Quincy Street Bistro's comfort foods satisfy in any weather

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Photography by Kevin A. Roberts

Pork tenderloin sandwich with a side of mashed potatoes.

This article appeared in the February 2021 issue of St. Louis Magazine.

Could you make a reasonable guess where in St. Louis a restaurant is located solely on the basis of its atmosphere? We’re betting you could place the revived Quincy Street Bistro exactly where it is, even if you’d never been on Quincy Street: near a Polish butchery and a gas station selling hookah supplies in the heart of Princeton Heights. It looks, sounds, and tastes like that wonderful neighborhood, where cultures merge.

Years ago, Quincy Street Bistro—led by chef Rick Lewis, who took the helm in 2012—built a loyal following. Lewis created a menu of acclaimed homestyle dishes and earned a nomination for the 2014 James Beard Rising Star Chef of the Year award. After he left to launch a new endeavor in 2015, owners Mike and Sue Enright (Lewis’ in-laws) carried on but finally shuttered the restaurant in 2018.

Then, last November, Todd Tiefenauer, a first-time restaurant owner with 30 years in the dining industry, reopened the doors. “I looked at several spaces, found Quincy, and fell in love with it,” Tiefenauer said at the time. “At first, it was the building, the setup, and the way they had done the renovation. But the more I looked into the history, the more I realized it was in line with the concept I wanted.”

The menu has changed, but the spirit of the place has not. It’s low-key and family-oriented, with a menu created by head chef Dakota Kolb.

Photography by Kevin A. Roberts

The Texas Smokehouse Burger

Quincy Street Bistro’s burgers are beef-centric architectural marvels. You might anticipate that they’ll topple like the culmination of a Jenga game, but, fortunately, they don’t. The elements, from fried onion rings to garlic cream cheese, form edifices as sound as they are inviting. The Texas Smokehouse Burger, for instance, is basically an entire diner menu piled between buns. Along with a patty as thick as a sofa cushion, there are a couple of planks of Cheddar, lettuce, tomato, fresh onion, pickles, enough applewood bacon for a lumberjack’s breakfast, and a tumble of onion rings, all slathered in barbecue sauce and served with a ramekin of that sauce on the side in case of emergency. And because you might still be peckish, you’ll want a side of the fries, with a sweet, crunchy crust. The Dobecki Burger, topped with pepper Jack and fried jalapeño, is wonderfully spicy. 

The pork tenderloin sandwich is an Iowa State Fair–size shingle of pig, panko-crusted and consigned to the fryer long enough to emerge an aromatic, delectable gold with an interior so wonderfully tender, it tastes like veal. It’s served on a brioche bun loaded with chipotle mayo, then dressed with lettuce and tomato. (Shortly after our visit, the chef unleashed a new menu with other such intriguing crossovers as a chicken Philly, Buffalo chicken poutine, and South Side Shrimp Scampi.)

Quincy Street offers a greatest-hits selection of St. Louis’ favorite pastas. Fancy a grilled chicken breast? Well, you’re in luck, because it comes with practically every pasta. Choose from penne quills tossed in a pungent garlic, basil, and tomato sauce or a heap of fettuccine with spinach, artichoke, diced tomato, and Parmesan cheese. Twirl a fork into a satisfyingly deep plate of fettuccine, garlicky and rich with a smooth, creamy Alfredo sauce full of Asiago and Parmesan. It is a taste of St. Louis Italian that’s every bit as iconic as the Arch.

Photography by Kevin A. Roberts

Black ‘n’ Bleu Steak Caesar Salad, topped with 6 ounces of blackened sirloin.

The category “entrée salads”may be considered by certain hoity-toity epicures a contradictio in terminus. Nevertheless, in South City they’re examples of the American genius for turning any meal into a caloric bacchanal. Slices of blackened sirloin, croutons, Caesar dressing, blue cheese crumbles, tomatoes, and applewood bacon bits rest on a bed of romaine. Now that’s a salad. Another salad is a little more temperate: romaine tossed with a raspberry vinaigrette and served with a chunk of blackened salmon.

Among the starters, a dip of melted Asiago cheese swirled with shrimp is a rewarding way to get things going. The fried green tomatoes are crisp, with a tangy, juicy bite. The service is enjoyably folksy-friendly. You get the idea that this is a place frequented by regulars, and the staff seems eager to ensure that you become one of them.

If bread pudding propels your dessert flivver, go with the bistro’s Southside version, made with glazed doughnuts and spiced rum and topped with caramel sauce. Or go with the Funnel Cake Fries, dusted with powdered sugar and served with the house “wildberry” sauce.

The handsome old bar is a snug, inviting hangout. In fact, that pretty well describes this place overall. 

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Photography by Kevin A. Roberts

Southside bread pudding