Slingers belong to the diner counter more than any other St. Louis plate: eggs, hash browns, a burger patty, chili poured over the top at whatever hour you need it. This list covers the rooms across the city that treat the slinger and its late-night, brunch-adjacent cousins as real cooking, not a joke.
Photo via 
Yellowbelly runs brunch just once a week, and the room fills for it: bright, open, built for lingering over the meal. The happy hour menu holds its own too, with a bar that takes walk-ins without a fight. New American small plates anchor both sittings. Worth building a Sunday around when the single-day brunch window lines up.
What to orderbrunch entrees, happy hour menu items, New American small plates
Photo via
Vicia builds its reputation on vegetables treated as the main event, not the side: roasted vegetables and seasonal greens share the menu with house-made pasta in a Botanical Heights dining room built for a slower, special-occasion pace. The patio adds another register for warm-weather dinners. This is the county-line test case for St. Louis's chef-driven tier done without pretense.
What to orderroasted vegetables, seasonal greens, house-made pasta
№ 03
Stone Turtle | Whiskey Bar & Restaurant
$$
Photo via
The coffee press alone justifies the Dogtown trip on a Sunday morning, and the brunch entrees back it up with real care. Dinner reservations move faster than brunch ones, so committed regulars often end up trying the evening menu first. Service gets named and remembered here, which says something about a small room that's still finding its rhythm.
What to ordercoffee press, brunch entree, dinner special
№ 04
Tuckers Place
$$
Photo via
Steaks, burgers, and ribs have kept Tuckers Place a Soulard fixture for decades, the kind of order-and-go room people build a pregame routine around before catching a show next door. The Soulard location's waits have grown longer on busy nights, and the tables don't always keep pace. The steaks remain the reason people keep coming back anyway.
What to ordersteaks, burger, ribs
№ 05
Pat Connolly’s
$$
Photo via
Fried chicken is the draw at Pat Connolly's, crisp enough that regulars order it without checking the rest of the menu. Sitting across from Turtle Park, the room pulls a family lunch crowd, and the mac and cheese plus chips combo works for kids even if the chips run heavier on fat than flavor. A straightforward neighborhood lunch stop.
What to orderfried chicken, mac and cheese, chips
№ 06
Pepper's Bar & Grill
$
Photo via
Pepper's Bar & Grill reads small from the street and turns out to be a big room once inside, with karaoke on Fridays pulling in a crowd that stays for the garlic pepper wings. The skin comes crisp, the meat stays juicy, and the burger and fries hold up as a backup order. A solid stop before a show at the Arkadin down the street.
What to ordergarlic pepper wings, burger, fries
Photo via
Crown Candy Kitchen has poured milkshakes and stacked BLTs in Old North since 1913, and the sandwich still comes loaded with enough bacon to challenge anyone finishing it solo. The Crown Sundae closes out the meal for those with room left. Kid-friendly seating and old-fashioned sodas round out a genuine St. Louis institution, not a stunt.
What to orderBLT, milkshake, Crown Sundae
Photo via
The ribs at The Fountain on Locust fall off the bone the way out-of-towners hope St. Louis barbecue will, and the billy goat chips paired with a Royal Grill sandwich make a strong case for staying past one order. The kitchen also handles gluten-free requests with attention rather than an afterthought. A dependable stop for casual barbecue in the city.
What to orderribs, billy goat chips, Royal Grill
№ 09
Helen Fitzgerald's Irish Grill & Pub
$$
Photo via
Helen Fitzgerald's Irish Grill & Pub has the square footage for retirement parties, game-day crowds, and everything between, with a parking lot and TV count built for groups. The wings and fries combo gets argued as the best in the city by regulars who've tried the competition. Staff move fast even when the room is packed for a game.
What to orderwings, fries, burgers
№ 10
Westport Social
Photo via
Westport Social occupies a Westport building with real St. Louis history, once home to a movie theater that ran from 1973 until it closed in 2001 as part of the old Wehrenberg chain. The current room has since become a food and entertainment stop rather than a cinema. Worth knowing the building's past before writing the address off as generic.
№ 11
Sauce on the Side
$$
Photo via
The Five-O calzone is the order at Sauce on the Side, a downtown counter built around the calzone rather than treating it as a pizza afterthought. Visitors stopping in after the Arch or a river cruise find it close enough to fold into a sightseeing day. Expect a wait at peak hours, since the room is small and the format draws a steady line.
What to orderFive-O Calzone, Pizza, Calzone
№ 12
Mac's Local Eats
$$
Photo via
Mac's Local Eats runs on counter service and a menu built around one thing: the smash burger. Order at the counter, and the patty arrives with a crust regulars call among the best in the city, even if the fries land as merely fine on an off day. The milkshake closes the loop. A straightforward burger stop, no detours needed.
What to ordersmash burger, fries, milkshake
Frequently asked
What is a St. Louis slinger?
It's the late-night and brunch diner plate built from eggs, hash browns, a burger patty, and chili poured over everything. The origin story is murky, and different counters argue over who did it first, but the format is consistent across the city.
Where can I find the best slingers near me in St. Louis?
This guide covers rooms across the city itself, not the county or Metro East, so check each entry's neighborhood against where you're starting from. Diner counters and casual American rooms are the most reliable bet for slingers specifically.
How is this list ranked?
Each restaurant carries an Insider Score built from the public review record, not a personal visit or a paid placement. No restaurant pays to appear on this list, and the ranking reflects what diners have consistently said about the food and the room.
Are chain restaurants included in this guide?
No. Multi-location chains like Imo's or Lion's Choice are excluded from guides on this site. Local multi-location operations are allowed but limited to one location per brand to keep the list honest.
ƒ
The data first, then the verdict
We start with the review record, not a press release. Every room here is a real kitchen with a strong rating across a meaningful number of reviews, ranked on our 10-point Insider Score. We weight consistency over time and the rooms locals return to, not the ones tourists pass through once. The list updates as the data does. How we work →
Lejla Begic
Staff Writer · Top of St. Louis
Staff Writer. Born in Sarajevo, raised in Bevo Mill, lives in Affton. Covers the guides and drives the whole metro to do it, from the Delmar Loop to the Metro East. Tells you the order, the price, the wait, and the parking, then makes the argument.
