crazy4Hawaii

We'll be staying at the Hampton Inn on Market Street and driving to a concert at the Fox Theater. Any good casual eateries in the area near these two places?

Clifton

Are you looking for something within walking distance, or is a short drive ok? There's not a lot around the Fox itself. And the Hampton is in a good spot to get in and out, but it's not within a few blocks of any of my personal choices. I'm not coming up with any great choices between them as they're only about a mile apart.

If you're willing to do a short drive (traffic downtown isn't bad after 6pm) Some of the best family run Italian places in the country are not too far if you're up for a drive a couple of exits up the highway. The Hwy 40 (also known as I-64) up one exit past Grand to Kingshighway (south). As you pass another highway a couple of blocks south. look to your right. The entire area is an Italian neighborhood with restaurants run by several generations of families. Favazzas on Southwest is my fav. If you're there for more than a day, and have extra time, the Botanical Garden in that area is one of the best anywhere. Of course, that depends on the weather too.

Further south on Grand, which is the street the Fox is on, there's a row of Asian restaurants.

The Central West End (Kingshighway north from Hwy 40 to Forest Park Ave to Euclid) is an area full of trendy little cafes and such.

There are more such areas with restaurants like Lacledes Landing (riverfront near the Arch), Soulard (near south STL near the A-B brewery), and the U-City loop (past the park, barely suburbs, great eats like Lebanese and Ethiopian) but these are a little further out. Maybe 3 or 4 exits in various directions.

Hope you have a good time.

aloha

I think the Hampton Inn is just a few blocks from Union station. The web site gives info about the restaurants there---stlouisunionstation.com. Personally I like Key West cafe which is very casual.

Across Grand from the Fox is The Best Steak House which is extremely casual and has good food. they have gyros and gyro salad in addition to steaks. It's an entertaining experience. They call it cafeteria-style, and the cooks are behind a counter. you line up to place your order, and the cooks yell across to you to get your order. It's convenient if you want to get parked near the Fox and then eat. thebeststeakhousestl.com

hope you enjoy your stay in St. Louis and the concert!

dmyers

At Union Station, the microbrewery is a fun, casual atomosphere for bar & grill menu. But I agree with Clifton, and for a short drive you can try out some of the best Italian you will ever find. The area he mentioned, is known as "The Hill." Cunetto's has excellent food, but you can count on a long wait on weekends for a table (2-3 hours), and will be dressier and pricier. Zia's is not expensive, is more laid back, and excellend food. Also a wait, but shorter; expect an hour on weekends. Lorenzo's is right in the middle in terms of dress, has wonderful food also, great breadsticks and dip!, and much shorter wait. Those are probably my 3 favorites on The Hill. You can't go wrong with any of them. Enjoy, and let us know what you decided on!

tcreath

THe Hampton Inn is basically across the street from Union Sation. I work behind Union Station. There are some good restaurants, but mostly it is just a touristy destination with a food court and such. There is an excellent Italian restaurant on 20th, next to Union Station, called Lombardo's. Kind of on the expensive side for dinner but very good. There are also several places to eat further downtown, although it may be too far to walk from the Hampton. If you do go down there, Charlie Gitto's on 6th is good.

I too recommend the Hill. My favorite restaurant there is Favazza's, which is on Southwest, but I also like Zia's. Cunetto's is good but in my opinion not worth the long wait as its not that much better (if any) than most of the other restaurants in the area. The Hill is not too far from downtown.

LaFayette Square is also close to downtown, and has a few great restaurants including Arcelia's, my favorite Mexican restaurant in the area. Soulard is also fairly close to downtown, and is full of restaunts, bars and pubs.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask.

Tracy

tcreath

I forgot to mention that Lombardo's is in the Drury Inn, in the basement.

dweebe

Attached to the Hampton Inn is a Seibergs. It's a small local chain that has decent food. Appetizers, sandwiches, salads etc.

Union Station is a short walk away. I like the Route 66 Microbrewery. Their food portions are pretty big so split an order if you're wanting to save money.

About 5 minutes west of the Fox in the Central West End there are tons of places. When you leave the Fox go south on Grand a few blocks and then go west (turning right) onto Lindell. Go about 1 1/2 miles and turn right or left onto Euclid. There are plenty of great restaurants in that area. Too many to list.

Everyone else has recommended a lot of good places too.

annesherrod

Just right up the street is Harry's Bar and Grill. Great atmophere, outdoor patio,good jazz, great wine, etc...It has nice views of downtown through the very large floor to ceiling windows.
I also reccomend Arcelia's in the laffayete Square area. Mu fav Mexican rest. in Stl. will need car for this one.
Have fun, Anne

crazy4Hawaii

Thanks so much to everyone!

herrz

First, I work right across from Charlie Gitto's, and it's not all that impressive. (I don't mean to knock someone else's response, I'm just telling you what I know!)

