Blueberry Hill: Food, Nostalgia, and Entertainment on the Delmar Loop
The Delmar Loop is a famed strip in St. Louis that boasts some truly interesting places to patronize. The food and drink scene is particularly notable, with restaurants like Fitz’s and Salt + Smoke lining the district.
Blueberry Hill is an icon in the area, with a history going back to 1972. We paid the landmark restaurant a visit to see what it had to offer.
Getting There
Blueberry Hill (Google Maps link) is located in the middle of the Delmar Loop in the Central West End. It’s on the south side of the street at the corner of Delmar and Melville, just across the street from Salt + Smoke. The restaurant has a large marquee sign, so it’s not too hard to spot.
The Delmar Loop is a ways into the Central West End several miles from any freeway, so if you’re coming from outside the CWE you’ll be on side streets for a while. My preferred route is to take Interstate 170 to Forest Park Parkway, then turn left onto Big Bend, which runs straight to the loop. You have other options, though, including taking Interstate 64 to Big Bend north. You could technically take I-70 to Hanley and then weave south, but that wouldn’t be my first choice.
Parking
The Loop offers plenty of parking, most free, some paid. My favorite would be the large, free parking lot on the west side of the Loop (Google Maps link), which is just a couple of blocks west of Blueberry Hill. There’s also street parking up and down Delmar as well as the University City Parking Garage (Google Maps link) a couple of blocks east of the restaurant.
Costs and Considerations
Blueberry Hill is open seven days a week. The restaurant opens every day at 11 a.m. Table service runs until 9 p.m., while food at the bar is served until 11 p.m. Sunday-Tuesday and 12 a.m. Wednesday-Saturday. The bar closes at midnight Sunday-Tuesday and 1:30 a.m. Wednesday-Saturday.
Most hours the restaurant is open to all ages, and there is a lot of cool decor that kids would like. Be aware, though, that you have to be 21 and older to patronize the establishment after 9 p.m. except when All Ages shows are running.
If you’re just in the mood for a meal, lunch at opening is a good bet. We went on a Saturday morning at 11 and it was quiet. On the other hand, if you want lively atmosphere, Friday and Saturday nights are what you want. Those evenings can get crowded, both in the restaurant and on the Loop in general, especially when there is live music.
Oh, and the restrooms? There are a couple of them on each side of the restaurant, but the ones on the eastern side are … interesting.
Things to Do
You can find both the food menu and the bar menu on the restaurant website. The menu serves up a lot of Americana, including burgers, sandwiches, and various other appetizers, entrees, and desserts. There is a kid’s menu as well. Drinks run the spectrum from soft drinks to alcoholic offerings.
Blueberry Hill does offer online ordering.
Entertainment is a big cornerstone of the experience, too. Blueberry Hill hosts speakers, music, and other festivities, including on many Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. You can find the full events calendar here.
The restaurant also offers other frills, including video games and darts.
You can also simply soak in the decor. The restaurant stocks all kinds of classic collectables along the walls, and they’re well worth looking at.
Our Thoughts
From an aesthetic standpoint, Blueberry Hill is an absolute gem. It’s got atmosphere all over, from the vintage tables to the classic ornamentation. One of my favorite parts of visiting was just to wander around the space and look at everything, something I was able to do at my leisure since we came during the late morning.
As for the food? It was good. We didn’t think it was necessarily great, though, and that is something we also saw in reviews of the restaurant on Google. My Famous Burger, for instance, was decent but not all that memorable, and the same went for the fries. The turkey sandwich my wife ordered was no-frills, and the sourdough she ordered didn’t really taste like sourdough. We can’t speak to the drink selection.
Despite that, we do think it’s a spot well worth visiting, for the vibe if nothing else. It’s a charmer and a real institution in one of St. Louis’s more iconic and historic shopping districts.
