Crown Candy Kitchen is a soda fountain and sandwiches restaurant in Old North, St. Louis.
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.
Must order: A hand-made malt and the towering, bacon-heavy BLT.
Tip: Take the malt challenge or split the BLT. Expect a weekend line at one of the city's oldest counters.
Address: 1401 St Louis Ave, St. Louis, MO 63106
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.
Order: The muffuletta or one of the New Orleans po-boys.
Tip: The muffuletta and po-boys are the orders; arrive before the lunch rush. Live blues plays some afternoons.
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.
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.
Order: The Original Hot Salami sandwich.
Tip: The Original Hot Salami is the order, made from Gioia's own fresh sausage. The line moves fast at lunch.
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.
Order: A large bowl of pho dac biet with a side of summer rolls.
Tip: Order the pho dac biet; the Trinh family ran Pho Grand here for decades before relaunching the room as Grand Bistro.
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.
Order: Tacos al pastor with a chicken chipotle torta.
Tip: The al pastor tacos and the chicken chipotle torta are the orders. The patio suits a warm afternoon.
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.
Order: An ice cream martini and a sandwich.
Tip: The ice cream martinis are the signature; pair one with a sandwich. A good pre-theatre stop.
