The rooms worth a reservation in St. Louis, from neighbourhood bistros to the new classics.
The restaurants worth the trip in St. Louis. bistros, neo-classics, neighbourhood favourites, and the rooms locals book first.
James Beard winner Gerard Craft's Clayton Italian runs on handmade pasta and wood-fired pizza in a busy room. The most reliable Italian table off The Hill.
Order: Handmade pasta of the day with a wood-oven pizza.
Tip: It books up at weekends; the bar and the patio take walk-ins. The next-door Pastaria Deli & Wine handles takeaway.
Acero plates handmade pasta and a deep, off-the-beaten-path Italian wine list in Maplewood. It is the quiet, grown-up Italian dinner locals favour.
Order: House-made pasta and a glass of an obscure Italian varietal.
Tip: The wine list rewards trusting the staff with a regional pick. Reserve on Resy; the room is small.
This DeMun bistro pairs a fiery pizza oven with a tight Italian menu, and its wood-oven roast chicken is among the best in the metro. A neighbourhood room.
Order: The wood-oven roast chicken and the Ramon gnocco.
Tip: It does not take many reservations, so come early or settle in at the bar. The gnocco fritto is close to mandatory.
Opened in 1985 and credited as the first Vietnamese restaurant in St. Louis, Mai Lee runs a vast menu of pho, bun and canh chua that sets the local standard.
Order: Salt-and-pepper calamari, pho, and canh chua sour soup.
Tip: The menu runs to hundreds of items; the salt-and-pepper calamari and the sour soup are the orders to anchor a table around.
A Benton Park gathering place for 25 years, Frazer's pairs a globe-trotting comfort menu with one of the better cocktail programmes on the south side.
Order: The cioppino loaded with mussels, clams, shrimp and squid.
Tip: It is a neighbourhood room that fills with regulars; reserve at weekends and ask the bar what is being shaken that night.
A Hill institution tied to the toasted-ravioli origin story, Charlie Gitto's plates red-sauce Italian classics in a clubby room. The t-ravs draw first-timers.
Order: Toasted ravioli, which the restaurant claims to have popularised.
Tip: Reserve for dinner; the dining room fills with regulars and out-of-town pilgrims. Start with the toasted ravioli and a Caesar.
A family-run Hill room going since 1985, Zia's plates generous Italian-American spiedini and pasta. The everyday Hill table locals lean on over the big names.
Order: Toasted ravioli and the chicken spiedini.
Tip: Reservations are taken for parties of eight or more only, so expect a wait at peak. The chicken spiedini is the house signature.
Open on The Hill since 1989, Gian-Tony's serves Southern Italian veal, chicken and seafood from a chef-owner who still runs the kitchen most nights.
Order: Veal and pasta plates from chef-owner Tony Catarinicchia.
Tip: Reserve for the small dining room and ask after the night's veal preparation. Closed early in the week, so plan a Wednesday-to-Sunday visit.
Loryn and Edo Nalic bake somun in a wood-fired oven and turn out cevapi and lahmacun, a James Beard-recognised take on Bosnian and Turkish street food.
Order: Wood-fired somun bread with cevapi and a lahmacun flatbread.
Tip: The bread comes straight from the oven, so the somun-based plates are the way in. Lines build at lunch; go early or late.
Pappy's smokes Memphis-style ribs over apple and cherry wood in Midtown and lands on national BBQ lists. The ribs are the order, and they sell out daily.
Order: Dry-rubbed ribs smoked over apple and cherry wood.
Tip: Arrive before noon at weekends; they smoke a fixed amount each day and close when it is gone. Cash and card both work.
Salt + Smoke smokes brisket over post oak for 16 hours in the Delmar Loop and pairs it with a deep bourbon list. The city's leading new-school BBQ name.
Order: Post-oak brisket with the fried pimento-cheese balls.
Tip: Brisket sells out, so save a spot on the waitlist or come early. The bourbon and beer list is as much the draw as the meat.
Hodak's has won Riverfront Times reader polls for best fried chicken since the 1990s. The family-run Gravois corner room is a no-frills temple to the bird.
Order: The fried chicken dinner with sides.
Tip: The fried chicken is the only thing most regulars order; pair it with the slaw and a cold draft. Expect a wait on Friday nights.
David Choi's 2011 food truck grew into a small Korean-Mexican chain built on bulgogi tacos and kimchi-fried-rice bowls. The Chouteau kitchen is the original.
Order: The Seoul taco and the gogi bowl with bulgogi.
Tip: The gogi bowl feeds two if you are light eaters; add the chips and queso. Counter service, fast turnaround.
Rick and Elisa Lewis run this Grove meat-and-three around some of the best fried chicken in Missouri, ordered at the counter. Rick is a James Beard nominee.
Order: The fried chicken and a rotating trio of vegetable sides.
Tip: It is counter service; the half chicken plus three sides feeds two. Smoked meats sell through, so come early on weekends.
Lu Lu has run cart-rolled dim sum and Cantonese seafood on the Olive Boulevard Chinese strip for years. The weekend dim sum draws regulars to University City.
Order: Cart-rolled dim sum at lunch and the salt-and-pepper shrimp.
Tip: Come for weekend dim sum before noon for the fullest carts. Salt-and-pepper dishes and steamed fish are the standouts off the menu.
The Bahrami family has plated Persian kabobs, fesenjan and herbed stews on South Grand for decades, anchoring the restaurant row of Tower Grove South.
Order: Fesenjan and kabobs over saffron rice with eggplant dishes.
Tip: The vegetarian stews and the eggplant dishes are as strong as the kabobs. South Grand is best explored on foot before or after.
Sameem plates Afghan kabuli palaw, aushak dumplings and grilled kabobs in The Grove, an affordable kitchen that has fed the city Afghan classics for years.
Order: Aushak leek dumplings, kabuli palaw and sambosas.
Tip: The aushak leek dumplings under yogurt and meat sauce are the order to lead with. Plenty of vegetarian dishes too.
STL Toasted took over the old Mama Toscano's space on The Hill and built a counter entirely around toasted ravioli, the breaded-and-fried dish born here.
Order: Toasted ravioli, the dish the shop is built around.
Tip: Hours are limited to the weekend, so plan a Friday-to-Sunday visit. Order the t-ravs by the dozen with marinara.
Mama Adriana Fazio opened this Shaw Avenue sandwich shop over 30 years ago, and her daughters still run it. The foot-long subs are a Hill lunch institution.
Order: The Sicilian sub and a cup of the day's soup.
Tip: It is lunch only and closes mid-afternoon; the line moves fast. Get the Sicilian sub and split it.