Venice Cafe is a cafe restaurant in Benton Park, St. Louis.
Editorially verified May 28, 2026 by Lewis Vaughan, TableJourney editor. Source.
Why locals love it: A Benton Park bar covered floor-to-ceiling in mosaic and folk art, Venice Cafe is a surreal hidden world that few first-time visitors manage to find.
Tip: The art-covered patio is the whole point; come on a warm evening with live music. Cash is handy here.
Address: 1903 Pestalozzi St, St. Louis, MO 63118
Mokabe's Coffeehouse (Vegan) in St Louis: The all-day vegan and vegetarian brunch is rare in the city. It fills after the Saturday Tower Grove market.
Why locals love it: A welcoming, longtime LGBTQ anchor across from Tower Grove Park, Mokabe's serves a rare all-day vegetarian brunch that visitors rarely find on their own.
Tip: The all-day vegan and vegetarian brunch is rare in the city. It fills after the Saturday Tower Grove market.
STL Toasted is in the old mama toscano's space with weekend-only hours, stl toasted is a single-minded toasted-ravioli counter most visitors never time right.
Why locals love it: In the old Mama Toscano's space with weekend-only hours, STL Toasted is a single-minded toasted-ravioli counter most visitors never time right.
Tip: Open only Friday to Sunday; order the t-ravs by the dozen with marinara. It carries on the Hill's ravioli tradition.
Crown Candy Kitchen on St Louis Ave in Old North is the 1913 soda fountain known for hand-made malts, the BLT challenge, and chocolate-coated treats.
Why locals love it: Tourists rarely venture to Old North, but this 1913 soda fountain is the oldest in the metro, worth the trip for hand-made malts and a towering BLT.
Tip: Take the malt challenge or split the BLT. The neighbourhood is sleepy, so it feels like a discovery despite its age.
Taqueria Durango is a taqueria room in Overland. Order the chile-drowned torta ahogada. It sits next to a grocery in a plaza most visitors never find.
Why locals love it: Tucked in an Overland strip mall far from the tourist map, Durango plates a torta ahogada that locals drive across the metro for, under ten dollars.
Tip: Order the chile-drowned torta ahogada. It sits next to a grocery in a plaza most visitors never find.
Balkan Treat Box on Big Bend Blvd in Webster Groves is the Bosnian wood-fired counter from Loryn and Edo Nalic, known for somun and cevapi platters.
Why locals love it: A suburban Webster Groves counter rather than a downtown name, Balkan Treat Box bakes wood-fired somun and cevapi worthy of a James Beard nod.
Tip: The wood-fired somun-based plates are the way in; lines build at lunch. A short drive from the city centre.
Sump Coffee on S Jefferson Ave in Tower Grove South is the spare, no-frills roastery turning out precise light-roast filter coffee for serious drinkers.
Why locals love it: A spare, no-frills roastery far from the cafe circuit, Sump roasts some of the most precise light-roast coffee in the country for those who seek it out.
Tip: This is a place to taste, not to camp; try the filter flight. Buy a bag of the single-origin light roasts to take home.
