A hazelnut latte at The Clover and The Bee. The soup (far right) is sweet potato-roasted red pepper.
Like its name implies, The Clover and The Bee is a-buzz with energy. Kudos to co-owner Mark Hinkle and his team for turning the old Webster Groves bookstore into a whimsical companion for Olive and Oak, his successful next door restaurant. While O&O serves only dinner, C&B started out dishing up just breakfast and lunch. Now six weeks after opening, they’ve added a dinner menu.
A Cozy Corner
When a friend and I lunched there this week, we made the mistake of going between 12 and 1 o’clock. Better to go early or late. Though we waited 15 minutes, or more, for a table (the place seats 40 some), there was a comfy seating area next to a side window where we could visit.
The large number of women in the corner restaurant gives it the feeling of a tea room. On each side of me were young mothers with infants in their arms, which made me think the place catered primarily to the neighborhood. Then I ran onto friends from Clayton. During our wait for seating, I met two other women—one a goat farmer and cheese maker. Both lived near Union, so that blew my strictly neighborhood theory.
The Clover and The Bee is designed for fast, casual dining. For those wanting a quick grab and go order, there’s a walk up window. The emerald color of the cozy wall seating is replicated in the oversized flowers featured on the backwall mural, the work of C&B employee Marissa Todd.
A look at the lunch menu
An offering of pastries along with coffees, teas and cold-pressed juices
Salad and Beef-Farro Soup
View from the sitting area
The new dinner menu with daily specials
Reflections from the window. The name of the restaurant comes from Emily Dickinson’s To Make a Prairie: “To make a prairie it take a clover and one bee and revery. The revery alone will do, if bees are few.”
The Clover and The Bee. 100 W. Lockwood, Webster Groves. Open: Breakfast and Lunch daily 7a-2p (cafe open till 4); Dinner: Wed-Sun 4p-9p.
After Note: My friend’s husband keeps honey bees in their backyard just a few blocks from the restaurant. So we stopped and picked up a jar of golden honey. A sweet way to end the day.
Honey from Battles Backyard Bees
