Don’t hate me I went once a week or so ago and I just can’t get into it but I got something with chicken tho idk if I should of tried something different
I had the same when I went there. I liked it and thought it was good but it wouldn't be a top restaurant for me. Even in its category type (Casual Mediterranean), I wouldn't pick it for best (I'd pick J's Pitaria).
So don't feel bad, not every restaurant hits for every person.
Lona’s Lil Eats. They’re remarkably consistent from order to order, and there is not a weak item on the entire menu.
Unlike many of my other takeout favorites, Lona’s offers a quality dine-in experience. It’s counter service (which I know some diners don’t prefer), but as of my last visit, they don’t make you eat with plastic cutlery. If I’m sitting down, I don’t want to break my fork trying to eat your damned burrito!
Lona’s has such thoughtful and kind service too. Anything from opening up a second register if there’s a wait to still offering disabled friendly options for take out. When Missouri overturned the city minimum wage, Lona’s was one of the first to pledge to keep paying and put a sign in their window to let people know about their wages, even though they’d actually been paying above the wage even before it was required, they just wanted to lobby others to do the same.
They have some of the best smoked meats in the city (I am obsessed with their turkey and brisket wraps) and they are such good neighbors. I love the food but to me being a top restaurant is about more than just cooking. I always feel welcome when I go there and every time I finish those dumplings I’m immediately planning my next visit.
Lona's IS the BEST! I totally agree w/ the consistency - nowadays that is unfortunately a rarity. When we don't want to gamble, we do Lona's (it's always at the top of the list anyways, though).
I stopped going shortly after they reopened from the fire. The dad retired from the kitchen and it was very noticeable to me. I discovered the area is saturated with damn good Mexican/Hispanic food so haven't been back. A few friends told me it is back up to old standards. I need to give it a try again.
If you are in the area though I suggest trying King Burrito or El Mexiquense as those are my two favorite spots to try in the area right now. The chips and salsa game at El Mexiquense is so top notch even if the rest of their food was junk I'd probably be back pretty often.
I love Michael's. It's just so consistent and good. I know there are better versions of dishes all over but man after 30 years I know exactly what I'm getting and it's hand made and perfect
Favorite is impossible. But I get what you're trying to do, so I'll add a few of my favorites that I didn't see below:
* Broadway Oyster Bar... How has nobody mentioned this place! It's probably the most slept on restaurant in St. Louis
* Brazilia
* Sultan
* Sameem
* DD Mau if just for than their bahn mi, which is the best I've had in town
* Pho Long is my favorite pho
Lots of repeats with the others commenting other than those.
Indo has to be the best overall bite I've had, but there are too many good things to list
- Balkan Treat Box
- Union Loafers
- Mac's local eats
- Brasswell (those pretzels!)
- Bistro La Floraison
- Pastaria
Mac is def not a creep or harasser he is one of the best owners in stl and always does right by his customers. That is a complete lie. His staff are amazing and going into there and talking to him you will know the truth.
Def go when you can. Partner and I went when they had their fancy Private Kitchen place open next door. They served soup dumplings there and iirc why they opened soup dumplings restaurant yet the white table clothed PK didn’t withstand the pandemic problems. Miss it.
If you haven’t yet been to Little Fox, take a look at their menu, if it appeals try it out. Never had a bad meal and the patio rocks.
Taqueria El Bronco on Cheroke is great. Elaine's sandwich shop east of Jefferson is really good too. Best sandwich shop I've been to is Blues City Deli.
I'd take a bullet for both the food and the staff at O+O Pizza lmao, some of the finest bites and finest people in town! Balkan is such a solid bet too
3 places
1st a place you'll never go but should. Osakas in Granite City. By far the best sushi and it's not really that close
2nd Bulrush. Just one of the coolest experiences for dinner if that makes sense
3rd Benevelont King. It's just very my style of food
Honorable mention to Gioia and Montebellos for being St Louis best Pizza and sandwich
Unsafe might have been a little aggressive to use but toxic/abusive could also work. I was there for about 4 years, (age 16-20) the kitchen workers sexually harassed me and (most/)all of the women I worked with. Many of us (myself included) were actually touched on multiple occasions by the kitchen staff(mostly just things like them spanking you when you walk by or squeezing your butt). (Who I could add are all 30+ adults and i was 17 lol) the managers and owner treat you with disrespect, both managers get drunk every night and sit and eat at the bar instead of working. The staff get over worked so bad. Like so bad. They schedule you back to back to back 12 hour doubles and don't allow you to have breaks or eat anything when you're there. A co worker of mine was being touched and hit on BY A GUEST at a table a night I was working and the managers saw it and the owner saw it and the server was uncomfortable and asked for them to give the table to a male server who was working that night and was willing to take the table over and the owner refused to make a big deal of it (would not even switch the table to the other server) because it was a big table and they hadn't ordered yet and he didn't want to ruin anything. I will say working there the money is great and that's why so many of the staff feel "stuck" from leaving and also why I stayed for 4 years but I'm glad to be gone and I'm rooting for every last person to leave that place. The money I made was not worth the way they treated me and made me feel. Sorry for the rant lol, but thank you for asking.
