South-city residential neighbourhoods around Francis Park, home to Ted Drewes frozen custard, Mom's Deli and Federhofer's bakery.
Onesto fires Neapolitan-leaning pizza and Italian plates in a small St. Louis Hills room, a neighbourhood trattoria that draws south-side pizza devotees.
Order: Wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizza.
Tip: The wood-fired pies are the order; the room is small, so reserve at weekends. A good non-Provel pizza option.
A St. Louis Hills deli, Mom's stacks the locally famous Mom's Special and made-to-order subs, reopened in 2025 to hour-long lines of devoted regulars.
Order: The Mom's Special with thousand-island dressing.
Tip: The Mom's Special is the order; the thousand-island dressing is the secret. Expect a line since the reopening.
Blueprint's south-side cafe on Watson brings the roaster's precise filter and espresso to St. Louis Hills, a calm bright room for the neighbourhood crowd.
Signature drink: Filter coffee and espresso
Tip: Quieter than the Delmar flagship and easier for a laptop session. Ask about the rotating single origins.
Rockwell's open-air pavilion in Francis Park pours Goshen Coffee by day and Rockwell craft beer with tavern pizza by evening. A rare park beer garden.
Signature drink: Goshen Coffee by day, craft beer by evening
Tip: Mornings are for coffee and the park; afternoons and evenings for beer and pizza. It is seasonal and weather-dependent.
A decades-old Affton bakery, Federhofer's makes a distinctive gooey butter cake without cream cheese or powdered sugar, plus full cases of cakes and cookies.
Tip: Its gooey butter is a denser style than the cream-cheese versions. Come early for the freshest cases.
Worth the queue: Gooey butter cake without powdered sugar
A tiny Lindenwood Park bakery, Pint Size turns out muffins, scones and a cult salted caramel-chocolate cookie alongside Kaldi's coffee. A peanut-free kitchen.
Tip: The salted caramel-chocolate cookie is the order, and stock is small. Get there before mid-morning on Saturdays.
Worth the queue: Salted caramel-chocolate cookies and muffins
A small Dogtown bakery, Sugaree specialises in scratch pies and layer cakes, a neighbourhood spot known for seasonal fruit pies. Weekend hours only.
Tip: It is open only Friday to Sunday, so plan accordingly. The seasonal fruit pies and the cakes are the reasons to go.
Worth the queue: Seasonal fruit pies and cakes
A South County mainstay since 1956, McArthur's is a classic full-service bakery known for celebration cakes and a deep case of St. Louis bakery staples.
Tip: It is the go-to for custom and celebration cakes. The gooey butter cake and the donuts hold up the everyday case.
Worth the queue: Custom cakes and gooey butter cake
Serving since 1941 on old Route 66, Ted Drewes is the St. Louis frozen-custard landmark, famous for the concrete, a shake handed over upside down.
Try: Frozen custard concretes
Tip: Order a concrete and watch them flip it upside down to prove the thickness. Cash-friendly, often a summer line.
A St. Louis Hills deli, Mom's stacks the locally famous Mom's Special and made-to-order subs, reopened in 2025 to hour-long lines of regulars.
Try: St. Louis deli sandwiches
Tip: The Mom's Special is the order; the thousand-island dressing is the secret. Expect a line since the 2025 reopening.
A four-day Greek food festival run by the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church in Des Peres, plating gyros, souvlaki, spanakopita and pastries over the late-May weekend.
An autumn craft-beer-and-food festival in Francis Park, Brew in the Lou pours dozens of regional breweries alongside local food vendors for a benefit afternoon on the south side.
Running since 1979 as the Dierbergs School of Cooking and rebranded as the Culinary Studio, the program offers hands-on and demonstration classes from a Des Peres studio, a long-running grocery-backed cooking school.
Serving since 1941 on Route 66, Ted Drewes sells cheap, thick frozen-custard concretes, the landmark dessert handed over upside down to prove it.
Try: Frozen custard concretes
Tip: A concrete is a few dollars and a city rite of passage. Cash-friendly; expect a summer line at the window.
Since 2012, Southwest Diner has served New Mexican breakfast in a small Dogtown room, known for cornmeal pancakes, green-chile huevos and house biscuits.
Order: Huevos rancheros with red and green chile.
Tip: Order the chile Christmas-style, red and green. The cornmeal pancakes are the local cult order; expect a weekend wait.
A 24-hour griddle institution, Courtesy Diner serves the classic St. Louis slinger and diner plates around the clock, a go-to for after-bar meals.
Try: The slinger and griddle classics
Tip: The slinger at 3am is the rite of passage here. Cash and card both work; the counter stools fill late on weekends.
The Laclede Station Courtesy Diner runs the same 24-hour griddle as the Hampton branch, slinging chili-and-egg slingers and breakfast in a red-vinyl room.
Try: The slinger and breakfast all day
Tip: Same slinger, same round-the-clock hours as the Hampton location. It draws the post-bar crowd from Affton and Webster.