Photo by Colter Peterson (Post-Dispatch)
Olio
In October 2018, Ben Poremba named Aaron Martinez the executive chef of his upscale flagship Elaia and the adjacent, more casual Olio. At Olio, the changes have been gradual but not insignificant. When I visited this winter, I enjoyed an Olio standby, lahmacun (aka Turkish pizza). By the time I called to fact-check the first draft of these words, lahmacun was off the menu. Poremba told me in a phone interview that Martinez is continuing a process that began before his arrival to shift Olio’s identity from a wine bar with diverse Mediterranean influences to an Israeli restaurant. Already you’ll notice a brighter spotlight on vegetables. A key part of Olio’s evolution is its wood-fired outdoor oven and the bread program overseen by Joe Stein.
Hours: Lunch and dinner daily
Last year's ranking: Rest of the Best
Opened: 2012