Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
This article appears in St. Louis Magazine's 2020 Dining Guide, published alongside the December issue. Written from an insider's point of view by SLM's dining team, it’s an essential compendium of more than 500 restaurants across the metro region. (The information was current at press time, in late October, though be sure to call ahead or research online as many restaurants' operations have changed frequently during the pandemic.)
1. Call ahead. The information herein was current at press time, in late October. Because restaurants are still facing uncertain times, be sure to call ahead or research online to confirm current status before visiting.
2. Know your service options. This year’s Dining Guide lists service options for each restaurant. “Patio Only” means the dining room was not open but the patio was at press time. “Dine-In” means that indoor dining areas are available, though seating may be limited. “Pickup” refers to in-house carryout and/or curbside pickup. And “Delivery” refers to restaurant-sanctioned delivery only. (Third-party delivery options may still be available in some cases, but the menu prices are often higher than when you’re dealing with the restaurants directly.)
3. Some St. Louis faves are temporarily closed. At press time, some of St. Louis’ most beloved eateries remained temporarily closed, such as Zoë Robinson’s restaurants (Bar Les Frères, I Fratellini, and Billie-Jean), Bogart’s, Southern, The Tenderloin Room, and Tony’s (which is slated to reopen in December at a new location in Clayton).
4. When life shuts a door… Restaurateurs have opened windows, both the walk-up and drive-thru variety, during the pandemic. The former can be found at BEAST Butcher & Block/Wing Runner, Chicken Out, Club Taco, Edera, Epic Pizza & Subs, Grace Meat + Three/Fish, Little Fox, Pi Guy Pizza, Rise Coffee House, Vicia (counter), and Winslow’s Table. Non-chain restaurants with drive-thru windows include Nachomama’s, Pi Pizza + Rico, Wicked Greenz (O’Fallon, Missouri), Yolklore, and Yummi Tummi.
5. Ghost kitchens are emerging. Another concept gaining a local foothold: restaurants without seats, with limited menus focused on pickup and delivery. Ghost kitchens launched this year include Balaban’s at Home, Roast-A-Rama, Playing Ketchup, Sub Division, SugarHi Ghost Kitchen (currently featuring KC Bones), Wing Ding Dong, and Wing Runner.
6. Enjoy a special delivery. As chefs focus on approximating the restaurant experience at home, several have focused on pickup and delivery of special meals. Blood & Sand provides several dinners for two (Date Night to Decadence) for pickup. Bulrush offers a tasting menu for pickup, home delivery, or delivery, park-and-dine–style, in front of the restaurant. Stone Soup Cottage’s “Cottage to Carriage” service delivers coursed meals, complete with linen napkins, a candle, wine, and stemware. And Sidney Street Café provides full meal Dinners for Two for pickup, in addition to à la carte offerings.
7. Food trucks continue to roll. The introduction of 9 Mile Garden, the state’s first food truck garden, spurred a renewed interest in mobile dining. The trucks are open daily for lunch and dinner, and the lineup changes slightly every day. The trucks have become so popular that neighborhood bookings are now commonplace.
8. Neighbors are helping neighbors. Brick-and-mortar restaurants are playing to neighborhood audiences as well. A neighborhood rep arranges for a particular restaurant to deliver meals en masse on a weeknight, and households place their respective orders. A similar concept, To the Table, offers a mystery meal delivery service, featuring Black- and immigrant-owned restaurants, that’s not restricted to a specific neighborhood.
9. Grab a to-go drink. When state liquor laws were relaxed to allow sales of to-go premade alcoholic drinks, restaurants were eager to take advantage of the newfound profit center, with many offering beer, wine, and cocktails to accompany to-go food. The most extensive batched cocktail programs can be found at Blood & Sand, Juniper, Planter’s House, Salt+ Smoke, Vicia, and Yellowbelly.
10. Show love. To remain in business and keep staff employed, restaurants need maximum support from the public. This includes ordering meals/paying a visit during the week, tipping generously (20 percent for carryout and 25 percent for dine-in are the new Covid norms), continuing to order gift cards (for personal use or gifting), and showing kindness and understanding when restaurants might not be performing at their best.
11. Looking ahead. Despite all the upheaval caused by the pandemic, some positives have resulted. Restaurateurs are now addressing the wage and health insurance inequities that have plagued the industry for decades. Restaurants are devising ways to widen razor-thin margins, such as decreasing menu size (and the often voluminous nightly specials), offering cocktails to go, and reenergizing service models with drive-thru lanes, pickup windows, and home delivery. Restaurants have been forced to reexamine and improve their to-go packaging. Reducing the number of in-house guests means more gracious table spacing, lower ambient noise levels, and no more of the dreaded “three deep at the bar” syndrome. There are more (and creative) outdoor dining options than ever before. And across the board, increased safety protocols and sanitation measures have been welcomed and appreciated.
