St. Louis’ City Diner serves great food with nostalgia

Have a little history with your meal at St. Louis’ City Diner at the Fox. The corner café is located next door to the city’s Fox Theater, home to Broadway series shows and other performances.

Peter Spoto opened the first City Diner on South Grand, after returning home from living in Alaska, where he honed his cooking skills working at a camp for oil workers.

The restaurant at Fox, where we dined, opened about five years ago, with the same concept as the original.

The food is good and comes in large servings. It’s easy to share a meal, if you choose. Lisa had a breakfast croissant, as breakfast is served throughout the day. I had a turkey club sandwich. I’d share photos with you, but, um, I may have let my hunger get the best of my camera.

The City Diner has a 1950s’ malt shop feel to it. It’s very much a nostalgic décor. There’s an old counter people can sit at.

You can even check out the street at a window counter. This one has its very own jukebox music list.

An old jukebox stands on the floor, with vinyl albums at the ready position. The restaurant plays a lot of great older music, from the 1960s and early ‘70s.

Being next door to a theater, you have to expect to see some great old-time Rock-n-Roll concert posters on the wall, right? The hallway leading to the restrooms is adorned with some serious concert posters. Jefferson Airplane is among the featured acts.

There’s a concert ticket for a Beatles’ show at the second Busch Stadium from 1966. That ticket cost $5.50. Can you imagine what it would have been like now, if all the Beatles were still here to put on a show?

City Diner was a great place to enjoy a good meal and some music nostalgia. We recommend checking it out when in St. Louis. Maybe you can take the Saturday morning tour at the Fox and then have lunch at The Diner.

For more information on the City Diner, please visit www.citydinerstl.com.