Element Restaurant Serves Style Atop Lafayette Square

Restaurants with such an acute attention to design can go one of two ways: Either they focus so much on the way things look that food becomes an afterthought, or they produce dishes that surpass the expectations set by the exquisite setting. Without question, Element falls into the latter category. Really, this should be no surprise. It’s captained by executive chef Brian Hardesty, famed for Guerrilla Street Food and Terrene, two pioneering concepts that propelled the reinvention of the St. Louis dining scene. Hardesty isn’t the only one responsible for Element’s magnificence, though. Instead of the traditional kitchen hierarchy, Hardesty and three other chefs — Jerrid Scholten, Chris DiMercurio and Sam Boettler — work in a flat power structure that allows for creative collaboration.

Keep reading: Cheryl Baehr's review of Element.

Photos by Corey Woodruff for the Riverfront Times.