The big box store-sized Pan-Asian Supermarket is the largest international grocery store in Missouri. You might assume the crown jewel is the impressive fish department or the bubble tea bar, but it’s actually the small dining area labeled China Bistro. The business looks similar to a Singaporean hawker stall, but the utilitarian kitchen cranks out an astounding amount of regional Chinese dishes, as well as Vietnamese pho. The smoky, charred edges of chow fun noodles indicate a masterful control of the blistering hot wok. You can smell the floral, citrusy aroma of crimson-hued mapo tofu two tables away. And the tender dan dan egg noodles satisfy with a low, humming heat and perfect springy texture.

St. Louis is home to many stellar Mexican restaurants serving tacos and chicharrones, but for truly beautiful and monstrous tortas, head to El Toluco. Attached to a small tienda in a nondescript strip mall in the suburb of Manchester, the restaurant has become a destination dining spot. Tortas are made with football-sized freshly baked loaves and filled with meat, queso fresco, Oaxacan cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and jalapeños, all punctuated by a smoky chipotle sauce. If that’s not enough justification to make the lengthy drive to West County, the pollo con nopales and lengua tacos are also exceptional.

At Jalea, nestled in Old St. Charles, chef Andrew Cisneros offers a tempting mix of comforting Peruvian flavors. Each meal begins with delightful cancha, toasty, salty corn to enjoy while you peruse the menu. Start with the must-try carretillero, which combines ceviche clasico, various fried seafoods, plantain chips, and aji lime mayo. For the main event, go for the carapulcra, featuring tender pork belly, a traditional potato-bacon stew, and fragrant garlic rice. For dessert, the pionono — a Peruvian jelly roll cake filled with dulce de leche — provides a sweet yet light finish.

Ray Yeh moved from the Bay Area to St. Louis to study molecular genetics at Washington University, but he developed a hobby exploring the science of baking. In 2017, Yeh abandoned academia to open the Foundry Bakery, where he offers breads with distinct, bouncy chew and utilizes old-world techniques. For his remarkable longan walnut bread, Yeh smokes Taiwanese longan fruit and incorporates it into the dough along with meaty English walnuts, resulting in an aromatic loaf with mellow notes of currants and molasses. He offers pastries as well, like pineapple gems, a rich shortbread stuffed with sticky fruit. Or get to the bakery early to snag one of the egg custard tarts, its belly wobbly and warm from the oven; one bite shatters the layered pastry crust, sending crumbs everywhere, but you’ll be too delighted to care.

Chef Miguel Pintor, former culinary director at Mission Taco Joint, and his wife Brandin Maddock have created a menu that celebrates Mexico’s regional diversity in a mostly vacant strip mall across the street from the mixed-use Crossing at Northwest (as well as a new second location in Maplewood). Highlights include the panuchos (a Yucatecan staple consisting of marinated pork, black beans, and pickled habanero onions on a crispy corn tortilla), the machete (a large, folded quesadilla that gets its name from its size and shape), and the huaraches (oval tortillas topped with various meats). Sabroso even grinds corn to make masa for tortillas and bakes fresh bread for the tortas.

Since opening in 2018, Cate Zone has become a favorite for regional Chinese cuisine. The guo bao rou (listed on the menu as twice-cooked pork) offers a great introduction to the Dongbei region, where owners Daniel Ma, his wife Nancy Zhu, and brother Quincy Lin all hail from. The dish is made of thin, crispy pork cutlets coated in a glaze that perfectly balances sweet cooking wine and tangy vinegar. You can also try the Chengdu spicy chicken or the cumin lamb, both showcasing the restaurant’s flair for bold flavors. Its success has led to a second location in Chesterfield, which offers space for more diners, decor imported from China, and a few new menu items like dumplings and pineapple chicken.

St. Louis has enjoyed a long love affair with Thai cooking, but most restaurants focus on dishes common to central Thailand. At Chiang Mai, chef Su Hill shares the culinary traditions and techniques distinctive to Northern Thailand, especially the city of Chiang Mai, known for specialties like khao munn gai. Diners will also find dishes familiar across Thailand, like som tum (green papaya salad) and sai qua, glorious bronzed pork sausages. Observing the three aunties in the open kitchen, deftly preparing dishes with a cool ease only feasible through years of experience, it’s easy to understand why the restaurant has quickly gained a devoted following.

