St. Louis' Best Restaurants and Bars of 2017, as Chosen by our Readers

By Riverfront Times Staff on Wed, Sep 27, 2017 at 12:42 pm

The people have spoken! Here are our readers’ picks in 40 categories focused on food and drink. The best new restaurant, your best bet for tacos, where to go for karaoke...it's all here, thanks to your fellow St. Louisans. Take a look, then get eating (and drinking). For goods, services, arts and culture, click here — 40 additional winners are still to come. See also: Best of St. Louis 2017: This Is 40

For goods, services, arts and culture, click here — 40 additional winners are still to come.

Scroll down to view images

Best Restaurant
Broadway Oyster Bar
736 South Broadway, 314-621-8811

Broadway Oyster Bar may serve Cajun food, but its soul is entirely St. Louis. For more than 35 years, this restaurant and music venue has been serving up étouffée, jambalaya, gator and crawfish to hungry diners, washed down with the best hurricanes this side of NOLA. And you don’t have to worry about eating too much — head outside to the live music stage and dance it all off to a zydeco beat. Photo courtesy of Flickr / CC Chapman.

Best New Restaurant
Cork & Barrel Chop House and Spirits
7337 Mexico Road, St. Peters; 636-387-7030

If you don’t have the cash to buy your own Big Green Egg, Cork & Barrel Chop House and Spirits has you covered. The upscale St. Peters steakhouse is the only restaurant in the entire state to cook using these coveted cookers. After just one bite of its mouthwatering steaks and chops, you’ll wonder why more places don’t take its lead. Photo by Sean Locke, courtesy of Cork & Barrel.

Best Late-Night Eats
The Gramophone
4243 Manchester Avenue, 314-531-5700

If your idea of late-night dining means mediocre diner food and stale coffee, clearly you haven’t been to the Gramophone. After an eight-year run as a music venue, this Grove eatery converted into a sandwich shop in 2015 and made St. Louis a tastier place. For proof, order the “Manchester Melt,” a riff on the St. Louis classic gerber. It’s magnificent any time of day but tastes so much sweeter at 2 a.m. Photo by Mabel Suen.

Best Brunch
Three Monkeys
3153 Morganford Road, 314-772-9800

If it’s Sunday in south city, there is only one place to be: brunch at Three Monkeys. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the seventh day, this beloved Tower Grove South bar and grill turns itself into a multi-room culinary extravaganza with everything from shrimp cocktail to made-to-order omelets, roast beef to pancakes to pasta. Add in a complementary mimosa or bargain-priced Bloody Mary, and there’s no better place to be on a lazy weekend morning. Photo by Kelly Glueck.

Best Barbecue
Beast Craft Barbecue
20 South Belt W, Belleville, Illinois; 618-257-9000

When you hear the word “beast,” you might think it refers to the animals that pitmaster David Sandusky has on the smokers at his wonderful Belleville smokehouse. Ask him, however, and he’ll tell you something different: “Beast is an adjective; it’s how we do things around here.” That intensity translates into what readers say is the area’s best barbecue and possibly the best pork steak on the planet. Photo by Mabel Suen.

Best Burger
D's Place
900 Barton Street, 314-773-1019

As if one juicy eight-ounce hunk of Angus beef wasn’t enough, the folks at D’s Place in Soulard take that, add a second, and then cover them both in bacon, cheddar and an onion ring. They call this behemoth “the Danimal,” but they should simply refer to it as the best damn burger in town. RFT photo.

Best Burger, Non-Beef Division
Frida’s Vegetarian Deli
622 North and South Road, University City; 314-727-6500

Frida’s owner Natasha Kwan has said that people often tell her that the “Frida Burger” tastes like a Big Mac. It’s the ultimate compliment — to the Big Mac. At this University City vegetarian and vegan spot, even the most dedicated carnivores enjoy sinking their teeth into this secret blend of Match Meat, beans, vegetables, herbs and spices, topped with tomatoes and tahini chipotle slaw. Whether you’re vegan or meat-eater, it’s no matter. We’re loving it. Pictured: Frida's pesto burger, courtesy of Instagram / fridasstl

Best Bakery
Jilly’s Cupcake Bar & Café
Two locations, including 8509 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-993-5455

Long before the accolades, before winning Cupcake Wars (twice) and being selected as the best cupcakes in the entire state, Jilly’s was a simple University City bakery with the singular mission of bringing St. Louis the biggest and best gourmet cupcakes it had ever seen. When you bite into one of its massive, buttercream-coated treats, you’ll see it’s achieved that — and so much more — even if there’s nothing simple about it. RFT photo.

Best Desserts
Cyrano’s
603 East Lockwood Avenue, Webster Groves; 314-963-3232

For 40 years, Cyrano’s has been bringing St. Louis not only the best desserts, but the most comprehensive dessert selection. From classic flambés to the city’s best bread pudding, this Webster Groves mainstay harkens back to a time when you could grab a coffee and a slice of decadent pie after the theater — a treat that never goes out of style. RFT photo.

Best Wings
Culpeppers
Two locations, including 300 North Euclid Avenue, 314-361-2828

Culpeppers may not have invented the chicken wing, but you wouldn’t know that by the reverence with which St. Louisans treat this perennial favorite. Crisp, juicy, meaty, tangy and stinging with enough heat to make your eyes water — these wings have set the standard in St. Louis for more than 70 years. Here’s hoping for 70 more. Photo courtesy of Instagram / p3000m.