As you might expect from the man who brought St. Louis Blueberry Hill and the Pin-Up Bowl, the restaurant inside the Moonrise Hotel features plenty of retro kitsch: paintings of ray guns and rockets, moon- and space-related tchotchkes behind glass. The menu veers toward contemporary bistro cuisine, including steak frites, roasted chicken and trout grilled on a plank. Appetizers include a topnotch (and spicy!) calamari starter in jalapeno-garlic butter and a lobster beignet (basically, lobster in a doughnut). Breakfast and lunch are served daily. The cocktail menu is excellent. For a change, try the Blood & Sand, a Scotch-based creation infused with citrus and herbs. In addition, the rooftop offers unmatched views of “one of the 10 Great Streets in America” (dubbed by the American Planning Association) all the way to the arch underneath a rotating moon, said to be the world’s largest. The newly opened New Moon Room offers an additional all-season indoor/outdoo
At St. Louis Italian Restaurant & Pizza Co., pizza lovers have plenty to choose from. For starters, the St. Louis-style pizza can be made with either Provel or mozzarella. But if you aren't in the mood for the cracker-thin hometown fave, other pizza options include Manhattan-style, Chicago-style, New York-style and Boston-style pizzas. St. Louis Italian Restaurant & Pizza also has a variety of pastas and plenty of room in their spacious dining room and separate bar area.
Nestled inside St. Louis' Victorian jewel, Tower Grove Park, the Vernon W. & Marion K. Piper Palm House is a popular upscale host for weddings and parties with its high glass ceilings and lush array of vibrant greenery. Inside the Palm House, park visitors on Sunday can relax with brunch at Café Madeline. The French-inspired menu features an omelet station, soups, salads and a changing list of entrées. Fresh orange juice, coffee and mimosas are available to round out the dining experience, along with the café's namesake dessert. Reservations are strongly recommended and should be made well in advance on special holidays.
Formerly home to Krieger's, the restaurant adjacent to the Hampton Inn on the site of the old Barn is now the Highlander Pub & Grill, a Celtic-leaning sports bar and restaurant. Various sporting events project onto the large screens above the bar while the many other TVs throughout the restaurant also air hockey, football, soccer and whatever other sports are on. The menu includes a few Celtic-inspired dishes, such as Scotch eggs and shepherd's pie, but also embraces its St. Louis home with St. Louis-style pizza, T-ravs (available with beef or cheddar and jalapeno) and a section of the menu called "a touch of the Hill" featuring pastas and other Italian dishes.