Luvwoo Bar opened late last year at 12965 Olive Boulevard in Creve Coeur. Owned by spouses Zyi Li and Jenny Wu, the establishment serves cocktails, mocktails, desserts and hosts live music.
Both owners are musicians, Li a saxophonist and Wu a violinist, and opened the business because of their own experience playing at various venues around St. Louis. Not only did Li believe he could open a place for area musicians to reach new listeners, but he also envisioned the space as a home for all artists to find a place for their work.
“I saw that there was a need for places for live music and a true artist’s venue to express creativity,” Li said.
The space offers an intimate setting for its guests, with seating for 35, and white walls, tables and chairs that Li views as lending an open, inviting and almost art gallery-like feel to the bar.
Although the couple are musicians and feature area musicians, Li sees opportunities to infuse creativity throughout the space. Each month, artwork from a different local artist is featured on the walls at Luvwoo, a TV shares the images captured by local drone photographers and each month the poems of area poets have a place on the bar menu.
“I wanted the atmosphere to be similar to how open mics are diverse, where you can view performances from poets, musicians, magicians or stand-up comedians,” Li said of the dynamic.
The sweets are made by Jade Lee, owner of Cake by Jade, who created a dessert menu to complement the drink program. Some of those desserts include an Earl Grey cheesecake and matcha-misu, a twist on tiramisu, made with matcha.
Wu studied mixology for over a year prior to the bar’s opening and she has developed the drink menu to be an experience that guests might not find elsewhere in St. Louis. “I want to break boundaries and play with flavors,” Wu said of the drinks.
Craft cocktails include the Yellow Butterfly, combining vodka and white chocolate cream liqueur, along with a number of flavors such as passion fruit puree, a housemade pepper syrup and garnished with an edible yellow butterfly, which was created by bar manager Ale Cuervo. One of Wu's notable cocktails is called the Secret Garden, made with a few spirits including vodka and Frangelico, matcha and oat milk, presented with an edible “garden” made from Oreo crumbs to represent dirt, edible flowers and raspberries. Guests also have the option to pair this beverage with the matcha-misu dessert.
The non-alcoholic offerings are just as thoughtful and creative and include the Floral Lagoon, made with housemade floral syrup, lemonade and club soda, as well as the Lavender Dream, which combines housemade lavender syrup, cream, lemon and lime juice, egg white and club soda and a lavender flower garnish.
“Food and beverage is an art in itself, and I want to create drinks that represent that,” Wu said.
This story was originally published in Sauce Magazine.
