Maryland House opening next week in the Central West End

Kevin Brennan's stylish cocktail lounge and event space will serve elevated dishes and drinks in the former Mandarin Lounge space at Maryland Plaza.

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Kevin Brennan has keen insight into the type of place that the Central West End needs, after living in the neighborhood and owning multiple businesses, including the beloved Brennan's, there for decades. His answer: Maryland House (44 R Maryland Plaza), the stylish lounge and event space that's been reimagined and relocated to the former Mandarin Lounge.

“It seems like there are either restaurants or 'bar bars,' but there aren’t a lot of places that hit that middle spot,” Brennan says. “That’s what we hope to be: an upscale cocktail lounge with great small plates, elevated food, and drink. More so than ever, people talk about only having four or five places to go on a regular basis. If you can be one of those places, you’ve created a good model.”

With this latest project—a year in the making—Brennan has transformed the third-floor space off the back alley of Maryland Plaza into a stylish multi-use venue, slated to open softly next week. Here’s what to know before you go.

The Atmosphere

Gone are the drop ceilings, low banquettes, and orange-red color scheme of Mandarin Lounge. Guests enter the stylish space from the back alley of Maryland Plaza to a reception room that resembles an architect’s library before heading up the elevator to the third floor.

There, Maryland House reveals itself as a mix of spaces, each with its own personality. In the main central part of the venue, moody, bohemian jungle print wallpaper adorns the area around a long, narrow bar. A gorgeous mural made from different widths of mirrored glass hangs behind the bar and creates an Art Deco vibe. 

A beautiful library sitting area with velvet couches and a long built-in bookshelf filled with art, books, trinkets, and glassware makes up the west side of the space. Just past the bar is the Gallery Room, broken into smaller sitting areas. Above a black banquette are three digital screens, which will feature the work of different artists, and there's space for tastings or a DJ.

Of course, you can’t talk about Maryland House without mentioning its most attractive feature: the sprawling, semi-covered terrace, which allows patrons to take in the Central West End in all of its architecturally significant, historic glory. Here, guests will find ample seating in one of St. Louis’ most beautiful outdoor settings. Although he's not settled on outdoor cooking plans, Brennan teases that he is looking into putting a pizza oven on the back of the terrace, as well as grills and a chilled area for raw bar offerings.

The Menu

  • Get Started: snacks and appetizers
  • Who Needs Fire?: the lounge’s raw bar selections
  • What You Want: house favorites
  • What You Don’t Know You Want: “cheffy-chef,” as Brennan puts it—more culinarily creative dishes
  • Always Be Closing: the sweets selection

As for the beverage program, Brennan explains that the cocktail list, too, is broken up into two categories:

  • What Is Old Is New Again: classic cocktails
  • What Is New Is Never Old: newer, creative drinks

Guests can also expect a wine list of 60–70 bottles and a curated beer list. “When we first moved into the neighborhood 20 years ago, we had the most beer, whiskey, and wine,” Brennan says. “Years later, we didn’t have the most of any of those things, so now we are doing a more curated selection.”

The Concept

Brennan hopes the forthcoming concept will become a beloved spot in the Central West End, just as his eponymous establishment has become over its 20 years in business. Fans of the original Brennan’s, which relocated to its current home on Euclid Avenue in 2021, might recall a multi-purpose space that was conducive to a variety of experiences, including the original Maryland House upstairs.

“There was the shared workspace, the ping-pong in the basement, a record store, a cigar club... People miss that,” says Brennan. “The old Brennan’s was actually about twice the size of the new Brennan’s, but we are doing more business out of the new one. That’s a good problem to have, but we don’t have the room like we did at the old Brennan’s to put someone if they want to do an event or have a party. We thought it would be great to have additional space to accommodate that.”

That desire for overflow space led Brennan to scour the Central West End for available properties. The old Mandarin Lounge had been on his radar ever since he was searching for the new Brennan’s location back in 2019, but he always crossed it off the list, seeing the long-vacant space as a larger renovation project than he wanted to undertake. After revisiting the property last year, however, and being dazzled by its sweeping terrace, with million-dollar views of Chase Park Plaza, 100 Above the Park, and the stately converted homes across Maryland Plaza, he couldn't shake the feeling that it was too impressive of an opportunity to pass up. After a year-long buildout, with the help of longtime Brennan’s jack-of-all trades Toby Frisch, Brennan is excited to open Maryland House as both a lounge and event space, as well as an extension of Brennan’s.

Maryland House will be open Thursday through Saturday evenings. (Brennan hopes to eventually add Sunday, then Wednesday hours.) Reservations are strongly encouraged—doing so, Brennan notes, will allow him and his team to prep appropriately and ensure that the room does not get overly packed. 

Maryland House will also offer memberships, which will start at $1,500 per year and include food and beverage credit and several other perks. “COVID has changed things for restaurants, so it is difficult to know whether you can get into the places you want to get into,” Brennan says. “We wanted to offer them here, so you can have guaranteed access, while the general public will be able to get a reservation online.”

And beyond regular business hours, the venue will be available for private events, both as partial or full buy-outs. “We see this more as an extension of the old Brennan's than a completely new place,” Brennan says. “We hope people will call Brennan's, and we will send them here when we can’t accommodate them, or they will call here and we can send there. We hope they will feed off one another.”

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