The smells coming out of Balkan Treat Box — from bread baking in a wood-fired oven, and plump beef sausages sweating beads of glistening juice and fat on the grill — have the capacity to elicit deep, primal responses in a hungry diner. The restaurant, owned by Loryn and Edo Nalic, has garnered some impressive awards, and it has become an essential stop for locals eager to impress visitors. Hyper-fresh preparations of traditional dishes from the Balkan region, like wildly popular pide, plump ćevapi, and doner, are all served on somun, baked fresh in the wood-fueled oven. The lahmacun (Turkish rolled flatbread) alone is enough to justify the line that regularly stretches out the door.

When beloved French bistro Bar Les Freres shuttered, the loss to the local dining community felt palpable — until Michael and Tara Gallina, along with their Take Root Hospitality business partner Aaron Martinez, swooped in to open Bistro La Floraison in the space. The restaurant, which seats 40, is soft and elegant, with floor-to-ceiling persimmon-hued velvet curtains and a soft pink banquette. Like all of the Gallinas’ projects, every aspect of the restaurant is polished. The succinct menu highlights the essential gustatory joys of casual French dining: small plates (served on bone china) like gougeres and savory financiers, followed by a handful of entrees, including a glorious French fried chicken cordon bleu that’s a clever olive branch to the Midwestern clientele.

This small neighborhood steakhouse, opened by veteran restaurateur Matt McGuire, has become the most difficult reservation to acquire since opening over a year ago, thanks to its astounding consistency in service and confidence in the kitchen. You might think you peaked with the shrimp cocktail and Caesar salad, but there’s a lot more pleasure to be found in the mid-rare New York strip, crisp haricot verts, Dauphinoise potatoes slick with rich butter, and onion rings. A head-turning ice cream sundae is the most popular of the three desserts on offer, but don’t pass on the creme brulee or a slice of the wedding cake (so super sexy in its almond-scented minimalism), ideally paired with a cup of coffee or an espresso martini.

It’s hard to overstate Matt McGuire’s influence and impact on the St. Louis dining scene. He started with King Louie’s, followed by some of the city’s most celebrated establishments — Monarch, Brasserie, Herbie’s, Niche. Like McGuire’s previous restaurants, Louie is critically celebrated and wildly popular. The decor feels both luxurious and comfortable, and that feeling is echoed in the relaxed but mindful service and even in the quiet confidence of the food coming out of the kitchen. No dish sums it up better than the wood-roasted chicken: It’s simple, with no gimmicks to hide behind, and executed with mastery gained through repetition, refinement, and more repetition. Yeah, it’s a good chicken.

Brothers and business partners Alex and Jeff Henry are quietly doing great work at El Molino del Sureste, where they share the foods of the Yucatán. The double storefront space on South Kingshighway includes a mill, where the team grinds and nixtamilizes rare and unique heritage varieties of corn sourced from local growers. That depth and heart translate directly into the nostalgic, home-style dishes the Henrys loved as children, as well as Alex’s more cerebral dishes, like white chocolate mole draped over Japanese scallops. The treatment of seafood is gorgeous, and don’t miss the incredible conchinita pibil. El Molino del Sureste continually evolves while elegantly engaging with memory and tradition.

In 2017, Gioia’s Deli, an unassuming sandwich shop in St. Louis’ historic Italian-American neighborhood, was honored with a James Beard America’s Classics award. While the dining community was thrilled, locals tended to smile and shake their heads at the fanfare suddenly heaped on the casual spot that had served their families for a hundred years. Gioia’s offers exceptional deli sandwiches, but it’s most famous for the hot salami sandwich, known to everyone in St. Louis simply as “the hot salami,” which is still made with a recipe crafted by founder Charlie Gioia. You can order it on any type of bread and dress it with any of Gioia’s cheeses and condiments, but the star is the sausage (beef, pig’s head, spices) sliced in front of you. 

There is a mystical allure to Sugarwitch, the Carondelet neighborhood shop crafting ice cream sandwiches inspired by, and named after, “bad-ass witches from literature and lore.” Novelties like the Ursula — miso ice cream paired with milk chocolate chip blondies — and the Nerissa — a combination of spiced apple crumble ice cream and oatmeal pie crust — are clever and delicious sweet treats. The business is owned and operated by Martha Bass and her wife, Sophie Mendelson, who together hold degrees from Yale, Johns Hopkins, and Washington University in sustainable food systems, regional food economies, and environmental sustainability; they have built their business guided by a commitment to forming equitable food systems.

