Westport Social Brings a Huge Adult Game Lounge to Maryland Heights

Westport Social (910 Westport Plaza, Maryland Heights) brings a much-needed new concept to the Maryland Heights area, one that’s a rising trend across the country: a modern adult game lounge without the annoying buzz of an arcade, coupled with a heightened food and beverage program to rival your neighborhood gastropub.

From the moment you walk in, you are greeted by murals by local artist Phil Jarvis and an expansive space filled with a variety of games, including bocce ball, shuffleboard, ping pong, pop-a-shot basketball, darts, Foosball and snookball. All of this is encompassed in two large rooms, appropriately decked out with TVs of all sizes.

The larger back bar area boasts three gigantic TVs — we’re talking nine feet by sixteen feet — making it impossible to miss the action from the big game. Views of the screens are perfect from just about anywhere in the room, whether you’re at the bar, a booth or one of the contemporary living room-style seating areas.

So out of the gate it’s already one of the best places to watch sports in town — but the atmosphere lends itself to being much more than just a sports bar. The outdoor patio area promises to remain open well into the fall, thanks to an outdoor fire pit and heat lamps. The crowds are already coming out for college football Saturdays and NFL Sundays, but the day-to-day dinner and drinks crowd proves the area was in need of a trendy but casual concept.

The back room doubles as a music venue that hosts live music every Friday and Saturday — check the website for the schedule of local artists and bands. And as if all this wasn’t enough, there are two private karaoke rooms upstairs.

The food program is mostly made up of elevated bar bites: things like smoked chicken wings with Calabrian chile buffalo sauce, herbed french fries with smoked tomato aioli, and burnt end nachos.

However, there are larger plates as well, including housemade pizzas, tacos, sliders, and, of course, burgers and ribs. The menu is approachable for the beer and wings crowd but can still entice the modern foodie. The drink menu is robust, with a wide range of high quality beers, wines, and spirits — plus a fantastic cocktail menu created by Kyle Mathis, an alum of Taste and Sardella.

Regardless of the size of your crew, Westport Social can accommodate. In fact, the space is available for parties with private and semi-private rooms available. For non-private events, the restaurant has a strict 21-and-over policy starting at 4 p.m. — those of you not wanting to drink your happy hour drink next to a screaming toddler, you are in luck.

Over the past decade, Westport Plaza had been in decline, and was no longer the beating heart of Maryland Heights. All that began to turn around with the purchase of the Plaza by Lodging and Hospitality Management (LHM) in 2012.

“The Westport Plaza location is continuing to develop and add entertainment options," says Todd Hotaling, the company's VP of Revenue and Marketing. "Westport Social is just one more amenity that can be enjoyed with the fifteen other entertainment and dining options that can be walked to. We expect the developments to continue well into the future with three to four more restaurant or bar options, and possibly some residential condos.”

It’s hard to imagine the LHM group not getting it right, with other standout concepts around town including the recently renovated Union Station and the Cheshire Hotel complex, to name a few.

Simply put, if Westport Social is any indication of the changes to come, a Westport Plaza restored to its status as a county destination isn’t too far away.


Ellen Prinzi is our bar and nightlife writer, she likes strong drinks and has strong opinions. You can catch more of her writing via Olio City, a city guide app she started last year.