Diners' Choice: Hot spot restaurants in Downtown

OpenTable

Updated June 05, 2025

Looking for restaurants that are the best hot spots in Downtown? You’re in the right place. Each month, OpenTable analyzes nearly 2 million global diner reviews from the past four months. We sort the results by location and category to help you discover new favorite restaurants. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

Cobalt Smoke & Sea

4.9

4.9 (966)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

St. Louis

About the restaurant

Cobalt Smoke & Sea is a bridge that connects uniquely different food sources — the rustic farmlands and the open air sea — and brings them under one illuminated space to create an alluring experience where culinary creativity, globally inspired flavors, and hungry curiosity intersect.

Our chef has meticulously created every Cobalt Smoke & Sea recipe through his deep love for the craft of food and those who will be enjoying it. It is through the selection of ingredients, care of crafting, and joy of presenting our dishes that we offer you true artisanal food with global inspiration. We invite you to share curiosity, tastes, and laughter over any of our dishes. Welcome to our table!

OpenTable Diner's Choice 2019-2025

Top review

James

Dined 4 days ago

This has become a regular stop when wanting a fun and good dinner. The menu is different, changing, and always good. Management recognizes and acknowledges us, as we always book through OpenTable. We enjoyed the tuna appetizer, the two fish entrees, key lime dessert, the fancy nightcap on the dessert menu, all very good. Of course all good things come at a price. We will return in the near future.

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Experience

Happy Hour

Frazer's Restaurant & Lounge

4.8

4.8 (1940)

$30 and under

American

Soulard / Benton Park

About the restaurant

Frazer Cameron, executive chef and owner of Frazer’s restaurant, opened the doors to his now iconic restaurant in 1992 in historic Benton Park. Entrees at Frazer’s are inspired by tastes from around the globe, including French, Moroccan, Italian, Mexican, and Cajun. Frazer’s also features an award winning wine & cocktail program, featuring over 50 classic & specialty craft cocktails.

Located down the street from the Anheuser Busch Brewery, Frazer’s is perfect for appetizers and drinks with friends or for an entertaining dinner. We feature many different dining options such as a bar & lounge area, our main dining room, our upper level dining area, takeout. Frazer’s also features street side & patio dining (Outside dining is first come first serve). Please call for any inquiries.

info@frazersgoodeats.com

Top review

LISAVIP

Dined on Jun 23, 2025

Had a great meal and drinks for my husbands birthday.

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4.8

4.8 (902)

$30 and under

Seafood

St. Louis

About the restaurant

The Broadway Oyster Bar is a locally owned and operated establishment and has been for over 35 years. The Oyster Bar is widely regarded as the premier New Orleans' style restaurant, bar and music venue in the Midwest. BOB, as it is affectionately known by its many fans and friends, is housed in a building that was built in the mid 1840's and is one of the oldest buildings still in daily use within the city of St. Louis. During its colorful history, our building has had many functions including a family home, a boarding house, a Chinese laundry, a record store and a bordello to name a few. These walls have heard and seen it all. Some people feel that the building is haunted by spirits who, occasionally late at night, play good hearted jokes on the staff such as doors suddenly opening or closing or lights going on or off as if by magic. Then again, it just could be because the building is over 170 years old. However, our historic building has just gone through a renovation so we now have two outdoor patios that are covered and heated during cold or rainy weather and an expanded kitchen to better serve you. Our food has won numerous awards and readers' polls for excellence and features some of the most sustainable seafood available such as fresh Gulf and Blue Point oysters, Louisiana crawfish and shrimp, Prince Edward Island mussels, scallops and crabs. Our Cajun and Creole dishes are our versions of many of the traditional Louisiana favorites. If you love New Orleans, you will feel right at home at BOB. BOB offers live music twice a day every night of the week except on Friday when we feature one act for the evening. We present the best local and national touring acts representing a variety of musical genres such as rock, reggae, bluegrass, blues, funk, R&B, roots, and jam, and weshowcase a wide variety of bands visiting from New Orleans. The live music is free up to 8 times per a week. However, for some of the more popular and well known acts, we do charge a cover which typically goes to the bands in order to keep attracting them to the BOB. Broadway Oyster Bar has been referred to by many as a staple of St. Louis and was recently honored by the St. Louis Chapter of the Missouri Restaurant Association as the 2015 Restaurant of the Year. BOB is a great choice for a relaxing dinner, a celebratory party or an opportunity to dance to a great band. As well known food writer, the late Joe Pollack, once wrote, "There is, quite simply, nothing in St. Louis quite like the Broadway Oyster Bar". That line was written over 30 years ago, but it is as true today as it was then. Welcome to the Broadway Oyster Bar Family.

Top review

Shani

Dined 3 days ago

The restaurant was awesome! The food was excellent!!

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4.8

4.8 (616)

$30 and under

Pizzeria

Webster Groves

About the restaurant

We are an Italian inspired, neighborhood restaurant bringing you food that is fresh, casual, and simple yet sophisticated. A place where the service is efficient and the hospitality is heartfelt.

Top review

Melissa

Dined on Jun 21, 2025

Pizza, pasta, chicken parmigiana and the goat cheese appetizer were all delicious! Perfect place to dine local and share with friends from out of town!

