The romance of Provence in a room with a view
By Dave Lowry
Get a table, if you can, in the small room with windows looking directly into the kitchen at Vin de Set. It’s an enjoyable view of the innards of a thoroughly competent, first-rate restaurant. If you can’t be seated there, you’ll still see the evidence in what arrives on your plate. Owners Paul and Wendy Hamilton—you may know them from their other Lafayette Square establishment, Eleven Eleven Mississippi—took a chance on a nondescript warehouse on an industrial strip of Chouteau and have transformed it in less than a year into one of the most talked-about eateries in the area. That kitchen, the interior, service and, most important, the food are all something to talk about.
The al fresco space at the top-floor restaurant, with its individual fire pits and heaters for cold weather, is already a favorite St. Louis gathering spot. The distant view of the Arch and downtown is scenic, the up-close jumble of rundown businesses and empty warehouse hulks less so. Inside, brick walls and exposed wood, including a towering cupola, make the main room look larger than it is. Unfortunately, the windows are more like portholes, but long swags, pleasant artwork and a combination of nicely spaced tables and corner banquettes make for an attractive, formal atmosphere. Your wait for a table—we were there by 5:30 on a weekend night, and the place was already bustling—is made easier by a pleasant bar, crowned by a pint-size replica of the Forest Park statue of Louis IX.
The menu—a mixture of Provence-inspired and bistro-style offerings that chef Ivy Magruder describes on the restaurant’s website as “an approachable interpretation of southern French cuisine”—is manageable, and nearly everything tempts; you’ll find yourself not only choosing the night’s courses, but also planning what you’ll have next time. The food is consistently delicious, and the presentations are attractive.
Bouillabaisse ($20) is touted as a chef’s favorite. “Authentic” recipes for the dish are more numerous than starlets in rehab. Here, though, the kitchen goes with one that foregoes any shellfish, aside from what’s used in making the broth. That broth, fragrant and graced with generous touches of butter, saffron and fennel, is superb. The fish—turbot, corvina and swordfish—is cooked properly, and the slices of tomato and leeks are deftly prepared to retain their texture and taste. Crunchy slices of toasted bread topped with a fiery aioli are a perfect finishing touch. Not since the glory days of the old Café de France has such a good rendition of bouillabaisse been available around here.
Another tempting seafood selection is the seared tuna steak with a pea-and-artichoke ragout. Yellowtail snapper, a delicious reef fish that appears only rarely on local menus, is presented here cooked whole with an almond- and grape-spiked cognac. A chunk of salmon, which is grilled to a fleshy ruby flakiness, is enhanced by a side of green beans cooked perfectly the French way (just till tender, with lots of butter).
The flatiron steak with frites would do any bistro proud, the meat’s crust beautifully browned, the slivers of potato crunchy and salty. What makes the meal outstanding, though, is a sauce of butter and caramelized shallots that is both ruinously rich and just right to complement the meat. Three fist-size chunks of pork tenderloin are arranged on a bed of parsnip gratin topped with melting brie and studded with mushrooms, all drizzled with a port demiglace that adds depth to the pork. A roasted leg of lamb will please the many fans of this meat, even more so because of a creative side of white-bean cassoulet and a mint pistou. The latter’s a Provençal take on pesto, a satisfying mash of mint, olive oil and salt that complements the roast lamb admirably. If you dislike dining on innocent lamb, go for the innocent calf instead, a veal cutlet with a balsamic vinegar–and–port reduction and a hearty barley risotto ($18).
Among the appetizers, pass on the toasted lobster ravioli. The interior is stuffed with goat cheese and lobster, but the former completely overwhelms the latter. Escargots are a delight, served in a puddle of garlicky butter around a ring of airy puff pastry. Crêpes are also offered as a starter, along with a cheese plate that, with a side of tart pickled vegetables and bread, presents several varieties, including a firm, evenly textured Camembert deserving of special mention. Though excellent, the cheese would work better as a dessert course, but the crêpes are just right to begin a meal. Recommended: crêpes rolled around sliced wild mushrooms and stalks of steamed asparagus and covered in a light, herby hollandaise sauce. Even better: crêpes stuffed with juicy duck confit and julienned zucchini and slathered with a Champagne-and-mustard sauce. Salads are worthwhile, especially the frisée–and–roasted red pepper mixture tossed with a sherry vinaigrette and topped with goat cheese and crispy bacon.
Desserts include several good ice creams and seasonal sorbets. A tarte Tatin, the pâté brisée flaky and buttery, was enjoyable, save for the fact that, inexplicably, it was cold. A cold tarte Tatin is like warm vodka—or modern German cinema. What’s the point?
The wine list at Vin de Set is adequate, the prices even better. Our waiter knowledgeably tipped us to an affordable ’03 Côtes du Rhone from négociant Kermit Lynch. It’s hard to go wrong with one of Lynch’s imports. They are usually a subtle repudiation of the big, brassy California reds, and this one was all flowers and berries on the tongue, a typical and enjoyable café-type vintage.
The long waits (even with reservations) and uneven service reported early on appear to have been ironed smooth. We were seated promptly, and the service was both gracious and professional. A restaurant of this nature is bound to draw intense scrutiny. It’ll be fun to see how Vin de Set, off to a delicious start, continues to keep such an admirable pace.
Address: 2017 Chouteau
Website: vindeset.com
Phone: 314-241-8989
Average main course: $18
Reservations: Tougher than your Aunt Edna’s baked chicken. Plan at least a couple of weeks in advance.
Dress: As Sammy Johnson would have—“familiar but not coarse, elegant but not ostentatious”
Bottom line: Possibly the hottest restaurant in the city, with French-inspired and bistro-style offerings in an intimate, pleasant setting