A meal at Mainlander feels like dining in the home of Blake Askew and Gordon Chen; the midcentury-style supper club is filled with smoked glass pickle trays, teak cocktail cups, and other pieces the two have collected over time. Only 20 customers can fit inside to enjoy nostalgic dishes, the types of things curious American home cooks once clumsily attempted (and sometimes fetishized) that here feel natural and unironic. During one visit, the monthly three-course menu started with a lazy Susan full of regional ingredients, including a crown of local baby lettuces, to be dipped into tangy Catalina-style dressing. The restaurant became a James Beard semifinalist in its first year, and the business pushes back against rigid, exclusionary labor practices by caring for its own.

In 2015, Gerard Craft received the James Beard Best Chef: Midwest award in recognition of his debut St. Louis restaurant, Niche. Though that restaurant has since closed, Craft has opened a handful of diverse new restaurants, all forward-thinking, all reflective of the quality staff that his establishments attract. His third restaurant, Brasserie by Niche, a French bistro in the Central West End, has maintained its devotion from diners since it first opened in 2009. It’s always buzzing with hungry guests enjoying flawless, pillowy gougères, garlicky wild Burgundy escargot, a deeply satisfying, slow-cooked cassoulet, or duck confit with tender green lentils.

After the beloved Cafe Osage closed, James Beard winner Gerard Craft stepped in and in 2021 reopened the restaurant as Bowood by Niche, naming Dakota Williams as chef. The walls of the dining room are covered in windows that let in tons of natural light, which enhances the feeling of renewal in Williams’s flavorful, plant-forward breakfast and lunch menu. Some of the restorative dishes include the chile-fried tofu sandwich with pickled cucumbers and green goddess dressing and a butter lettuce salad composed of trout, lemon vinaigrette, and herbs. In keeping with the Osage tradition, Bowood sells a gorgeous selection of houseplants on the nursery side of the space.

When chef Nick Bognar opened his 40-seat restaurant, Indo, in Botanical Heights in 2019, first the local, then the national food media absolutely lost it. Bognar soon received a lifetime’s worth of accolades for his profoundly flavorful Southeast Asian dishes, but it’s his deft sashimi that has made it nearly impossible to snag a reservation. Those who do get in can watch Bognar slice and torch rare fish like striped horse mackerel, young sea bream, and fatty tuna belly, all served with nikiri rather than soy and fresh-ground wasabi root.

With its cracker crust and provel topping, St. Louis-style pizza is an essential part of the diet of anyone born in the 314. But some of the best slices in town don’t adhere to the local style. Union Loafers in Botanical Heights is a bakery at heart, crafting old-world, naturally leavened loaves, but it’s also a full-service restaurant making pizzas in a sort of gray area between the chew and pull of New York and the bubbly, blistered char of a Neapolitan. The pepperoni with Calabrian chiles features perfect little cups of pepperoni, and the mushroom pizza with pickled shallots and foxglove will convert mushroom haters. During the day, a selection of sandwiches on Loafers’ bread are available, along with soups and salads, including the little gem with fine herbs and shallots, which could smack down every other salad you’ve eaten in the past.

If you want to learn about, discuss, and enjoy world-class gins, make your way to the Gin Room on South Grand, owned and operated by Natasha Bahrami, aka “the gin girl.” Bahrami has collected and curated the most comprehensive collection of the spirit in the country, becoming one of the world’s most influential experts on gin in the process. Try one of the customized gin flights, a selection of five curated gins tailored to your particular palate. If you’re more of a martini type, one of the Gin Room’s 10 variations is sure to speak to your taste.

Along with shops, retail complex City Foundry boasts stellar bars, a winery, a virtual reality experience, a Putt-Putt course, and a movie theater. But most people come for the food hall, overseen by James Beard winner Gerard Craft, who can often be found cooking off wood-fired pizzas at his own Fordo’s Killer Pizza. Also look out for Alloun Thiam, a self-trained chef and owner of Chez Ali, which serves a constantly changing menu of delicious African Caribbean dishes, including thieboudienne, Senegal’s national dish of rice and fish. Other highlights include toasted ravioli, Belgian waffles, chef Nate Hereford’s perfect rotisserie chicken, and chef Brandi Artis’s po’ boys and shrimp and grits seasoned with her signature blend.

