Gastro, smastro. When gastropubs end up being barely more than basic run-of-the-mill pubs, it’s refreshing when one actually nails the genre. Case in point: Retreat Gastropub in the Central West End. When the house salad contains cubes of butternut squash, matchsticks of green apple, and shards of Twizzler-red pickled onion, it’s a gastropub. When flatbreads are topped with pork shoulder and fennel, it’s a gastropub. When crisscrossed Missouri trout fillets reveal an inexplicably delicious vegetable ragout beneath, it’s a gastropub. And when a smash burger comes with breakfast (bacon and egg), well, that’s just a gas. You’ll fixate on the glowing Edison bulbs illuminating the concrete bar, which masquerades as polished limestone, as well as the strings of 15-watters adding intrigue to versicolor cedar tabletops. At first, you might not notice that wine is served at the proper temperature, 30 craft beers are presented in cans (with appropriate glassware, of course), and house-made thin-cut fries come in hammered-metal cones with two sauces. But once you do, the nebulous entity that foodies call a gastropub will come into sharper focus. 2 N. Sarah, 314-261-4497, retreatgastropub.com.
First Bite: Retreat Gastropub
A gastropub lives up to its name.
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