10 New St. Louis Bars To Visit Now

The Vandy
Undoubtedly, you've already sampled the expertly crafted libations from the crew at STL Barkeep, the roving bartender of choice for events at Tower Grove Park and other spots around town. At the Vandy (1310 South Vandeventer), you can finally sip these top-notch drinks in a properly cocktail-focused setting. It opened earlier this year in the once-forlorn stretch near the Grove first pioneered by Rockwell Beer Co., a stylishly minimalist space proudly serving classic cocktails. They, too, may seem a bit minimalist compared to other spots' incomprehensible lists of tinctures and obscure liqueurs — but the odds of getting a drink you actually enjoy goes up exponentially.

The Pitch Athletic Club and Tavern
Located catty corner from the new City SC stadium in Union Station, the newest restaurant from Lodging Hospitality Management (known for Three Sixty, Westport Social and more) is designed to be a soccer mecca. On weekends, you can come to the Pitch Athletic Club and Tavern (2 South 20th Street) as early as 6:30 a.m. to catch international matches over breakfast — but you needn't be an early riser to appreciate what's on tap.

Upscale sports bar fare at the Pitch pairs well with the voluminous beer list and a shorter roster of wines by the bottle or glass. Grab a seat at one of the couches along the dining room's perimeter for a cozier vibe.

'Ssippi
'Ssippi (2926 Cherokee Street) is something new for Cherokee Street — and not just because it's sleekly stylish in a district that has long opted for a more, well, eclectic look. No, even beyond the white tiles and Instagrammable neon is the bar's unique raison d'être.

Whiskey-loving Cherokee hasn't borne a new wine bar in years — and so 'Ssippi's focus on the wine world's trendiest pour, natural wine, represents a true escalation. Judging by the number of beautiful people enjoying a glass at the bar, it's long overdue.

The Saturn Lounge
What was long ago a blacksmith's shop is now a wonderfully grown-up place to have a drink in what can feel like a maddeningly youthful nightlife district. But just because the Saturn Lounge (1915 Cherokee Street) is more sophisticated than other Cherokee Street bars doesn't mean it's dull. Quite the contrary. The shelves of LPs claiming prime space behind the bar provide an excellent clue that this an audiophile's dream, a place where the depth of the playlist is rivaled only by the excellence of the sound system. In addition to the requisite list of beer, wine and cocktails, there's also a long list of N/A options.

Grand Spirits Bottle Co.
Natasha Bahrami and Michael Fricker are best-known for their Italian eatery Salve Osteria, which sits just down the street and has an impressive bar of its own. But their secondary venture, Grand Spirits Bottle Co. (3194 South Grand Boulevard), also offers a bar worth visiting, one with a short list available by the glass and a menu of simple snacks

Come April, the bottle shop will also become the home of New Society, a new cocktail lounge from Fricker and celebrated bartender Meredith Barry.

Much of the new concept is shrouded in mystery, but expect high-tech equipment like roto-evaporators and centrifuges and an "exploration of creativity" for the two mixology superstars.

Eat Crow
The hard-rock-themed Crow's Nest has become a mainstay in rapidly changing Maplewood — a reliable spot for well-executed spins on pub grub and a drink or twelve. Its Soulard spinoff Eat Crow (1931 South 12th Street), which opened last summer in the handsome corner spot that previously held Nadine's Gin Joint, offers many of the same highlights: friendly barkeeps, a come-as-you-are-vibe and menus encased in classic album covers.

Eat Crow's slightly different feel comes from the bar — an enormous horseshoe that dominates the room. The staff will give you a food menu right away when you sit down, but it feels like a spot where you're meant to drink a bit more, to linger. Come with a friend or make a new one.

Gallery Pub on Thurman
The bar that opened during the pandemic in the place of the old Thurman Grill is still very much a neighborhood bar. You can hear Shaw people talking about neighborhood concerns — charter vs. Catholic school, the latest loathsome discourse on the local NextDoor, porch pirates. The handsome dark wood bar still dominates the room and there's still live music.

But in many ways, the laidback neighborhood bar that is now Gallery Pub on Thurman (4069 Shenandoah Avenue) is an improvement — the menu is bigger, the food is better, the drink list promises manhattans and negronis in addition to the nine beers on tap, and the whole place has been given a good cleaning and a fresh coat of paint. It's the kind of bar every neighborhood longs for but few are lucky enough to get.

Platypus
The chillest bar in the Grove is also an excellent cocktail bar — and that's a great combo indeed. Located in the former U.R.B. space on the western edge of the Grove, Platypus (4501 Manchester Avenue) offers three big rooms and a sizable patio, so it's never difficult to find a place to drink, whether you prefer a barstool, a small table or a big one.

Co-owners (and mixologists extraordinaire) Tony Saputo and Meredith Barry dream up an ever-changing cocktail list that's detailed on a chalkboard hanging to the left of the U-shaped bar at Platypus.

The Platypus menu almost always includes a slushie of the day along with a half-dozen other potions. The food window, a separate operation called Duckbill, is very good.

Wine Down Cafe
Wine Down Cafe (7529 Michigan Avenue) may sound like a wine bar, but it's actually a cheerful full-service restaurant with a bar to match. Chef/owner Kevin Shed's year-old spot is fairly far off the beaten track in Carondelet in the space that previously held Bently's (and Lucky's, and Schoemehl's — to say this space has had turnover is a serious understatement). It's now one big room with an open floor plan, and the bar runs half the length of it.

You can order wine by the glass or bottle (there are about a half-dozen each of white and red) or try the rum punch, which purports to be the best in town. Service is friendly, and the prices are properly south city (and even lower at the bar's regular weekday happy hours). Perhaps Wine Down could be the place that breaks the curse of 7529 Michigan? Its enthusiastic regulars are hoping for it.

Winnie's Wine Bar
The newest Lafayette Square-adjacent spot from the Hamilton Hospitality juggernaut, Winnie's Wine Bar (2101 Chouteau) fills the space that was previously home to Charleville Brewing Company. Winnie's offers not only bottles and glasses of wine but also flights, with a trio of three-ounce pours that allow you to sample more without the hangover. And, oh, the wines you'll try! Thanks to Winnie's top-end Coravin system, the bar can pour from expensive bottles without having to worry about them turning. There's also a roster of cocktails and beer and a menu of small plates, mostly designed for sharing.