Form Skybar opened atop the Hotel Saint Louis this week in a rooftop space that was at one time a conservatory. The 125-seat room offers scenic views of downtown, down river, and Busch Stadium. (Some guests joked they could just hang out there until Opening Day.)
The bar’s outfitted with six bold chandeliers, faux wood-finished floors, and a dramatic backlit onyx back bar. Guests will find a variety of seating options, from leatherette barstools to stylish standards with transparent amber backs. Tables large and small, high and low, accommodate groups of all sizes. (Executive chef Matt Birkenmeier says Form has already booked reservations for tables of 10, 12, and 15 before and after the Garth Brooks concert this weekend.)
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The menu is a collaboration of Birkenmeier and Josh Schindler (pictured above), Form’s chef de partie. (Schindler hails from Three Sixty, Quincy Street Bistro, and the hotel’s Union 30 restaurant.) The 20-item menu (which differs from the menu downstairs) pays tribute to the city’s history and its international roots with small-bite fare, such as Mississippi Crawfish Nachos in a Can, Cherokee Street tacos, a recreation of Famous-Barr’s John White Burger, and cevapi (its sausages sourced from a local Bosnian meat market). Dishes are prepared in Form’s own rooftop kitchen to help assure prompt service times and appropriate food temperatures.
Restaurant director Barry Strange assembled Form’s cocktail list. Like the menu, it’s different than the offerings at Union 30.
“The downstairs bar showcases Pre-Prohibition era spirits and cocktails,” Strange explains, “and Form leans toward Prohibition-era drinks with local twists and local spirits,” such as the Missouri Mule, Olive Street Old-Fashioned, and Mississippi Mojito. Classic cocktails (such as the Sidecar, Aviation, and French 75) and non-alcoholic offerings (like a Chili and Lime Margarita and Paloma Fizz), round out the one-page list, along with a small selection of wine and beer (on draft and in aluminum bottles and cans).
Architect Louis Sullivan, dubbed the “father of skyscrapers,” designed the 16-story, U-shaped building. The bar’s an homage to his famous line, “Form follows function.”
The grandeur of Sullivan’s design is evident on the building’s upper floors. A stroll around the 16th floor offers views of columns, gargoyles, and intricate cornice work.
While the Skybar might be the top floor’s main attraction, a similar case could be made for the rooftop pool area (on the other side of the U, as it were). It’s home to a scatter of poolside tables for drinking or dining, as well as a covered cabana area with an additional 20 seats. Since the entire floor uses melamine plates and plastic glassware, guests needn’t worry about dropping their eats or drinks. Other rooftop attractions include a bar fashioned from an old tequila barrel, a poolside frozen cocktail machine, and 36-ounce copper mugs for sharable “flavored Mules.”
Want more details about the dishes? Scroll down for highlights and descriptions.
