Photograph by Katherine Bish
By George Mahe
We all love a restaurant that’s “cozy,” but such a vibe can be elusive, costly and contrived. It can also be as simple, inexpensive and primal as 51 candles and a fireplace. With candles high, low and on your table, “cozy” is indeed the first impression at Off the Vine, a sparse, U-shaped, 60-seat bistro that might otherwise have been branded as “cold.” Then observe the execution: One would not normally expect big-bowled Riedel stemware and a well-trained, well-versed staff in such nondescript surroundings, but when you consider the pedigree (owner John McDonald from Nik’s Wine Bar and chef Andy White from Harvest), you’ll understand. When you consider the array of civilized, but atypical, half-bottles of wine available, you’ll approve. When you realize White’s skill with temperatures and textures, evidenced in his mastery of a chilled beet salad with goat cheese warmed by fryer-hot artichokes, you’ll believe.
2605 Hampton, 314-781-1620, offthevinestl.com. Hours: 7 a.m.–9:30 p.m. Tue–Thu, 7 a.m.–10:30 p.m. Fri & Sat, 7 a.m.–9 p.m. Sun.
