One of St. Louis’ most acclaimed new restaurants has caught the attention of The New York Times: Robin (7268 Manchester), which chef Alec Schingel opened in downtown Maplewood in March, has been named to the newspaper’s 2025 list of ‘America’s Best Restaurants.’ To compile the list, 14 NYT reporters and editors took 76 flights to eat more than 200 meals in 33 states. In his review of Robin, wine critic Eric Asimov writes that Robin serves “lively takes on Midwestern specialties that are playful and surprising but demonstrate Mr. Schingel’s serious chops.”
Robin is the first brick-and-mortar restaurant from Schingel, who most recently served as the executive chef at Winslow’s Table before operating “The Robin Project” as a series of pop-ups and private dinners for two years, leading up to the restaurant’s opening. His impressive culinary career also includes stints at Niche, Charleston’s McCrady’s, Belgium’s In de Wulf, and New York’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns, where he worked alongside Michael and Tara Gallina, with whom he later helped open Vicia as chef de cuisine.
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Schingel knew that Robin was going to be featured in The New York Times soon, as the paper reached out about photography a few weeks ago, but he assumed it was for a travel guide focused on St. Louis.
“This is pretty crazy, to be honest,” he says. “It feels a little surreal to have so much attention brought on us because we’re such a tiny restaurant. There are so many amazing restaurants of all types. There are so many good places that have been doing great work here that it’s hard to fathom anything like that, but I have a lot of gratitude that they at least think we’re worth checking out and that they appreciate the work we’re doing.”
SLM dining critic Dave Lowry also heaped praise on the Maplewood restaurant. In a recent dining review, he wrote: “The wheels on Robin’s bus spin on an idea that’s fairly unusual for St. Louis: a prix fixe of four courses with a menu so limited, a quartet of diners can cover it entirely.” Lowry also bestowed a special nod to Schingel’s spot-on treatment of seasonality: “This kind of talent is often attempted, though almost never as well as here. We anticipate a return to see what the rest of the year tastes like.”
Schingel is excited that the national honor puts a spotlight on St. Louis’ robust dining scene, noting the many chefs who have been recognized on a national stage by honors such as Food & Wine’s Best New Chefs and the James Beard Award. “I feel really thankful to be able to show more nationally that there’s a lot more to ‘flyover country’ than just flying over us,” he says.
All in all, Schingel is incredibly grateful and humbled by the recognition. That said, he’s quick to note that he’d never refer to the strip of Maplewood storefronts where Robin is located as “drab,” as the NYT’s writeup described it.
“All of the neighbors around us are really fantastic and have been super welcoming, whether it’s Acero, which has obviously been a fantastic restaurant for nearly 20 years, or Zee Bee Market or Kakao Chocolate,” he says. “It’s such a diverse little community with amazing small business owners, and the support of the community and support of people here in Maplewood has been really fantastic. I feel very honored to be a part of this ‘drab’ little storefront and that they have welcomed me.”
Learn more about Robin on the Arch Eats podcast.
