast special with 2 eggs over easy, bacon, toast and added hashbrowns. Unfortunately, my eggs had this weird spongy consistency that kind of ruined it for me. Also, they use thick-​cut bacon, which means it wasn’t crispy like I like it. All of this really bummed me out.
That being said, everyone around us ordered a delicious-​looking and smelling Mexican pie breakfast special… that I’m still envious of. I also really want to come back and try the breakfast burrito. And, most of all, for some day drinking when their patio is open.

Luvy Duvy’s Café is extremely cute and very welcoming. The owner was our server and she was Southern and mighty sweet just like her restaurant.
We came here after we showed up to Yummie’s and realized they were closed. Anyway, I have passed the place half a billion times when driving on Jefferson and Arsenal. It’s is a cute spot. It has a bit of a weird mix of Southern and island feel. I guess I kind of get it. The owner is from South Carolina, so, beach? Southern? They come together well.
My friend Joe, Jason and I came here around 9am for breakfast. We briefly skimmed the menu before deciding. Jason and I ordered the Sunshine Daydream. It is basically a breakfast sandwich with your choice of meat, cheese, and egg on either Texas toast or bagel. If you want a croissant, it costs extra. Meat is extra too, but only .95.
I got one with sausage and cheese and egg on plain bagel, whereas Jason got bacon, cheese, egg, and on an onion and garlic bagel. Both were tasty. It was not super extravagant or anything, but I think what made this experience nice was the owner.
The owner is very hospitable. I really like that she was tentative to our needs and kept up nicely with our table. Before the conclusion of the meal, she brought out a huge piece of cake called Nana Good’s Spice Cake. The cake was so lush, moist, and delicious. That was probably my favorite part of the meal itself was the free dessert at breakfast. I don’t feel guilty for eating it either.
I’d recommend the place for sure. It has a simple breakfast menu that I think does better than going to an overpriced place that has suck ass service and below par food. It is nice to have a solid all around breakfast/​lunch place in the Benton Park area. Bottom line.