One of St. Louis’ most lamented restaurant closings is likely to become one of its most-talked about openings.
A year after the beloved Café Osage closed in November 2020, its successor, Bowood by Niche, opened this week, on November 4. The restaurant is the latest installment from Gerard Craft’s Niche Food Group, which now owns or operates six metro area restaurants, plus The Kitchen Bar at City Foundry STL.
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Craft’s new restaurant is a worthy successor to Café Osage, as the chef’s ties to the restaurant run long and deep. The late John McPheeters and his family owned Café Osage. McPheeters was the co-founder of Magnificent Missouri, a state conservation effort that Craft helped launch more than a decade ago and an endeavor that Craft continues to support. Both Craft and Bowood’s executive chef, Dakota Williams, mentioned the importance of paying homage to the man and restaurant that preceded it.
With a quarter-acre garden located a stone’s throw away and an herb garden on its roof, Café Osage was a locavore restaurant in the truest sense. Craft and Williams plans to continue that tradition, honoring McPheeters’ dedication to the farms in the Missouri River Valley.
The restaurant was and is a fantastic and uplifting space. A roomful of divided-light windows lets in abundant natural light—no matter the cloud cover—and affords views of the nursery on one side and the garden shop on the other. There are no bad seats and no bad views. As we took the tour, Craft shook his head and said, “I want to live in this space.”
At first glance, the interior appears to be much the same as it was before, as renovations were made early last year that were never unveiled due to closure from the pandemic. A new bar and a moss-green banquette had already been installed in the retail space. Matching alcove booths were added to the main room, increasing the interior seating to 80. On the walls hang historical plats, wispy paintings of native plants, and old photos.
When weather permits, some of the best tables in the house are located outside, on a chat-topped patio among the abundant nursery plants. In the spring, Craft plans to dress up the area even more, making it an increasingly idyllic spot to dine. In addition, an outdoor oven and grill will help define and confine the space, as well as the service model.
To start, Bowood’s hours will be Thursday through Monday from 9 a.m.–2 p.m., increasing to daily service as staff is hired. (Craft considers himself fortunate that Niche Food Group restaurants serve predominantly dinner, meaning existing labor can be cross-utilized at Bowood.) Dinner service will likely commence in early 2022, following the installation of the oven and grill. Reservations are encouraged at breakfast and lunch, though some walk-in tables are available.
The inaugural 15-item menu is laid out into four categories: Breakfast, Soup & Salad, Sandwiches, and Pastries. There’s the requisite avocado toast and eggs/protein/toast/potatoes offering, but also a riff on eggs Benedict, with prosciutto and brown butter hollandaise. An even more intriguing Italian riff is cacio e pepe eggs, scrambled farm eggs with pecorino and black pepper, served with semolina toast and arugula salad.
Sandwiches include a dry-aged burger, gussied-up roasted turkey, batter-fried spicy tofu (on a hoagie), and an egg sandwich that’s a near replica of the one made famous at the erstwhile Sardella. (Devotees will notice the baked-egg-for-fried-egg-swap.)
Bowood’s three salads come in small and large sizes, while a seasonal soup offering (vegetable barley with winter vegetables to start) comes in a single option, as a $12 bowl.
The accomplished Suji Grant is the pastry chef at Bowood. “She worked the commissary kitchen at Niche Food Group for a time, then Louie, The Last Hotel, and Pint Size Bakery before joining us here,” says Williams, who’s punched the clock at Pastaria, Porano, Sardella, and Nixta. “Suji is one of the most talented pastry chefs in the city by far.” Craft adds, “She came from New York, where she was already doing great things working at Lincoln [Ristorante].”
Bowood’s general manager is Savannah Thomas, an alumna of Cinder House at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis.
The five-star talent agrees that Bowood’s aspirations are simple. Both Craft and Williams emphasize the desire to create the quintessential neighborhood restaurant—OK, maybe taken up a notch or two.
“We want to maintain the feel of a neighborhood-style restaurant while incorporating the refinements of fine dining,” Williams says. “Nothing unfamiliar, nothing too crazy.”