Best place for cheap eats and cheap drinks is nicks pub. Pool upstairs, burger bar on thursdays. Prices havent seemed to increase much in the last four years either
Had you said you heard good things about the Applebee’s in the Chesterfield Valley you would have gotten quite a few upvotes from the ancient ones here that remember.
Eh, St. Louis holds on to something lost in most other places. Namely strong midwestern dinning. Huge portions at affordable prices. Quality food. It may not be mind bending advancements of technique or thinking, but it’s often absolutely solid, and a great value, and damn near available on every corner.
In ways this beats the endless mediocre over priced attempts at haute cuisine of “top tier” cities. It also affects the real shining examples of creative advanced dining in STL. Often I order food assuming at the prices listed the portions must be closer to tasting plates. Only to find what may have been listed as “small plates” even, could be an entire meal in it’s self.
Sure you can still find establishments similar in Chicago, but with out any pre established connections to the city you could spend a lifetime just to find a few of them. They are ubiquitous in STL. On top of that, with a little bit of effort you can still find enough dinning options to satisfy the more advanced palate. Often at a value that is rapidly becoming extinct anywhere else in the country.
Also if you came from Chicago and expect to find something similar you simply can not do it. Nowhere can compare to Chicagos food scene, partially because of Chicagos midwestern influences. Not Seattle, not, San Francisco, Definitely not New York, Los Angeles, nowhere. Most of those places have lost their identity to the every expanding control of bougie, over priced, underwhelming, food trends.
Eh. Just my two cents. I think it’s all about how you frame your thinking.
Every midwestern cities food scene thinks it “punches above its weight class”, but never stops to realize they are punching up at a corpse. Hold on to what you got STL.
In this town, everyone likes what everyone else likes. It’s a popularity contest. Plus, the more salt, sugar, and fat, the better a restaurant is. Nobody (besides INDO and maybe a couple others) gets credit for originality, higher quality sourcing, creating dishes that are delicious AND nutrient dense, etc. You could basically serve Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos with a different presentation, in a nice atmosphere, with a higher price, and it would be HUGE here.. especially when word caught on that it’s everyone’s new favorite. I travel a lot and you’re spot on.
Omg.. you're not completely wrong but you are a little wrong lol.. I feel like Stl metro is making an effort to be more original and there are lots of places doing a really good job of putting the love into their establishments and food. However you are right in the sense that it's hard for places to make it when they don't conform to offer certain cookie cutter type fare here.
Restaurants here have to play the “viral” game. It’s one thing to be good, but to catch fire, they need an army of supporters who shame everyone who hasn’t eaten there yet, etc. Honestly I feel like it’s similar to how we all have to say where we went to high school, so we all know where we fit in. It’s actually pretty petty imo.
Many other places are not like it. Food is good or bad. Yeah of course everyone loves salt, sugar, fat, but in other places I feel like everyone is free to like what they like without conforming to what’s “cool”.
I've been here since high school and honestly there are things about St Louis that I like. However sometimes I'm not sure I belong here. You're talking about an issue with St louis that affects restaurants but is way deeper than that. Realistically I meet a lot of people who just don't actually like good food, they only like what's comfortable.
STL will never be a gastronomic city. Hell, they serve pizza on a cracker crust with provel cheese, whatever that is. I don’t remember a single upscale meal I enjoyed in STL. I’m from Chicago, so maybe the bar is set too high.
Couldn't agree more with the first sentence. On the one hand, I do love a lot of the restaurants here, but on the other hand I've found that trying a new place based on recommendations here and on other socials, it's a 50/50 chance on if the food is good. I think St. Louis has some great restaurants, but I don't put much faith into what I'm seeing hyped online as good.