Clover and the Bee

4.8

4.8 (31)

$30 and under

Wine Bar

Webster Groves

About the restaurant

A neighborhood café and wine bar from the people behind Olive + Oak, bringing you food & wine that is fresh, casual, and simple. A place where the service is efficient and the hospitality is heartfelt. We open early offering fresh baked goods, breakfast sandwiches, and a seasonal breakfast menu. Our lunch menu features sandwiches, soups, and fresh salads. We open Thursday-Saturday evenings featuring an evolving menu of seasonal small plates from Executive Chef Mike Risk paired with wines that have been thoughtfully sourced to showcase the people that make them and the places they are from. A thoughtful list of local beer, cocktails and NA beverages are available to enjoy as well.

Authentic. Unpretentious. Delicious.

Walk in only for breakfast and lunch. Reservations recommended for dinner.

Top review

donVIP

Dined on Jun 4, 2025

Always outstanding. Great food preparation, service and pairing of wines for each separate course.

Olive + Oak

4.8

4.8 (1483)

$31 to $50

American

St. Louis

About the restaurant

VIEW TODAY'S MENU HERE https://indd.adobe.com/view/4f193613-6d68-4eef-9d3c-177c76a63667. We set out to create a fun, lively, and approachable restaurant and bar in our own back yard — a friendly, bustling neighborhood spot where the very best in food and drink would be served in a welcoming setting. We are looking at every single detail to make sure that Olive+Oak will be the perfect place to enjoy great wine, craft beer, well made drinks and thoughtful, ingredient driven food with friends and family.

Top review

Kara

Dined 2 days ago

Dinner at Olive + Oak was a fantastic experience from start to finish. All of the food was sensational, service was excellent and our server (Fernando) gave great suggestions.

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Perennial on Lockwood

4.7

4.7 (442)

$30 and under

Brewery

Webster Groves

About the restaurant

We are a small batch brewery, tasting room, and restaurant located in the heart of Old Webster Groves. Perennial on Lockwood is a collaboration between Olive + Oak and Perennial Artisan Ales offering the best in food, beer (yes we have wine and spirits too) and hospitality in a beautifully remodeled historic garage. Join us at our bar, in our dining room or on our patio.

Top review

JoanneVIP

Dined 5 days ago

We had a lovely lunch. Our first time at this restaurant so we started with a blackberry bourbon smash, a gin and tonic and fried green tomatoes. All very flavorful and delicious. We ordered the cheese sandwich and a Cuban sandwich . both were great and came with shoestring potatoes . We will be back! Happy Hour and dinner next!

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Experience

Happy Hour at Perennial on Lockwood

Rated Test Kitchen

4.7

4.7 (78)

$30 and under

Unspecified

St. Louis

About the restaurant

Rated Test Kitchen is an intimate Dinner Club. Our intent is to give our guests a unique dining experience like no other. Our evolving Menu, prepared by award-winning Culinary Creatives, features seven courses, and you (our Guests) will get to Rate each course. It’s time to channel your inner food critic and enjoy our innovative cuisine.

Top review

Sasha

Dined on May 30, 2025

From the service to the food, everything was exceptional. I was warmly greeted by name, and each dish was thoughtfully presented and absolutely delicious.

Idol Wolf - 21c Museum Hotel St. Louis

4.5

4.5 (466)

$31 to $50

Spanish

St. Louis

About the restaurant

Inspired by the rich culinary traditions of Spain, Chef Matt Daughaday's inspired cuisine at Idol Wolf takes a playful approach to tapas style dining by combining local and seasonal ingredients with classic Iberian sensibilities.
The menus seamlessly blend traditional takes on Spanish classics, with drinks and dishes that have a distinctly Midwestern point of view – the result is a shared drinking and dining experience that is uniquely craveable, and truly memorable.

Top review

MichelleVIP

Dined on Jun 17, 2025

The food is amazing. Service was phenomenal. Highly recommend you dine at Idol Wolf. We enjoyed the Serrano Ham and Olives starters. Delicious! Entrees enjoyed were the Octopus and Potato, Hamburger and Caesar Salad. All so flavorful and the perfect portion size. The staff went out of their way to help me purchase a penguin after the coffee shop had closed. Was so grateful! I collect them from each location and they went above and beyond to make it happen.

Robust

4.3

4.3 (1291)

$30 and under

Contemporary American

Webster Groves

About the restaurant

It is our desire to light a spark of adventure within you and encourage you to explore and rediscover a passion for life through truly experiencing what wine, food and hospitality are all about.

When you experience wine, you experience life. Wine encompasses a world of history, food, travel, culture, and romance. Whether a novice wine drinker or expert, Robust wants to create an enjoyable and enriching experience that educates each guest to the next level.

Sip wines, sample our tasting plates and shop our wines and gifts. Our menu of artisan cheeses, charcuterie and unique gourmet tasting plates are inspired by our wine selection.

Wines are listed by Robust Factor™ - a friendly format to help you navigate through the vast world of wines. With more than 40 wines by the glass, wine flights, and a full bottle list, choose your favorites or our onsite sommeliers will be happy to accommodate you with a selection.

Top review

KennethVIP

Dined on Jun 21, 2025

Very pleasant atmosphere. The side salads were great. We ordered crab cakes and a croque madame. Both were excellent. The staff were professional, friendly, and helpful. We're looking forward to going back.

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