Mosaic Debuts Des Peres Location

The Mosaic family has expanded yet again. On Friday, October 7, Mosaic opened its third location at 11925 Manchester Road in Des Peres. The new spot follows the original downtown restaurant and an outpost at Lambert.

"Des Peres is a terrific community," says general manager Gregg Doyle. "We're very fortunate to be allowed to be a part of this community. It just seemed like a natural progression."

Doyle adds that opening weekend went "marvelously well," with a packed house both Friday and Saturday night. This isn't simply pent-up west county demand. The Mosaic team chose this location based on where the majority of Mosaic's downtown diners came from.

Heading the Des Peres kitchen is executive chef Ben Lester, a veteran Mosaic chef. The chef de cuisine is Andrew Jennrich, who comes to St. Louis most recently from One Sixtyblue in Chicago. In addition, he has trained with noted chefs Daniel Boulud and Grant Achatz.

"I am super excited," Jennrich says. "I think St. Louis is a great city, and as a culinary city is getting ready to pop."

The Des Peres Mosaic largely follows the template of the downtown restaurant -- first and foremost, the menu. When Gut Check visited for dinner, we sampled several of the tapas (in the broad, contemporary sense) preparations: a flight of soups (a zesty, cold cucumber, the signature butternut squash with Madagascar vanilla bean, and a creamy tomato); duck breast with a carrot purée and cabbage salad; cherry port-braised short ribs over apple-mashed potatoes.

Unique to the Des Peres Mosaic is a regular weekend brunch. (The downtown location restricted brunch to convention season.) Served Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., brunch includes traditional items like omelets, biscuits and gravy, eggs benedict and crêpes. Prices range from $7 to $11. There is also a children's menu.

Brunch features a Blood Mary bar with more than 20 garnishes, including andouille sausage, pickled asparagus and olives stuffed with blue cheese. (Gut Check was particularly tempted by the "Inside-Out Bloody Mary Martini": Absolut Peppar vodka poured over horseradish- and Worcestershire-infused Bloody Mary mix cubes.)

The Des Peres Mosaic shares many other elements with the original: the same happy hour and after-dark happy hour (10 p.m.-close), the communal chef's table and the sleek design. A signature "ribbon" motif ties the restaurant together. The freestanding island bar, cocktail area and lounge were designed so that all visitors would be at eye-level, offering a streamlined view of the space. A large open window allows diners to peek into the kitchen.

"We encourage guests to ask what is this dish and why it's prepared this way," says Doyle. "It way very much a Mosaic idea and benefits the team at the kitchen and team at front all at the same time. When you have a closed kitchen it creates a slight divide. It's very gratifying for chefs to see our guests enjoy the fruits of what they just put together."

A grand opening party is planned for Thursday, October 20, from 5-7p.m. Call 314-394-2323 for more information.