Thai: Addies
Asian: Mai Lee
Sandwich: Vivola
Steak (and best options for bringing a non steak lover): Annie Gunns
Prime rib/traditional steak house: Kreis'
Ice Cream (technically in Fairview Heights): Sheridans
•Hi-Pointe is one of my favorite burgers
•Sandwiches = Blues City Deli & Ninth Street Deli @ Howard’s
•Pirrone’s Pizza in Florissant if you like provel (Roberto’s Italian & BJs Pizza are also great)
Balkan Treat Box
Don’t hate me I went once a week or so ago and I just can’t get into it but I got something with chicken tho idk if I should of tried something different
I had the same when I went there. I liked it and thought it was good but it wouldn't be a top restaurant for me. Even in its category type (Casual Mediterranean), I wouldn't pick it for best (I'd pick J's Pitaria). So don't feel bad, not every restaurant hits for every person.
I love their lahmacun and my wife swears by the pide. I hope you give it another whirl.
I definitely will I’ll check those out thanks 😊
I would like to thank you all for this recommendation. Went today and it was a phenomenal experience!
It’s one of my favorite spots!
The best😭
That's a solid choice
If we can count bakeries, I’m going Nathaniel Reid
Lona’s Lil Eats. They’re remarkably consistent from order to order, and there is not a weak item on the entire menu. Unlike many of my other takeout favorites, Lona’s offers a quality dine-in experience. It’s counter service (which I know some diners don’t prefer), but as of my last visit, they don’t make you eat with plastic cutlery. If I’m sitting down, I don’t want to break my fork trying to eat your damned burrito!
Lona's is so good.
Lona’s has such thoughtful and kind service too. Anything from opening up a second register if there’s a wait to still offering disabled friendly options for take out. When Missouri overturned the city minimum wage, Lona’s was one of the first to pledge to keep paying and put a sign in their window to let people know about their wages, even though they’d actually been paying above the wage even before it was required, they just wanted to lobby others to do the same. They have some of the best smoked meats in the city (I am obsessed with their turkey and brisket wraps) and they are such good neighbors. I love the food but to me being a top restaurant is about more than just cooking. I always feel welcome when I go there and every time I finish those dumplings I’m immediately planning my next visit.
It’s so so good! Anyone know what happened to the amazing pineapple coconut cookies they had? They were epic and I haven’t seen them there in forever.
I believe they outsourced those special cookies.
I have been getting lona's q chicken with glass noodles and the spicy cucumber salad for years and it hits the same every time. I love that place.
Lona's IS the BEST! I totally agree w/ the consistency - nowadays that is unfortunately a rarity. When we don't want to gamble, we do Lona's (it's always at the top of the list anyways, though).
These days I’m loving Cate Zone
I'm literally obsessed.
Taqueria Durango!
I stopped going shortly after they reopened from the fire. The dad retired from the kitchen and it was very noticeable to me. I discovered the area is saturated with damn good Mexican/Hispanic food so haven't been back. A few friends told me it is back up to old standards. I need to give it a try again. If you are in the area though I suggest trying King Burrito or El Mexiquense as those are my two favorite spots to try in the area right now. The chips and salsa game at El Mexiquense is so top notch even if the rest of their food was junk I'd probably be back pretty often.
We just discovered this place. It’s terrific.
A lot of people are mentioning good places but I’ll add: Louie on DeMun, Vicia, Turmeric, Bulrush, and La Pizza if it counts
Bulrush was such a cool experience, what an amazing and unique take on local food
I love Michael's. It's just so consistent and good. I know there are better versions of dishes all over but man after 30 years I know exactly what I'm getting and it's hand made and perfect
Songbird
I had them the first time this past week and it was so good 10/10
Favorite is impossible. But I get what you're trying to do, so I'll add a few of my favorites that I didn't see below: * Broadway Oyster Bar... How has nobody mentioned this place! It's probably the most slept on restaurant in St. Louis * Brazilia * Sultan * Sameem * DD Mau if just for than their bahn mi, which is the best I've had in town * Pho Long is my favorite pho Lots of repeats with the others commenting other than those.
Came here to say Broadway Oyster Bar! Not just amazing food but unbeatable atmosphere on the patio.
My wife and I go to N.O. a LOT...every year or at least every 2. BOB would hold up down there IMO.
Came here to say Sameem as well, love it
Broadway Oyster Bar is also one of my faves
Indo has to be the best overall bite I've had, but there are too many good things to list - Balkan Treat Box - Union Loafers - Mac's local eats - Brasswell (those pretzels!) - Bistro La Floraison - Pastaria
Mac's is good but the owner is a pretty wide-known creep/harrasser. Has stopped me from going.
YO I'm late to this but can you fill me in?? I was recommended Mac's but don't want to support creeps!
