Courtesy Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton
Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton will open this fall in the former Sheraton Plaza location. Construction is still underway, but the new hotel has just announced plans for its restaurant, Café la Vie, which will serve “European classics with a St. Louis flavor.”
Courtesy Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton
Executive chef Michael Frank will take the helm in the kitchen. This will be Frank’s first time wearing the executive chef hat, running the kitchen at Café La Vie and catering events hosted across Le Meridien’s 17,000 square feet of meeting spaces.
Frank spent 12 years working around North America, including cooking at Denali National Park and later at exclusive resort The Phoenician in Scottsdale, Arizona. He later worked under James Beard–winning chef Mark Kiffin at The Compound in Santa Fe before returning to St. Louis as chef de cuisine at Farmhaus. His most recent post was as executive sous chef at the Angad Arts Hotel’s Grand Tavern, where he spent time working with acclaimed chef David Burke.
In addition to juggling the responsibilities of maintaining the hotel’s high standards and overseeing every dish that leaves the kitchen, Frank says he’ll be focusing on nurturing the talents of his team.
“I want them to feel like they're a part of watching this hotel and this new restaurant grow and flourish," he says, "so they can have a sense of ownership, just like I do.”
Initially, the restaurant will offer a limited menu for breakfast and dinner service. Lunch and brunch may be added at a later date, once the COVID-19 pandemic has eased.
Frank says one pillar of the restaurant’s offerings will be “artisanal, technique-driven small-plate offerings.” The kitchen will utilize products from farms across the region, with an emphasis on seasonality.
“We have a ton of local creameries in the Illinois and Missouri area that produce world-class cheeses, so we'll be showcasing a lot of that,” Frank says. “We'll be doing some fun takes on French and European classics, such as tartines, rillettes, pates, and different dishes like that.”
Breakfast (available 6–11 a.m.) will feature grab-and-go items, such as pastries, overnight oats, and yogurt parfaits. The team is currently doing tastings with local bakeries to create signature pastries. “That’s been a really grueling process,” quips hotel general manager Andrew Hargis. Coffee will also be available at the restaurant's Gourmet Coffee Bar.
Frank is also developing a la carte breakfast offerings, including a sweet and savory pain perdu (French toast) with pork belly confit and a signature breakfast croissant sandwich. “You'll be able to find your traditional fare to accommodate people that want that, but for the more adventurous breakfast diner we'll have some fun options,” Frank says.
The dinner menu will include the aforementioned small plates, as well as such entrées as a “decadent, French-inspired burger.” Since the menu is still awaiting final approval, Frank says he couldn’t provide more details about the burger, only that “you might need a knife and fork to eat it.” The dinner offerings will be rounded out with a rotating selection of gelatos from the restaurant’s gelato cart, as well as dessert cocktails.
Robert Etter, the hotel's director of outlets, is building Le Meridien’s bar program. Etter was most recently at the Hyatt Regency downtown, after working at Robust Wine Bar, Olio, and Elaia. “We're taking a modern approach to European classics and a historical nod to the French aperitif bar while maintaining a focus on European cocktail culture,” Hargis says. The hotel is working with distillers including Una Vida Tequila and 1220 Artisan Spirits to develop signature cocktails.
The hotel’s “Sparkling Program” will be a daily happy hour running from 4–7 p.m. and featuring six sparkling drinks—wines, cocktails, and two non-alcoholic drinks—with small plates offered as well.
Hargis says Café la Vie’s offerings will reflect the European-inspired ethos that runs across Le Meridien brand’s hotels. “When you're traveling in Europe, there's the coffee shop that you can go to in the morning, where you're grabbing your espresso and your pastry," Hargis says. "And then maybe you head out for work and when you come back after work, in the afternoon, that same coffee bar has transitioned into an evening aperitif bar, and you can have a cocktail and some dinner. That sparkling hour is the transition between the two.”
Courtesy Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton
The restaurant will seat 120 at full capacity, including the bar area and a private dining room, which will seat an estimated 18 to 22 diners. (Hargis notes that the hotel will follow whatever regulations regarding dine-in business are in place locally when Café la Vie opens.)
The team is also developing a contactless ordering system to allow guests to use their mobile phones to view menus, place orders, and pay. In time, Hargis says this approach could potentially be extended, so guests could order food and drinks poolside, from their hotel rooms, or even from nearby offices.
Café La Vie and Le Meridien are slated to open at the end of September, with the hotel’s 268 rooms available for bookings beginning October 1.
Courtesy Le Meridien St. Louis Clayton
