Ask George: Are tasting menus still popular in St. Louis restaurants?

Are tasting menus still popular in local restaurants? —Josh D., St. Louis

First, a few definitions are in order. A “tasting menu” is a descendant of the “prix fixe menu,” which is a coursed meal for a fixed price that offers choices within most courses. Think of a tasting menu as a “chef’s choice prix fixe,” in which the chef chooses smaller portions of a handful of items (as opposed to full courses) for a fixed price. Many diners use the two terms interchangeably, but there are differences.

During the pandemic, when restaurant seats were limited, some chefs shifted to tasting menus, partly as a way to keep the doors open, because they were predicated on specific dishes and required customers to make reservations, which streamlined planning and inventory control. In short, they were very efficient, and the public–anxious for any kind of restaurant experience–responded.

Today, the landscape has changed, and it’s safe to say that nearly all restaurants have raised prices and the majority reluctantly continue to do so, resulting in $15 fast food meals and burgers priced in the high teens (or higher) elsewhere. The result: Customers have altered their habits and preferences.

At Vicia, after several years of offering the three-course Farmers Feast as the only dining option, the restaurant will transition to a la carte service beginning May 16 (though a “let us cook for you” option will still be available). As the raw costs of the Farmers Feast drifted upward, the Take Root Hospitality team felt the need to make Vicia more accessible to more diners. “It’s important to all of us to go back and be more approachable,” chef-partner Michael Gallina said in this article. “The Farmers Feast has been incredible; it’s sparked creativity, and seeing what the farmers have and writing menus fresh for every table was fun, but with food and labor costs spiking over years, it’s had to become more expensive. Our vision at the beginning was never to be something people couldn’t participate in.” To that end, TRH recently opened the moderately priced Taqueria Morita next door to Vicia and plans to open the wine-and-snack concept Vicia Wine Garden on the property in the coming weeks.

At The Lucky Accomplice, chef-owner Logan Ely began tinkering with tasting menus in 2022 (as an homage to his prior restaurant, SHIFT), which eventually ratcheted up to seven- and 10-course options. Ely, too, is again focusing on a la carte service. “We are expanding our a la carte menu to mirror what The Lucky Accomplice used to be,” he tells SLM. “We are still offering a set tasting menu, but I think—for now—it’s better for us to offer both. We can cook for more people offering a la carte.”

At Blood & Sand, owner Tim Murphy and chef Jon Dreja offer a five- and 10-course tasting menu, as well as a la carte service, plus a bar menu. Murphy says the five-course option continues to be the biggest seller, “where the diner can savor many unique dishes in one sitting at an attractive price without being too stuffed.” He adds that couples will order different items from the smaller menu and share them, “effectively turning five courses into ten, and then come back another time to order their favorites.”

A handful of other restaurants offer tasting and prix fixe menus as well:

• Predicated on its seven-course tasting menu, Rob Connoley’s Bulrush deserves its reputation as the zenith of experiential dining in St. Louis. It’s no coincidence that Connoley was named one of five finalists for the 2024 “Best Chef: Midwest” award from the James Beard Foundation, the only local chef or restaurant to make it beyond the semifinals.
• In addition to a la carte service, both of Jim Fiala’s restaurants, The Crossing and Acero, offer two different tasting menus as well.
•  In Kirkwood, Peppe’s Apt. 2 offers a variety of coursed meals (two to five courses), as well as a seven- and 10-course tasting menu.
• At Mainlander in the Central West End, owners Blake Askew and Gordon Chen provide an immersive, nostalgic experience via a mid-20^th century–themed tasting menu that changes from month to month. Especially after its James Beard Award nomination for Best New Restaurant (a national category), securing a reservation at the 18-seater is difficult but eminently worthwhile.
• And when Nobu’s moved into smaller digs on the Delmar Loop, the menu shifted to three-, four-, and six-course omakase menus, an experience that SLM dining critic Dave Lowry called “positively ceremonial.” 

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