Down Under Restaurant & Pub is closing after 31 years in Des Peres. The last day of service will be May 31, according to the restaurant’s Facebook page.
Tucked in the back of a strip center 200 yards off Manchester Road, the restaurant’s location made it a destination, not just a place you wandered into. Despite the Aussie name, the restaurant served standard bar and grill fare cloaked in blundstones and akubras (Dundee Burger, Botany Bay Filet, Bushmen’s Chili). Dinner favorites include the ribeye and prime rib; at lunch, it was the Aussie Dip and Cheese Garlic Chook sandwich. (Down Under was the first place we remember seeing the word “chook,” Aussie slang for chicken.)
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Owners Urban and Nanette Cartier are planning to retire. (Urban’s brother Paul owns PJ’s Tavern in Kirkwood.) There were other considerations, though, says Urban, noting that several kitchen staffers had recently moved on. (Asked if there were any children who might be interested in taking over, Urban says he talked them out of getting into the business a long time ago.)
The Facebook announcement encouraged patrons to “please make it in to savor your favorite dish one last time,” even if it’s only for a frosty can of Fosters and an order of the signature Zesty Lemon Pepper Wings.
