Timothy’s brings “fine-casual” dining to Creve Coeur

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Photography by Kevin A. Roberts

Smoked paprika–dusted scallops

Let’s begin at the end, with the carrot cake fritters. If you’re not intrigued by the very thought of such a confection… Well, it’s hard to imagine that you couldn’t be. They are amazing, like golf balls of carroty gateau perched on luscious tees of stunningly sweet mounds of creamy icing. The innovative dessert sums up Timothy’s menu, which offers an array of familiar ingredients with entertaining twists.

The location of this relatively new spot in Creve Coeur is incongruous. The restaurant’s eponym, Tim Metz, and co-owner Sean Olson, who also run Pickles Deli, opened the establishment this summer in a strip mall, where one might not expect “fine-casual” dining. Once inside, however, the atmosphere’s cool and understated, in relaxing shades of grey and indigo. A wood floor helps stifle noise, as do elegant tablecloth linens. Timothy’s is actually quiet enough to allow conversation without the use of semaphore flags.

The restaurant is dominated by a long bar where comfy seats beckon; if you’re on one, try a superior Manhattan. Throughout the rest of the dining area, tables and booths are nicely spaced. Those pumpkin-orange booths, by the way, will be familiar to habitués of the original Herbie’s in the Central West End, where they came from. At one time, the tradition was to toss wine corks behind the booths. Those corks also made their way here, collected and mounted on the wall above the kitchen’s pass-through, a virtual mural to the joy of wine. Another wall features a mural of Barbara Streisand, an apparent homage to Funny Girl. A patio affords romantic views of sunsets, just above the traffic on Olive.

Any initial thought that the choice of things comestible is as small as Timothy’s space is quickly dispelled by a look at the wine list. It’s wonderful, global in scope, and fairly priced. Just as important, it features some unexpected wines—matching these offbeat options with dinner is a pleasant exercise when enjoying a meal here.

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Photography by Kevin A. Roberts

Lobster pot pie

“Tater tot” appetizers are puffy nuggets that instantly melt in your mouth; they’re fragrant with fontina cheese, with a dip of kasundi, a Bengali sauce of chilies, malt vinegar, and mustard seed. Smoked paprika cranks up deviled eggs. Escargot is ordinary—which means it’s wonderful, buttery, and garlicky with French bread slices for swiping. A lobster pot pie starter could be a spectacular main course; the puff pastry is flaky gold, the gravy rich and chunky with lobster.

Photography by Kevin A. Roberts

Filet of sirloin

Butter basting never hurt a steak; it gives a beautiful luster to a thick, tender slab of sirloin, accompanied by asparagus spears topped with lobster hollandaise and mashed butter blended with potatoes. (Seriously, the potatoes are that extravagant.) Gust, a Californian pinot noir from Timothy’s magic wine menu, has the body and earthy tones to complement all that richness.

A burger is terrific, fat and juicy, piled high with fried onions, pimento cheese, and mortared with a Dijon mayo combination called kasundi. (Side note: It’s often informative how that standard can offer insight into an otherwise upscale kitchen’s quality—BC’s Kitchen and Cobalt Smoke & Sea are good examples.) The fries alongside are starchy crisp; the same kasundi is your new favorite dip.

Smashed edamame support some perfectly grilled scallops, surrounded by a pool of turmeric-flecked broth and grilled corn. Try the scallops with the 2016 Boxler edelzwicker, a little-appreciated Alsace blend. (Ask them to uncork it as soon as you arrive—it needs a little breathing room to really shine.) Chipotle black beans served as a foundation for grilled salmon add little to the fish, which is otherwise flawless, toasted on the flame, still slightly opaque. A chimichurri sauce ladled on top provides a tantalizing spark. A side of corn, gently creamed and smacked with cilantro, nicely offsets the fish.

Pairing wine with chimichurri is like herding turnips—but look here, there’s a zinfandel, a Joullian from California with the woody, herbal muscles to competently play against the garlic and parsley of that potent sauce.

But back to those carrot cake fritters, which are essential for dessert. (We also sampled—OK, gobbled—a very fine flourless chocolate cake and some intensely flavored sorbets.) As those fritters demonstrate, Timothy’s is a standout in West County.

The Bottom Line: Sophisticated dining and fine wine in a West County strip mall.