After spending five years working at the natural wine bar El Prado in Los Angeles, STL native Brogan Drissell and his partner Emily Kostiuk moved back home to open this bar focused on low-intervention wines. They offer a selection of eclectic global bottles at their Cherokee spot, which feels like a small corner neighborhood bar — until you find the large wood porch and yard out back, where the vibe is like a friend’s barbecue with orange wine.

Salsa Rosada is the second fast-casual venture from Mandy Estrella and Bradley Payne, the folks behind Mayo Ketchup, renowned for its Puerto Rican and Dominican cuisine. This new venture sets itself apart by focusing on Venezuelan and Colombian dishes, taking its name from the latter region’s version of mayo ketchup. Notable dishes include arepas (crispy corn patties stuffed with various fillings) and patacones (sandwiches made with flattened, twice-fried plantains instead of bread). The empanadas, sourced from St. Charles bakery Pan Pa’ Ti, are golden brown pockets of goodness available in both savory and sweet varieties. Don’t miss the kan-kan chuleta if it’s on special; the oversized pork chop is perfect for sharing, so consider bringing a friend or three to help tackle it.

Anyone who wants the tried-and-true STL barbecue experience should visit Pappy’s Smokehouse in midtown, which has garnered more awards and accolades than can be counted on fingers and toes. The restaurant’s crowning achievement is pork ribs, dry-rubbed, smoked for 14 hours over fruitwood, and quickly basted with glaze to finish (never hiding under a drippy sauce). Traditional sides — fried corn on the cob, applesauce, and of course, baked beans — keep very good company with all that meaty glory.

At first the Lucky Accomplice felt like it was primarily going to be a platform for chef Logan Ely to stretch his wings a bit after his cerebral tasting menu spot, Shift. It turned out to be much more of a team effort. Partner Brian Schuman soon established Lucky’s reputation for smart and warm service, while beverage director Corey Moszer put together a creative, prolific cocktail program. Ely also teamed up with chef Justin Bell to craft a menu of bold dishes, including an oversized toasted raviolo, alongside brunch crumpet sandwiches and fun potato rosti.

If you want to enjoy truly great cocktails, ones you think about days or even years later, head to Planter’s House in Lafayette Square, a restaurant and bar owned by Ted and Jamie Kilgore and Ted Charak. At the main bar downstairs, pair the Planter’s House burger, topped with manchego, pickled serrano relish, and spreadable chorizo, with the Taco Cat: Milagro blanco tequila, Old El Paso taco seasoning-infused agave syrup, lime, and cilantro. Upstairs you’ll find the intimate Bullock Room, named for historic St. Louis bartender Tom Bullock, the first African American to publish a cocktail recipe book in America. Settle into the velvet-lined hideaway for a Down for the Count #2, a combination of Citadelle gin, Salers, Gran Classico, Cocchi Americano, celery bitters, and grapefruit tincture. Despite the exceptional cocktails, the mood is never dampened by elitist snots throwing around the term “mixologist.” Don’t miss the seasonal thematic cocktail menus, which have previously drawn inspiration from a local women’s roller derby team and Ms. Dolly Parton.

After shuttering Reeds, his reliably spot-on new American dinner spot in Maplewood, Matthew Daughaday took a year off before returning as executive chef of the 21C, the most aesthetic hotel in the city. He oversees banquet operations, a daytime cafe and coffee program, and the hotel’s heart: the chic, Spanish-rooted Idol Wolf. Built upon traditional pintxos, the menu is respectful in its refined, soulful execution of classic dishes. Items like pan con tomate and patatas bravas may not be revolutionary selections, but here they’re transportive. The bar program, led by the clever Dane Davis, features cocktails that are experimental and strikingly delicious, keeping the bar crowd loyal and lively, no matter what day of the week.

Affable chef/owner Kurt Bellon putters about town in a little Japanese firetruck, inspiring smiles and rumbling tummies wherever he goes. The truck introduced St. Louis to the culture of konbini (abbreviated from konbiniensu sutoru), Japan’s ubiquitous convenience stores that sell prepared and packaged food. Bellon crafts sweet sandos of fruit and cream along with savory katsu options, all served on ethereal slices of milk bread. The mobile shop also carries other popular Japanese drinks and snacks, like triangles of onigiri folded into cellophane wrappers with nori just dry enough to maintain a tense snap with each bite of rice. It’s the kind of operation that’s only possible in St. Louis.