Sugarfire Smoke House
Order Brisket, burnt ends and a spiked shake.
Sugarfire serves creative, award-winning barbecue across several metro spots, from brisket and burnt ends to daily specials, a casual counter-service chain.
Bistros, trattorias, taverns and neighbourhood rooms: the mid-tier places where St. Louis actually eats.
Where to eat well, no fuss
16 places
Bogart's Smokehouse
Order The apricot-bruleed ribs.
Bogart's smokes its signature apricot-bruleed ribs in historic Soulard, torching the sweet glaze to order, a counter-service BBQ joint that draws long.
Session Taco
Order Cali-style street tacos and a margarita.
The Cali-style taco group formerly known as Mission Taco, Session Taco plates street tacos, margaritas and local beer at its Historic Soulard room.
Eat your way around Downtown
2 of the casual dining on this list are in Downtown. So are these tours and tastings.
Peacemaker Lobster & Crab
- ★ 4.3
- Seafood
- $$$
- Benton Park
Order Lobster roll and the New England clam boil.
Gerard Craft's Benton Park seafood shack plates lobster rolls, oysters and a New England clam boil, a casual coastal counter in a landlocked city.
Anthonino's Taverna
Order Toasted ravioli and the Greek-Italian pastas.
A family taverna on The Hill, Anthonino's blends Italian and Greek cooking, from toasted ravioli to spanakopita, a casual room popular with families.
Onesto Pizza & Trattoria
Order Wood-fired Neapolitan-style pizza.
Onesto fires Neapolitan-leaning pizza and Italian plates in a small St. Louis Hills room, a neighbourhood trattoria that draws south-side pizza devotees.
Katie's Pizza & Pasta Osteria
- ★ 4.2
- Italian
- $$$
- Rock Hill
Order Wood-fired pizza and house-made pasta.
Katie Collier's Rock Hill osteria fires blistered pizzas and plates house-made pasta in a buzzy room, a polished casual Italian with several metro branches.
Imo's Pizza
Order St. Louis-style Provel pizza, tavern-cut.
The chain that made St. Louis-style pizza a city standard, Imo's tops cracker-thin crust with Provel cheese, cut in squares, an essential local taste.
Crown Candy Kitchen
Order A hand-made malt and the towering, bacon-heavy BLT.
Open since 1913, Crown Candy is the metro's oldest soda fountain, slinging hand-made malts, a towering BLT and chili in an Old North parlour frozen in time.
Blues City Deli
- ★ 4.4
- Sandwiches
- $
- Benton Park
Order The muffuletta or one of the New Orleans po-boys.
A Benton Park sandwich counter, Blues City turns out New Orleans-style po-boys and muffulettas with live blues some afternoons, a lunch-only institution.
Where to stay in St. Louis
A sample of St. Louis hotels from our booking partner, who list 31,509 here. Live prices and availability open on their site.
OYO Hotel St. Louis Lambert Airport
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Super 8 by Wyndham St. Louis Airport
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Frontdesk - Level on Locust Apts Downtown St. Louis
With a stay at Frontdesk Level on Locust Apts Downtown St. Louis in St. Louis (Downtown St. Louis), you'll...
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Travelodge by Wyndham St. Louis
With a stay at Travelodge by Wyndham St. Louis in St. Louis (Airport Township), you'll be a 4-minute drive ...
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Compare for next weekend: Holidu in St. Louis from USD 106/night · Expedia in St. Louis
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Mom's Deli
Order The Mom's Special with thousand-island dressing.
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.
Gioia's Deli
- ★ 4.5
- Italian Deli
- $
- The Hill
Order The Original Hot Salami sandwich.
A James Beard America's Classics winner on The Hill, Gioia's slices its house Hot Salami onto fresh-baked bread, a sandwich St. Louis treats as a rite.
Grand Bistro
Order A large bowl of pho dac biet with a side of summer rolls.
Andrew Trinh reopened his family's longtime South Grand Vietnamese in the old Pho Grand space, plating familiar pho and rice plates with a cocktail program.
La Vallesana
- ★ 4.2
- Mexican
- $
- Cherokee Street
Order Tacos al pastor with a chicken chipotle torta.
A Cherokee Street taqueria with a sheltered patio, La Vallesana serves tacos al pastor, tortas and aguas frescas, an anchor of the Mexican Cherokee strip.
The Fountain on Locust
Order An ice cream martini and a sandwich.
An Art Deco soda fountain in Grand Center, The Fountain on Locust pairs retro sandwiches and salads with ice-cream martinis and over-the-top sundaes.
Baileys' Range
- ★ 4.0
- Burgers
- $$
- Botanical Heights
Order A grass-fed burger and a spiked shake.
Baileys' Range griddles grass-fed burgers and churns house ice cream for boozy shakes, a build-your-own burger spot that moved from downtown to the Shaw area.
Nothing matches.