A first look at The Train Shed at Union Station

The contemporary American restaurant, part of the new St. Louis Aquarium development, is slated to open November 18.

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Serving contemporary American cuisine, The Train Shed at Union Station will open November 18. The restaurant is the second dining spot to open within the confines of the renovated complex, following the launch of Soda Fountain in October.

The restaurant is operated by Lodging Hospitality Management (LHM), which is adding the aquarium development and its dining venues to its already impressive roster of St. Louis eateries including Three Sixty at Hilton at the Ballpark; Basso, Boundary, and Fox & Hounds at The Cheshire; and Westport Social at Westport Plaza.

Train Shed is located in the former Houlihan's space on the northeast corner of the lake at Union Station, with entrances from the lake and, eventually, from the St. Louis Aquarium. Large windows overlook the lake, but there’s also a lot to admire inside the restaurant.

The design, by Lawrence Group, combines Art Deco influences with more modern touches. The bar is stunning and will only look better once the shelves are filled. A lattice-style ceiling, pillars, and booths fitted with green leather and wood appear to be callbacks to Union Station’s heyday as a transport hub.

“There are very subtle nods to the original function,” says general manager Jenny Martyn, who's also worked at Three Sixty, Basso, and Westport Social.

One standout is the restaurant’s capacity. With seating for more than 200 diners inside and out, Train Shed can also host multiple large parties at one time.

“A lot of restaurants either don't have the space or seating to be able to accommodate 10 to 12 people in multiple places in the restaurant,” says Blaise Pastoret, LHM's director of restaurants.

Executive chef Russel Cunningham describes the menu, which will feature around 40 items, as “eclectic sports bar” fare, with upscale takes on a range of appetizers, pizzas and barbecue dishes.

“With the location close to the Enterprise Center, we're going to pull a lot of the crowd from there, along with the aquarium and the [St. Louis Union Station] Hotel and the soccer stadium as well,” Cunningham says. “So we're gearing it toward that crowd, but not with your same old chicken wings with the celery and carrots and blue cheese.”

Cunningham has worked with Train Shed’s head chef, Patrick Russell (formerly of The Chocolate Pig), to develop the menu. The Texas-born duo couldn’t resist a callout to their home state, and the resulting country fried steak is predictably huge and hearty. It's coated in a buttermilk batter and topped with a rich, salty sausage gravy, with mashed potatoes on the side. Considering the size, you'll almost certainly leave with leftovers. The chefs are reluctant to choose one dish as their favorite, but they clearly have a soft spot for this taste of home. “Some days I could eat four of them,” Russell says.

Russell also added his own touches to a number of appetizers. The roasted Brussels sprouts is one example. Russell’s twist was the accompanying romesco sauce, made with red peppers and almonds and topped with Parmesan and crushed almonds.

Some items take inspiration from favorite local dishes, with surprising results. The Smokehouse Burger is a beef burger but prepared in similar fashion to a pork steak. The patty is infused with a delicious smokiness, basted in a sweet barbecue sauce then barbecued some more. The burger is topped with melted cheese, red and yellow tomatoes, and onions served on a brioche bun.

A steak slider is a nod to French onion soup, another St. Louis institution. “The rolls are little caramelized onion rolls, topped with sliced ribeye, Gruyere cheese, and a demi-glace to give you that meaty, brothy flavor you get from French onion soup,” Cunningham explains.

Cunningham says the kitchen will be using all the local produce it can get. There will be goat cheese and feta from Baetje Farms, mozzarella and aged cheeses from Marcoot Jersey Creamery, mushrooms from Ozark Forest Mushrooms, and local heirloom tomatoes. “There's a guy over in Illinois who's hothousing through the wintertime now, so I can even get those tomatoes all year long,” Cunningham says.

The salmon with citrus butter sauce was the lightest of the dishes we tried but carried the most subtle combination of flavors. The salmon is cut into small fillets for grilling and placed on a bed of local grape tomatoes, black and green olives, and a lemon butter sauce. A drizzle of basil oil lends additional flavor.

As with other venues run by LHM, bar program manager Kyle Mathis takes charge of the cocktails. At Train Shed, he’s come up with a list of 25 classic cocktails served in exquisite glassware, all under $10. The approach to drinks is about doing those classic cocktails well, rather than reinventing the wheel.

“It was more just trying to allocate the right spirits in the back bar,” Pastoret says. “Do it well at high volume at the right price.”

A premium line of reserve cocktails is also available, featuring top-end spirits, with prices running closer to $20.

Pastoret says Train Shed won’t have too much in terms of dessert, but hey, that’s what Soda Fountain is for, so take a walk around the lake to round off your meal with some Clementine’s ice cream or a Freak Shake. Soda Fountain appears to be doing a brisk business, with families waiting for tables at lunchtime on the day that we visited, and Cunningham and Russell anticipate Train Shed being busy from Day 1.

Cunningham says a visit to Chattanooga with other LHM managers gave him a vision of neighborhood regeneration that he hopes Union Station and the aquarium development can help bring to life.

“They built an aquarium in downtown Chattanooga, where it was completely dead, no business or anything else,” the chef says. “They've gone from that to the point that the street that leads up to the aquarium is all bars and restaurants for miles. They've even added a free trolley that goes up and down to get you from the aquarium to the other end of Main Street.”

Work continues on the St. Louis Aquarium, which is currently being targeted for a mid-December launch. With the aquarium will come the food court-style 1894 Cafe, the final addition to Union Station’s dining package—for now at least.

For the first two weeks of operation, Train Shed will be open for dinner service only. Full lunch and dinner service will launch around December 2.

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