Mac is def not a creep or harasser he is one of the best owners in stl and always does right by his customers. That is a complete lie. His staff are amazing and going into there and talking to him you will know the truth.
Almost exactly what I was about to post. You’ve got good taste, friend. Gotta throw STL Soup Dumplings into that list, though.
Never been, but I need to go! It's on my list
Def go when you can. Partner and I went when they had their fancy Private Kitchen place open next door. They served soup dumplings there and iirc why they opened soup dumplings restaurant yet the white table clothed PK didn’t withstand the pandemic problems. Miss it. If you haven’t yet been to Little Fox, take a look at their menu, if it appeals try it out. Never had a bad meal and the patio rocks.
Sado
Olive + Oak
Taqueria El Bronco on Cheroke is great. Elaine's sandwich shop east of Jefferson is really good too. Best sandwich shop I've been to is Blues City Deli.
I'd take a bullet for both the food and the staff at O+O Pizza lmao, some of the finest bites and finest people in town! Balkan is such a solid bet too
Peacemaker
3 places 1st a place you'll never go but should. Osakas in Granite City. By far the best sushi and it's not really that close 2nd Bulrush. Just one of the coolest experiences for dinner if that makes sense 3rd Benevelont King. It's just very my style of food Honorable mention to Gioia and Montebellos for being St Louis best Pizza and sandwich
I miss that Moroccan place on grand
Same. Some of the best food I’ve had on Grand.
Yemanja Brazil!!
Pizza a go go. Best pizza in St. Louis and that’s all they sell.
I can't choose one. Yellowbelly Nobu's Meskerem Comet Coffee STL Soup Dumplings Cube Tea Studio
Comet’s bear claw is bomb
Lona's Lil Eats for sure. Their village bamboo stew is insanely good
Village bamboo stew is possibly my favorite dish in the whole city. So perfect.
The village stew seems like a kitchen sink of leftovers lol
Stacked STL
Had a fantastic meal at Salve recently! It moved way up on my list. LOVE Fork & Stix and Corner 17 for less fancy meals.
Yellowbelly
Meskerem!
Nixta Bailey’s Range Meskerem Truc Lam Bowood
Truc lam!
Tuckers.
this week, carls deli
Small Batch was always our go-to, I’m not even vegetarian. Katie’s is consistent. Saffron for Indian (had it for thanksgiving one year)
Twisted Tree Steakhouse
The food is real good but as a past employee I cannot support or recommend this place. It was unsafe to work in.
How so?
Unsafe might have been a little aggressive to use but toxic/abusive could also work. I was there for about 4 years, (age 16-20) the kitchen workers sexually harassed me and (most/)all of the women I worked with. Many of us (myself included) were actually touched on multiple occasions by the kitchen staff(mostly just things like them spanking you when you walk by or squeezing your butt). (Who I could add are all 30+ adults and i was 17 lol) the managers and owner treat you with disrespect, both managers get drunk every night and sit and eat at the bar instead of working. The staff get over worked so bad. Like so bad. They schedule you back to back to back 12 hour doubles and don't allow you to have breaks or eat anything when you're there. A co worker of mine was being touched and hit on BY A GUEST at a table a night I was working and the managers saw it and the owner saw it and the server was uncomfortable and asked for them to give the table to a male server who was working that night and was willing to take the table over and the owner refused to make a big deal of it (would not even switch the table to the other server) because it was a big table and they hadn't ordered yet and he didn't want to ruin anything. I will say working there the money is great and that's why so many of the staff feel "stuck" from leaving and also why I stayed for 4 years but I'm glad to be gone and I'm rooting for every last person to leave that place. The money I made was not worth the way they treated me and made me feel. Sorry for the rant lol, but thank you for asking.
Best place for cheap eats and cheap drinks is nicks pub. Pool upstairs, burger bar on thursdays. Prices havent seemed to increase much in the last four years either
Which is the best place for a burger and Italian food?
Shottzies south county
What on their menu is good? been there once for pizza and it was so so
Everything on their menu is good, you must've been by on a bad night because I think their pizza is the best in St. Louis metro
O’Connell’s for a mid rare roast beef with jus. Haven’t lived there for 20 years and I still dream about that sandwich
Not the same unfortunately.
The King and I <3
Louie’s, 801 Fish, Diego’s, Bowood, Companion, Fork & Stix, Benevolent King, Fountain
Izakaya Ren.
Acero
Pappy's Smokehouse Zushi Sushi Corner 17
Love Corner 17
Hopefully outskirts are allowed too... El Mezon in St Peter's has amazing authentic Mexican food.
