The Fountain on Locust is a street-food stop in Grand Center, St. Louis.
An Art Deco soda fountain in Grand Center, The Fountain on Locust pours ice-cream martinis and plates retro sandwiches and over-the-top sundaes.
Tip: The ice cream martinis are the signature; pair one with a sandwich. A good pre-theatre stop in Grand Center.
Address: 3037 Locust St, St. Louis, MO 63103
Baileys' Range griddles grass-fed burgers and churns house ice cream for boozy shakes, a build-your-own burger counter that moved to the Shaw area.
Try: Grass-fed burgers and house ice cream
Tip: Build a burger and chase it with a spiked milkshake. The house ice cream is made without artificial ingredients.
Serving since 1941 on old Route 66, Ted Drewes is the St. Louis frozen-custard landmark, famous for the concrete, a shake handed over upside down.
Try: Frozen custard concretes
Tip: Order a concrete and watch them flip it upside down to prove the thickness. Cash-friendly, often a summer line.
The chain that made St. Louis-style pizza a city standard, Imo's tops cracker-thin crust with Provel cheese, cut in squares. A handy first taste.
Try: St. Louis-style Provel pizza
Tip: Order it tavern-cut into squares to eat it the local way. Provel is the defining St. Louis cheese; this is where to try it.
Adam and Jason Tilford's CWE taco room turns out wood-fired tacos and coastal-Mexican plates in the old Session Taco space, a quick festive corner of Euclid.
Try: Wood-fired tacos and modern Mexican plates
Tip: Order the duck taquitos or a couple of wood-fired tacos at the bar; lunch is brisk, dinner livelier with cocktails.
A Benton Park sandwich counter, Blues City turns out New Orleans-style po-boys and muffulettas with live blues some afternoons, a lunch institution.
Try: Po-boys and muffulettas
Tip: The muffuletta and the po-boys are the orders; arrive before the lunch rush. Live blues plays on 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 regulars.
Try: St. Louis deli sandwiches
Tip: The Mom's Special is the order; the thousand-island dressing is the secret. Expect a line since the 2025 reopening.
