St. Louis Hills has a new Korean restaurant. Café Ganadara recently opened at 6413 Hampton, in the space formerly occupied by Yapi Mediterranean Subs and Sandwiches. Here’s what to know before you go.
The Concept
Find the best food in St. Louis
Subscribe to the St. Louis Dining In and Dining Out newsletters to stay up-to-date on the local restaurant and culinary scene.
The name refers to the first four letters in the Korean alphabet—simple as A-B-C-D. Owners Erica Park and Sean Lee, who also own nearby Chicken Seven, wanted a place to showcase more Korean foods, different from the menu at their other restaurant, which specializes in Korean chicken.
“I know a lot of people would like to try Korean food, but places are very limited, mostly in Creve Coeur and Olivette,” says Park, who wanted to incorporate healthier cooking methods for some items, as well as reasonable prices. “We wanted something open early for healthy Korean breakfast foods and late for snacks, with special lunch offerings during the week.”
The Menu
The menu includes Korean desserts, small bites, breakfasts toasts, lunch specials, nonalcoholic drinks, and Korean shaved ice.
The signature Ganadara Korean okonomi toast (pictured at right) features an egg patty with ham, lightly cooked cabbage and carrot shreds, slices of pickled jalapeño, and a kick of umami from bonito flakes, freshly shaved from a dried bonito fish. Park says breakfast toast sandwiches are especially popular with students in Korea. “They’re easy to eat on the go, and they’re healthy,” she says.
Sweet and savory croffles—a mashup of a croissant and waffle—are served all day and into the evening. “They’re the most popular food delivered to homes and apartments in Seoul,” says Park, who lightly coats unbaked croissants with with granulated sugar, placed them in a waffle iron, and cooks them to crispness on both sides. The sweet ones are topped with freshly made whipped cream and such toppings as grapes, strawberry, banana, Nutella, Korean red bean curd, and Oreo and Lotus Biscoff cookies. Savory options include a four-cheese and a basil pesto version, with grated cheese, olive oil, and red chili flakes.
Among the desserts, bingsu (pictured at right) is a creamy Korean dessert made with fine shavings of a sweet frozen milk base. The flakes look like soft snow and slowly melt on the tongue. Topping options include strawberry, mango, Oreo, green tea, and Injeolmi. “Bingsu was my pregnancy crave food when I carried our daughter, Olivia,” says Park. “Here in St. Louis, places in Olivette and Creve Couer sell it, but I wanted something closer to home.”
There’s also a range of Korean lunch specials available from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Monday through Friday:
- Monday: The Kimbap Combo (pictured at right) includes Korean sushi made with tuna, bulgogi, and fried tofu, served with Tteokpoki (‘spicy rice cake stew’ that resembles pasta, with large pounded rice noodles in a spicy sauce.)
- Tuesday: Japchae, a dish of glass noodles made from sweet potatoes stir fried with veggies and beef or tofu served over rice, is available spicy or mild.
- Wednesday: Dakglabi is a chicken stew served over rice and glass noodles.
- Thursday: ChiBap is fried boneless chicken over rice served with a nice slaw.
- Friday: Donkatsu is a fried pork cutlet with Korean sauce served over rice that comes with a salad.
And look for grab-and-go items, available in bento boxes, in the future.
As for the drinks? Order La Colombre coffee hot, iced, or in lattes. Teas, also served hot or iced, include London Fog, Ginger Honey, or Green Tea. Feeling adventurous? Order the Dalgona latte (pictured at right), covered with house-made honeycomb candy, made famous by Squid Game. For the yuzu fruit tea and grapefruit tea, Park mixes the citrus fruits with a little honey and serves the drinks in a tall glass with ice and bits of fruit. “Chew the yuzu,” she says. “It’s good.”
The Atmosphere
The intimate space seats 20 inside, with a few more on the patio deck. (Park and Lee plan to refurbish the deck this spring.) A pedestal table near the counter offers seating for six, but white marble two-top tables with comfy seating fill most of the space, from the front window to the service counter. A menu listing the day’s specials also sits near the register, where an adjacent bakery case houses an inviting display of croffles.
A tumble of letters spelling out “Ganadara” in grays and black decks out the soffit in the front seating area. Park also plans to decorate the walls with prints of Seoul street scenes. A stack of vintage steamer trunks sits below a circular cutout holding a minimalist arrangement of two sculptural bundles of books, pages turned outward to make a fluted column tied with twine. In the entry is a vintage camera with film cans. “It’s our security camera,” Park quips.
Overhead, a contemporary soundtrack plays at a level perfect for conversation and enjoying the new neighborhood café’s offerings.