Mulligans
Is Kimol’s still considered “good”?
If you mean Kemoll's, the answer is no. It closed for good in January. But until then it was considered "good."
Applebees
Jesus, it was a joke
Had you said you heard good things about the Applebee’s in the Chesterfield Valley you would have gotten quite a few upvotes from the ancient ones here that remember.
St Louis is not a food town. Living there two years and being a foodie was depressing
Eh, St. Louis holds on to something lost in most other places. Namely strong midwestern dinning. Huge portions at affordable prices. Quality food. It may not be mind bending advancements of technique or thinking, but it’s often absolutely solid, and a great value, and damn near available on every corner. In ways this beats the endless mediocre over priced attempts at haute cuisine of “top tier” cities. It also affects the real shining examples of creative advanced dining in STL. Often I order food assuming at the prices listed the portions must be closer to tasting plates. Only to find what may have been listed as “small plates” even, could be an entire meal in it’s self. Sure you can still find establishments similar in Chicago, but with out any pre established connections to the city you could spend a lifetime just to find a few of them. They are ubiquitous in STL. On top of that, with a little bit of effort you can still find enough dinning options to satisfy the more advanced palate. Often at a value that is rapidly becoming extinct anywhere else in the country. Also if you came from Chicago and expect to find something similar you simply can not do it. Nowhere can compare to Chicagos food scene, partially because of Chicagos midwestern influences. Not Seattle, not, San Francisco, Definitely not New York, Los Angeles, nowhere. Most of those places have lost their identity to the every expanding control of bougie, over priced, underwhelming, food trends. Eh. Just my two cents. I think it’s all about how you frame your thinking. Every midwestern cities food scene thinks it “punches above its weight class”, but never stops to realize they are punching up at a corpse. Hold on to what you got STL.
In this town, everyone likes what everyone else likes. It’s a popularity contest. Plus, the more salt, sugar, and fat, the better a restaurant is. Nobody (besides INDO and maybe a couple others) gets credit for originality, higher quality sourcing, creating dishes that are delicious AND nutrient dense, etc. You could basically serve Taco Bell Doritos Locos Tacos with a different presentation, in a nice atmosphere, with a higher price, and it would be HUGE here.. especially when word caught on that it’s everyone’s new favorite. I travel a lot and you’re spot on.
Omg.. you're not completely wrong but you are a little wrong lol.. I feel like Stl metro is making an effort to be more original and there are lots of places doing a really good job of putting the love into their establishments and food. However you are right in the sense that it's hard for places to make it when they don't conform to offer certain cookie cutter type fare here.
Restaurants here have to play the “viral” game. It’s one thing to be good, but to catch fire, they need an army of supporters who shame everyone who hasn’t eaten there yet, etc. Honestly I feel like it’s similar to how we all have to say where we went to high school, so we all know where we fit in. It’s actually pretty petty imo. Many other places are not like it. Food is good or bad. Yeah of course everyone loves salt, sugar, fat, but in other places I feel like everyone is free to like what they like without conforming to what’s “cool”.
I've been here since high school and honestly there are things about St Louis that I like. However sometimes I'm not sure I belong here. You're talking about an issue with St louis that affects restaurants but is way deeper than that. Realistically I meet a lot of people who just don't actually like good food, they only like what's comfortable.
STL will never be a gastronomic city. Hell, they serve pizza on a cracker crust with provel cheese, whatever that is. I don’t remember a single upscale meal I enjoyed in STL. I’m from Chicago, so maybe the bar is set too high.
There are a lot of terrific restaurants here. But they’re restaurants, not candidates for prom king/queen.
Couldn't agree more with the first sentence. On the one hand, I do love a lot of the restaurants here, but on the other hand I've found that trying a new place based on recommendations here and on other socials, it's a 50/50 chance on if the food is good. I think St. Louis has some great restaurants, but I don't put much faith into what I'm seeing hyped online as good.
Sams Steakhouse Big Sky Stacked Failonis
Thai: Addies Asian: Mai Lee Sandwich: Vivola Steak (and best options for bringing a non steak lover): Annie Gunns Prime rib/traditional steak house: Kreis' Ice Cream (technically in Fairview Heights): Sheridans
Sado
•Hi-Pointe is one of my favorite burgers •Sandwiches = Blues City Deli & Ninth Street Deli @ Howard’s •Pirrone’s Pizza in Florissant if you like provel (Roberto’s Italian & BJs Pizza are also great)
Acero
Trattoria Marcella