The 20 Most Beautiful Restaurants in St. Louis

“The Benevolent King is sultry. Black paint covers the ceiling and three walls, with the fourth mirrored from floor to ceiling. Candlelight dances in the reflection and across the gilded décor. Small bistro tables, surrounded by black-and-white wicker chairs, evoke a Moroccan beachside cafe, while the shiny tiled floor and bar-tops give off a swanky vintage feel. You half expect to see Humphrey Bogart himself welcoming you inside. It’s the sort of place to take your date if you, how should I say it, want the evening to end on a very high note.”
– Cheryl Baehr

Photo credit: Mabel Suen

“Named after the 19th-century iconic St. Louis hotel, Planter’s House is the first bar St. Louis cocktail godfather Ted Kilgore can call his own (along with wife Jamie and Ted Charak, formerly the bar manager at Brasserie by Niche). The three have set quite the scene: exposed brick, swanky red leather seating, gilded chandeliers — it’s the epitome of speakeasy chic. Whereas the main bar area has a vintage masculine vibe, the Bullock Room, Planter’s House’s bar within a bar, is more like a dining salon, complete with ornate wallpaper and gold-rimmed drinkware.”
– Cheryl Baehr

Photo credit: Jennifer Silverberg

“To call Juniper cozy is an understatement. The interior looks as if Brooklyn hipsters rehabbed a barn in Kentucky bluegrass country. Exposed brick, lofted ceilings and built-in bookshelves set an inviting scene while vintage refrigerators and centerpieces of cotton blossoms and juniper sprigs add a touch of whimsy. It’s the kind of place that necessitates craft cocktails and smoked meat, both of which are in abundant supply.”
– Cheryl Baehr

Photo credit: Jennifer Silverberg

“Boundary is a make-under of the former Basso space, though you’d never guess that by looking at it. The room is strikingly handsome and sultry — the kind of place you’d find James Bond sipping a martini after a day of fox hunting. The signature glass wine wall is still there, but instead of separating the bar from the dining room, the bar now wraps around it, while the room’s former vibrant red tones have been muted in favor of dark wood and leather. Booth seating has been replaced with semicircle banquettes that face outward, and an eye-popping kelly green leather double-sided couch adds two rows of seating in the middle of the room.”
– Cheryl Baehr

Photo credit: Mabel Suen

“Cinder House is drop-dead gorgeous. Divided into separate restaurant and lounge spaces, it’s outfitted in leather and velvet in hues of tan and sapphire blue, turquoise and earth-tone marble and craggy, driftwood-style sculptures. Architectural Digest recently named it the most beautiful bar in Missouri. It could be a plain white box, however, and earn that distinction based on the view alone: Occupying the hotel’s eighth floor, Cinder House has a southern-facing, bird’s eye view of the Arch. It’s one of the best views in the city. When the sun goes down, light sparkles off the windows. As you look out across the outdoor patio’s glittering fire and water features, you feel like you are in a diamond-encrusted dream.”
– Cheryl Baehr

Photo credit: Mabel Suen

“At Louie, Matt McGuire has created the sort of restaurant where everyone wants to eat — a factor that makes it an incredibly difficult reservation to score. The small, shotgun dining room, simply appointed with wooden tables, exposed ductwork and a wall of striking, floral-print wallpaper, fills quickly. That’s why McGuire decided to reserve its sizable bar for walk-in diners, something only a hospitality veteran can pull off without offending thirsty would-be imbibers.”
– Cheryl Baehr

Photo credit: Sara Graham

“Located in the new, ultra-sleek Citizen Park building on the corner of Lindell and Euclid, the restaurant has the feel of a boutique hotel in present-day Waikiki. Floor-to-ceiling glass on two sides of the restaurant fills the open, L-shaped room with light. Industrial metal accents pair with blonde wood, black leather and a shiny, white marble-topped bar to create a modern scene. Alone, these details could provide the canvas for any restaurant. Here, however, they are imbued with a distinctive point of view by prominent features including turquoise tile, a wall-sized mural in shades of blue, white and yellow, and a handful of well-placed plants that evoke palm trees.”
– Cheryl Baehr

Photo credit: Mabel Suen

“The Peacemaker hype is real. Throngs of hungry patrons wait in hour-plus lines (the restaurant does not take reservations for parties under six), hoping for a spot in one of the aqua, periwinkle and light green chairs set around rustic wooden tables. There are striking photos of the actual fishermen who are responsible for bringing Peacemaker the fruits de mer; Nashan’s friend traveled to Maine to photograph the gruff-looking bunch. Sure, it’s not exactly locavore eating, but once the food arrives, no one is complaining.”
– Cheryl Baehr

Photo credit: Nancy Stiles

“You enter into the bar, a space that is awesome in the original sense of the word: Light fixtures like oversize birds’ nests are suspended from the ceiling. So, too, precariously, or so it seems when a breezes sways them, are racks of wine glasses. The bar itself is a handsome wooden structure, high shelves stocked with beer, wine and liquor bottles. There is the obligatory flat-screen TV in one corner, but this is unobtrusive, even during a Cards game.”
– Ian Froeb

Photo credit: Jennifer Silverberg

“Olio’s transformation from a 90-year-old Standard Oil gas station into an inviting wine bar is even more dramatic than Elaia’s renovation. The refurbished façade of red and white tiles frames tall windows and the garage bay. The warmly lighted interior features exposed brick, with weathered wooden shelves adding yet more character. You can sit at the bar (which includes Olio’s own, very small kitchen), at a counter that lines the front windows or in one of the freestanding tables in the garage bay.”
– Ian Froeb

Photo credit: Jennifer Silverberg