Photograph by Katherine Bish
Fifteen years ago, when tapas were virtually an unknown, I invited a friend to a new “tapas bar” (which, naturally, led him to believe we were heading across the river). Today, on both sides of the river, small-plate tapas have pretty much taken over, in many places replacing the almighty entrée. Phil Noe, owner/chef of Mia Rosa, has managed to put a new spin on a concept quite frankly in need of a little fresh air, calling his tapas cicchetti (a synonym familiar only to those acquainted with Venice’s cicchetti bars) and his cuisine the breezy “coastal Italian.” So you might expect monkfish in prosciutto and shrimp-and-basil risotto to be standouts, and they are. What’s most striking here, though, is the mere existence of such a beautiful space in what’s still an undeveloped part of the Grove. Crisp napery, proper flatware, clean lines and enormous windows knit together three same-but-slightly-different rooms into a lovely fabric that, at present, sticks out like an Armani suit at TJ Maxx. We hope the fit is good.
Address: 4501 Manchester
Phone: 314-652-7672
Website: miarosastl.com
Hours: Lunch: Tue-Fri 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Dinner: Tue-Thu 5-10 p.m., Fri & Sat 5-11 p.m.
