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The List · Rebuilt every week

The 49 best restaurants in St. Louis.

Ranked from the full review record, not the marketing. Movement is against last week’s issue.

49ranked rooms
8.7top score
46K+reviews read
Weeklyrebuild cadence
By Greta Hoffmann, Editorial Team

St. Louis does not agree on much, but its review record is clearer than its marketing. We scored every restaurant in the city on a single 10-point Insider Score built from the full body of its reviews, then corrected for what raw star averages miss: a 4.8 from forty reviews is not a 4.8 from four thousand. What survives that math is this list.

The famous addresses hold their spots only where they earn them. Just as often, the kitchens at the top sit in a strip-mall plaza or a quiet neighborhood corner, rooms that never bought a billboard. That is not a thumb on the scale. It is what the numbers said, and we let them say it. The full method is public: read exactly how the score is built.

The top ten

Issue № 136 · rebuilt Fri Aug 14, 2026

Blues City Deli№ 01

Blues City Deli

Sandwiches Benton Park & Fox Park $$
1 wks on the List
8.7Exceptional —
hatch'd STL№ 02

hatch'd STL

Brunch St. Louis Hills $$
1 wks on the List
8.2Excellent —
Balkan Treat Box№ 03

Balkan Treat Box

Bosnian Webster Groves $$
1 wks on the List
8.1Excellent —
Bogart's Smokehouse№ 04

Bogart's Smokehouse

BBQ Saint Louis $$
1 wks on the List
8.1Excellent —
Louie№ 05

Louie

Italian Clayton $$$
1 wks on the List
8.0Excellent —
Pappy's Smokehouse№ 06

Pappy's Smokehouse

BBQ Saint Louis $$
1 wks on the List
7.9Excellent —
Adam's Smokehouse№ 07

Adam's Smokehouse

BBQ Saint Louis $$
1 wks on the List
7.9Excellent —
Ted Drewes Frozen Custard№ 08

Ted Drewes Frozen Custard

Dessert Saint Louis $$
1 wks on the List
7.7Excellent —
The Fountain on Locust№ 09

The Fountain on Locust

American Midtown & Grand Center $$
1 wks on the List
7.7Excellent —
Olive + Oak№ 10

Olive + Oak

New American Saint Louis $$$
1 wks on the List
7.6Excellent —
ƒ

How the List is built

Every restaurant earns an Insider Score from 0 to 10, built from its full review record and weighted for review volume, recency, and our editors’ read. The List is rebuilt every week from the live review record; the movement column shows each room’s change against last week’s issue. Full methodology →

Rows 11–49

The rest of this week’s List. Movement vs. Issue № 135.

RankΔRoomCuisineNeighborhoodScoreWeeks
№ 11 — Sado Japanese The Hill 7.5 1 wk № 12 — Union Loafers Cafe and Bread Bakery Pizza Saint Louis 7.4 1 wk № 13 — Little Fox New American Saint Louis 7.4 1 wk № 14 — Anthonino's Taverna Italian Saint Louis 7.3 1 wk № 15 — Indo Japanese Botanical Heights & Shaw 7.3 1 wk № 16 — Brasserie by Niche French Saint Louis 7.2 1 wk № 17 — Napoli 3 Wine Bars St. Charles 7.2 1 wk № 18 — Annie Gunn's American Chesterfield 7.2 1 wk № 19 — Paul Manno's Restaurant Italian Chesterfield 7.2 1 wk № 20 — Nudo House STL Ramen Creve Coeur 7.1 1 wk № 21 — Yellowbelly New American the Central West End 7.1 1 wk № 22 — Trattoria Marcella Italian Saint Louis 7.1 1 wk № 23 — Acero Italian Maplewood 6.9 1 wk № 24 — Gioia's Deli Deli Creve Coeur 6.9 1 wk № 25 — Charlie Gitto's On the Hill Italian Saint Louis 6.9 1 wk № 26 — Missouri Baking Company Bakery Saint Louis 6.9 1 wk № 27 — Crown Candy Kitchen American Old North St. Louis 6.8 1 wk № 28 — Sidney Street Cafe New American Saint Louis 6.7 1 wk № 29 — Vicia New American the Central West End 6.7 1 wk № 30 — Sugarfire Smoke House BBQ Saint Louis 6.6 1 wk № 31 — Peacemaker Lobster & Crab Seafood Benton Park & Fox Park 6.6 1 wk № 32 — Citizen Kane's Steak House Steakhouses Kirkwood 6.3 1 wk № 33 — Mai Lee Vietnamese Saint Louis 6.2 1 wk № 34 — Pastaria Italian Clayton 6.2 1 wk № 35 — Cathy's Kitchen Soul Food Ferguson 6.1 1 wk № 36 — Gian Tony's on The Hill Italian The Hill 6.1 1 wk № 37 — YaYas Euro Bistro - Chesterfield New American Chesterfield 5.8 1 wk № 38 — Louie's Wine Dive & Clayton Kitchen Wine Bars Clayton 5.8 1 wk № 39 — Tony's On Main Street Steakhouses St. Charles 5.8 1 wk № 40 — Lorenzo's Trattoria Italian Saint Louis 5.8 1 wk № 41 — Carmine's Steak House Steakhouses Downtown St. Louis & Washington Avenue 5.8 1 wk № 42 — Cafe Napoli Italian Clayton 5.5 1 wk № 43 — Mama's On The Hill Italian Saint Louis 5.5 1 wk № 44 — Olympia Kebob House and Taverna Greek ST LOUIS 5.2 1 wk № 45 — Cunetto House of Pasta Italian Saint Louis 5.2 1 wk № 46 — Courtesy Diner Diner Saint Louis 5.1 1 wk № 47 — Fitz's American Saint Louis 5.1 1 wk № 48 — Herbie's New American Clayton 4.4 1 wk № 49 — Blueberry Hill American Saint Louis 3.5 1 wk

About this ranking

How is this ranking calculated?

Every restaurant earns an Insider Score from 0 to 10, built from its full review record and weighted for review volume, recency, and our editors' read. The same method is applied to every kitchen in St. Louis.

How often is the list updated?

It is rebuilt every week from the current review record, so a room that slips or surges moves with the numbers.

Why do lesser-known restaurants rank so high?

Because the data puts them there. The score does not know where a restaurant sits. A neighborhood counter and a marquee dining room are measured exactly the same way.

Five rooms, every Friday.

The new opening, the sleeper the score just flagged, and the one room worth booking this week. Free.