Down on Washington Ave, there are several really great restaurants popping up. One of my favorites is Kitchen K, which has a great trendy atmosphere, and the prices aren't too ridiculous. Plus, you'll get something a little better than the regular burger.

Have a great time!

alex

We ate at Kitchen K recently and thought it was really good! There were 6 people in our party and everyone loved it.

tcreath

herrz, I believe you are referring to my recommendaton for Gitto's? If so, I just wanted to clarify that I didn't say that it was expensive. Actually, on the contrary, I think its actually a pretty good value and the food is great. I just named it as a recommendation.

There is also a Charlie Gitto's location on the Hill and that location is quite expensive (and much more formal) and does not have the same menu that the more casual downtown eatery has. I much prefer the later, but that's just me.

I also have to agree with the suggestions about Harry's and Kitchen K.

tcreath

Yikes! Sorry, I see now that you said "impressive", not "expensive". Sorry about that! I eat there quite often and really like the food, but to each there own, right?!

Thanks!
Tracy

cmcfong

Add another vote for Kitchen K. We ordered several appetizers, not expensive, great variety and well prepared. We also polished off a couple of desserts...fantastic!

Liz5959

Don't forget about Schlafly Tap Room,2100 Locust St. 314-241-2337. It's also not very far from the Fox or the Hampton Inn. Good food and local brew (Schlafly not AB). The best reviews and listings for St. Louis restaurants are on http://www.saucemagazine.com/ Take a moment and check out this site.

TrishMcH

In the area around the Fox I would highly recommend Vito's on Lindell just about one block from the Fox ( east of Grand) and Joe Boccardi's in the Coronado on Lindell ( west of Grand) just about a block and a half from the Fox. Also in the Coronado is Nadoz a coffee and wine bar that is a great gathering place. St. Louis University borders Lindell and some students live in the Coronado and frequent all three of these locations. You could arrive early, park your car near the Fox and walk to dinner. Have a great time.

dmyers

I can't believe I forgot to suggest Charlie Gitto's and Syberg's. Great additions to the thread! I agree with tcreath on Charlie Gitto's, and like it very much; particularly the more casual downtown location. Lasagna is excellent and portions were huge. At Syberg's, ya gotta try their wings. Family recipe, and they are soooooo good. The only thing I disagree with is Kitchen K suggestion. Went there for a nice dinner on a Fri. or Sat. night, not long after they opened. Appetizer was very good, dinner was just ok, I thought the prices seemed high. The woman at the table next to us was wearing a studded leather collar with attached leash sitting on the table. The woman with her held the handle to the leash. To each their own, but it was not the dinner atmosphere I would prefer.

dweebe

Sybergs' wings are good but make sure to order the right thing. They have regular "hot wings" on the menu which are like everywhere else, but they also have the Sybergs wings which is a different sauce. Like I said before (with the wrong spelling) Sybergs is attached to the Hampton Inn you're staying at.

They announced the baseball playoffs will start Oct 5th. One of the things Sybergs does is run a shuttle to Busch Stadium for Cards games so they draw a pretty big pre-game crowd. If you're going to eat there be aware it might be busy.

For wing snobs in St. Louis also make sure to check out db's in Soulard. The bar is nothing special: just a little sports-bar dive place. However their wings are great: very large, very meaty with a great hot sauce. Plus the kitchen is open very late, usually to 2am.

S&M at Kitcken K on a Friday/Saturday night??? There was a bar about 4 or 5 blocks down Washington Ave. that used to have "Fetish Night" on Monday nights but they closed about a year ago.

crazy4Hawaii

Wow, the "leash girl" experience would have freaked me out a bit too! Is the Hampton Inn Union Station an okay place to stay? I tried to post this question on a separate thread but messed it up so I'll hijack my own thread here. I know it's not the most ideal place but it seems to be close to Fox Theater and I'm not very familiar with St. Louis. I would also like to visit Grant's Farm and the zoo while I'm there so I can relocate to another hotel if you think it best.

dweebe

The Hampton Inn Union Station is a fine hotel. While not in the heart of all the action it always seems to be busy. You have easy access to Highway 40 (via Market) so you can make the quick trip to the zoo. Jefferson is just a block away so you can easily get on I-44 to make it out to Grants Farm.

I don't see any reason to relocate. Don't worry.