Summer is the time to visit Akar, chef Bernie Lee's new Clayton gem

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Courtesy Akar

The 30-seat patio at Akar, located near Wydown and Hanley in Clayton, beckons on pleasant summer evenings. The alfresco area offers more than twice the seating of the 12-seat modern interior, where chef Bernie Lee serves up his own style of home cooking.

Photo by Ann Lemons Pollack

Lee, who was raised in Malaysia after his family moved there from China, says the restaurant reflects what he likes to cook and eat. 

Ponder the Rangoon Ravioli, combining two St. Louis favorites. Lee uses lobster rather than imitation crab and a creamier filling, with a slightly tart mango sauce. 

The short rib is tender but not quite falling apart, with a demi-glace that includes red wine and a note of star anise. An entire head of roasted garlic rides shotgun, and the brilliant green underpinning is mashed peas. A few small roasted carrots finish the dish.

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Courtesy Akar

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Courtesy Akar

Photo by Ann Lemons Pollack

Mama Lee’s Noodles include a vegetarian “meatball," though it’s the noodles themselves that lure, tossed with a gentle sauce somewhere between peanut and sesame. The presentation of rolled noodles is topped with shredded cured egg yolk and wears shiitake mushrooms as a fine accessory.

Lunchtime brings such offerings as banh mi sandwiches with baguettes baked to order. Tangy-sweet lemongrass chicken was nigh perfect, though we could also have opted for bulgogi beef or more of those meatballs.

Shiitakes also appear as part of a sticky rice side, the rice mixed with ground chicken, all deeply aromatic. The side might double as a small entrée or part of a tapas-style dinner, with other sides such as roasted cauliflower, more of those carrots, or such appetizers as soft-shell crab with chili sauce, a variant on Singapore’s signature chili crab.

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Courtesy Akar

The Coconut Chocolate Fudge dessert brings together bananas and chocolate, an oft-underappreciated combo. Lee's rich chocolate ice cream is made with coconut, and the bananas are bruléed, their cut sides sugared and run under a flame for caramelization. A drift of crumble adds to the textural dance.

Alluring bread pudding—tender, warm, and studded with blueberries—reminds one how satisfying this dessert can be.

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Photo by Ann Lemons Pollack

Bread pudding with blueberry compote and fresh blueberries

Creative cocktails are among the drink options, though the pale but zippy Gerard Bertrand rosé from Languedoc is also a nice compliment. Or consider coffee with dessert—or Sunday brunch.

Between lunch and dinner, from 2 to 5:30 p.m., the Snack Time portion of the menu offers Shiitake Croquettes, Daikon Tsukemono, Iran Bilis, Karrage, and Beet Root Hummus.

Whatever the time of day, the food is exciting to the palate, and the hospitality is warming to the soul. Just be sure to get there early: At press time, those outside tables are first come, first served.

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