SteakhouseChef Lou Rook III$$$$$45-95Tue-Sat 11:00-22:00, Sun 11:00-21:00, closed MonBook 1 week ahead
Chef Lou Rook's Chesterfield mainstay works as both a serious steakhouse and a market-driven kitchen, with a Wine Spectator award-winning cellar for years.
Tip: It is a drive west of the city but worth it for the wine; reserve a window table. The attached Smokehouse Market sells the meats.
SteakhouseChef House kitchen$$$$$60-120Mon-Sat 16:00-22:00, Sun 16:00-21:00Book 1 week ahead
801 Chophouse plates USDA Prime beef, Wagyu and jet-fresh seafood in a clubby Clayton room with a Wine Spectator-awarded list. The expense-account steakhouse.
Tip: Reserve through OpenTable; the bone-in cuts and the seafood tower are the splurges. Jacket-optional but the room is dressy.
SteakhouseChef House kitchen$$$$$50-100Tue-Thu 11:00-14:00, Tue-Thu 17:00-21:00, Fri 11:00-14:00, Fri 17:00-22:00, Sat 17:00-22:00, Sun 17:00-21:00, closed MonBook 1 week ahead
A clubby steakhouse inside the historic Chase Park Plaza, The Tenderloin Room has plated the pepperloin and tableside Caesar for generations of St. Louisans.
Tip: Dress up; this is a special-occasion room. The pepperloin is the signature, finished tableside.
Modern EuropeanChef House team$$$$$60-110Tue-Thu 07:00-22:00, Fri-Sat 07:00-23:00, closed Sun-MonBook 1 to 2 weeks ahead
Commonwealth fills the Angad Arts Hotel ground floor in Grand Center with a modern European menu that draws on more than 50 Commonwealth nations.
Tip: Pair dinner with a show across the street at the Fox or Powell Hall; reserve on OpenTable. The room runs 4-10pm Tue-Thu and 4-11pm Fri-Sat.
Tasting menuChef Carl McConnell$$$$$295Book 3 to 4 weeks ahead
The former Stone Soup Cottage in Cottleville reopened as Le Champ De Fleurs, a tiny destination serving a fixed monthly tasting menu by reservation only.
Tip: Seatings are limited and book a month ahead; the menu is a set monthly tasting, so there are no a la carte options.
New AmericanChef House kitchen$$$$$35-70Sun-Thu 16:00-21:00, Fri-Sat 16:00-22:00Book 1 week ahead
Eclipse plates modern American cooking inside the boutique Moonrise Hotel in the Delmar Loop, with a rooftop bar above. A polished pre-show Loop dinner.
Tip: Pair dinner with a rooftop drink at the Twilight Room upstairs. Reserve on OpenTable; the Loop fills on event nights.