2015 was an excellent year for new restaurants in St. Louis.
Which means assembling this year’s STL 100 was a pain in my barbecue-cushioned butt.
But after much eating, thinking, nursing of bourbon and a little more eating, here are the 100 restaurants that best represent St. Louis dining circa 2016 — the restaurants that are setting the standards, pushing us forward, introducing us to important new voices and reminding us about the voices we might have forgotten.
This is the 2016 STL 100.
Closed
#1
Niche
#2
Elaia
#3
Sidney Street Cafe
#4
Farmhaus
#5
Stone Soup Cottage
#6
Público
#7
Cleveland-Heath
#8
The Crossing
#9
Tony's
#10
Pastaria
#11
Randolfi's Italian Kitchen
#12
Veritas
#13
Five Bistro
#14
Juniper
#15
Guerrilla Street Food
#16
Brasserie by Niche
#17
Annie Gunn's
#18
Taste
#19
Acero
#20
Pappy's Smokehouse
#21
Fork & Stix
#22
Quincy Street Bistro
#23
Bogart's Smokehouse
#24
Mai Lee
#25
Three Flags Tavern
The Rest of the Best
in alphabetical order
801 Chophouse
Adam's Smokehouse
Asian Kitchen
Baileys' Range
Bar Les Frères
Basso
Beast Craft BBQ Co.
Blood & Sand
Blues City Deli
Bridge Tap House & Wine Bar
Byrd & Barrel
Chef Ma's Chinese Gourmet Restaurant
Cielo Restaurant & Bar
Clementine's Naughty & Nice Creamery
Comet Coffee & Microbakery
Closed
Death in the Afternoon
Diner's Delight
Dressel's Public House
Closed
Ferguson Burger Bar & More
Five Star Burgers
Gallagher's
Gioia's Deli
Grapeseed
HandleBar
Hiro Asian Kitchen
Ices Plain & Fancy
Closed
J McArthur's
Kaslik Mediterranean Cuisine
Katie's Pizza & Pasta Osteria
Kitchen Kulture
The Kitchen Sink
La Patisserie Chouquette
La Tejana Taqueria
La Vallesana
The Libertine
Closed
Linh Mi Gia
Lona's Lil Eats
Medina Mediterranean Grill
Meskerem Ethiopian Restaurant
Milagro Modern Mexican
Milque Toast Bar
Mission Taco Joint
Olio
Peacemaker Lobster & Crab Co.
Pho Long
Pi Pizzeria
Pint Size Bakery
Closed
A Pizza Story
Pizzeoli
Private Kitchen
Reeds American Table
Remy's Kitchen & Wine Bar
Retreat Gastropub
Rice Thai Bistro
Salt + Smoke
Salume Beddu
Sauce on the Side
Schlafly Tap Room
The Shaved Duck
Signature India
Sister Cities Cajun and BBQ
Smoki O's
Southern
Southwest Diner
Spare No Rib
Sugarfire Smoke House
Taco Circus
Tai Ke
Taqueria Durango
The Tavern Kitchen & Bar
Tree House
Union Loafers Cafe and Bread Bakery
Urban Chestnut Brewery & Bierhall
Vincent Van Doughnut
The Vine Mediterranean Cafe and Market
A few important notes:
- The STL 100 is divided into the Top 25 and the Rest of the Best. No great gap exists between the two sections. Determining what distinguishes No. 50 from No. 51 from No. 52, etc., would be infinitesimal hairsplitting.
- Though you’ll find several expensive restaurants clustered at the beginning of the Top 25, the STL 100 is, in general, an egalitarian exercise, with representatives from inexpensive everyday eats to once-a-year splurges.
- As with my weekly restaurant reviews, I make every effort not to announce my presence at a restaurant (e.g., reservations under false names). However, after writing about St. Louis dining for a decade now, I'm recognized by many chefs, especially those who run or have run multiple venues.
- Though I want the STL 100 to be as current as possible, I also can't chase down every new restaurant right up to my final deadline. Restaurants that opened after Oct. 31, 2015, weren't eligible for the 2016 STL 100.