3453 Hampton Ave, Lindenwood Park, St. Louis, MO 63139
Chef-owner Steven Pursley’s dedication to house-made noodles scratches the floor of his strategy to Menya Rui, a low-profile idea that invitations you into the sensory expertise and regular tempo of the outlets in Japan the place he spent three years honing his craft. Wait your option to the entrance of the ever-present line out entrance, and also you’ll be rewarded with a few blissful minutes inside spent hovering over considered one of Pursley’s delicacies. The menu focuses on Shoyu, Mazemen, and Tsukemen kinds—every composed with such taut consideration to element that it’s not possible to call a favourite. There’s appreciable buzz about his upcoming second idea, Kishimoto Mendō, which Pursley plans to dedicate to the exploration of the Tonkotsu fashion.
8106 Olive Blvd, University City, St. Louis, MO 63130
You can’t get extra naked bones than Soup Dumplings STL, and the minimalist decor feels proper for a store the place the menu takes the similar strategy. Here, the solely frills you’ll discover are the pleated soup dumplings that diners can watch being constructed from their tables. Although the restaurant has a handful of different gadgets, the dumplings are what to plan your go to round—the pork selection in explicit will make you marvel at how a lot richness and complexity one can swaddle in dumpling pores and skin. Although takeout is an possibility, it’s finest to sit down in to expertise the soup dumplings at their peak temperature; it’s not a place the place most linger, so tables flip over commonly.
2800 Shenandoah Ave, Fox Park, St. Louis, MO 63104
There could also be no restaurant in St. Louis extra universally beloved than Little Fox. The attract lies in its capability to subtly and persistently exceed expectations. Cocktails are subtle however acquainted; dishes are gracefully complicated however by no means showy; the further serviette or second spoon you want materializes out of nowhere. It’s a restaurant the place all the things—from potato churros to sea scallops to baked eggs—shall be your favourite factor. Although you’d by no means understand it by the cozy neighborhood really feel, Little Fox routinely lands at the prime of “best of” lists for each its beverage applications, hospitality, and chef Craig Rivard’s beautiful menu.
3279 Hampton Ave, Northampton, St. Louis, MO 63139
On its floor, Mestiza might be mistaken for every other counterservice taco restaurant; what’s taking place inside is something however. Owners Angel Jiménez-Gutiérrez and Alex Ayala may have performed it protected by sticking with acquainted choices like carne asada, al pastor, and carnitas. Instead, they selected a riskier route, providing up regional tacos like campechano (blended meat) and cochinita pibil to the plenty with the hope that the metropolis would belief their imaginative and prescient. The gamble has paid off, and now, it’s as widespread to listen to orders for tripa (beef intestines) as it’s for birria. Carryout is simple right here, nevertheless it’s finest to sit down in, cool off with a cantarito—a refreshing citrus-based tequila beverage served in a clay cup—and eat your means by means of the menu.