7 Actually Cool Restaurants in St. Louis

This is one for all my local friends (or anyone traveling through our wonderful city)! As much as I travel, you’d think I had something against good ole Missouri, but that’s not the case at all. I love this state, especially St. Louis.

I always say that St. Louis does it’s best with what we’ve got. We don’t have mountains or beaches, but we do have friendly people, 2 great sports teams, some next level eateries, and an iconic skyline. (And don’t get me started on how much I love the Arch!)

I’ve been exploring St. Louis like crazy for the past month. It has been so fun to see more and more of our city! I wanted to share the first (of what I am sure will be many) set of restaurants I’ve tried and loved in St. Louis.

1. Yellowbelly in the Central West End

My friend and I just tried this spot last week. If we are talking about good food in STL, I’d say it must be in the conversation. I was stoked to try it, especially because with my Experience Booklet we got a free wine pairing.

First of all, the restaurant is darling. It’s young and trendy with tropical vibes. Not to mention that it is right off of Lindell in the Central West End. Talk about the perfect weekend dinner spot!

Okay, now the food. I expected it to be good, but y’all this place was amazing. My friend got the grilled salmon and I got the fish sandwich; both were on a whole new level of delicious. I seriously can’t wait to get back there to try more entrees!

2. Guidos on the Hill

A friend told me about this restaurant after I told her I was looking for some good sangria. I have to say, her recommendation did not disappoint.

For the folks who aren’t local: The Hill is a neighborhood in St. Louis known for its amazing Italian restaurants.

Guidos serves both Italian and Spanish food. Hence, the sangria. When my friends and I went, we tried the Spanish side of the menu. We each got tapas and then split a paella dish. Oh, and a pitcher of sangria of course! Paella is one of my all time favorite dishes, so I was stoked to try a spot with authentic Spanish food in St. Louis.

3. Hello Juice and Smoothie

This restaurant would also make the list of most instagrammable spots in St. Louis because it is absolutely darling! That’s not the only fun thing about it; they serve smoothies and Acai bowls. I used to get so excited to go to Malibu, so I could get an Acai bowl. Now we have them in St. Louis!? Heck yeah!

If you are in the Grove, make sure to stop by here for a midday pick-me-up. Their entire menu is delicious, but my faves are definitely the smoothie bowls and the avocado toast.

4. Mission Taco

This is my favorite place to go get tacos and margs in the city! (though my sister swears by Sol Taco) There are a few locations: the Central West End, St. Charles, the Loop, and Soulard.

Their menu is full of musts: the baja fish taco, the portobello taco, and the street corn. The cilantro lime rice is also amazing if you are like me and eating tacos without rice just feels wrong.

If you go after 10pm, tacos and tequila drinks are only 2 bucks!

5. Union Loafers

There are few things in life that are better than a really good sandwich. Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but they are for sure my favorite lunch option.

Union Loafers off Tower Grove does salads and sandwiches with homemade bread for lunch and pizza for dinner. Their menu is simple, so you really can’t go wrong and the bread is ahh-mazing. Their little shop is also darling! It’s so fun to eat there!

If you are in the area looking for a good, decently fast lunch, Union Loafers is the spot.

6. Rockwell Beer Company

Y’all. This place is so rad. I felt very hipster eating here. 😉 It’s right off of Vandeventer, over by the Grove; you can’t miss it.

The menu is rotating. Every so often they change the beers they have on tap and their food. From my understanding, they partner with small local food businesses as a place to make and sell their entrees as they grow. So when you eat here you get to support 2 local businesses. How cool is that?!

When we went, Brasswell was in the kitchen. Inexpensive and so tasty. For sure get the shoestring fries!

The space is wide open. They accented the outside with a giant storage container and added picnic tables and a fun patio. If you and some friends are headed to the city to grab drinks, this spot is perfect!

7. Pi Pizzeria

Deep dish pizza in the Lou?! Yes please. I am not a pizza connoisseur, so I will not claim it is the best in St. Louis, but I can tell you that it is pretty dang good!

They make their crust with cornmeal, which is honestly a game changer. I’m not fancy when it comes to toppings, so I usually just get sausage, but I know the loaded pis are delicious too! Be careful though, they are huge! When I go, I can eat one maybe two pieces!

Okay friends, that’s all I have for you… for now. 😉 I am so excited to explore more and more of St. Louis this fall as my travel schedule winds down! I’ll be trying all the restaurants and coffee shops and catching a few baseball games of course! For my local people, are there any restaurants I must try?? Let me know in the comments!

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