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Start a Top 5 for Date NightEditor’s picks
Press picks, until locals rank their own Top 5s. Sourced from the local food press. As seen in St. Louis Magazine and St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Updated September 2026.
Sado · The Hill
Mahe describes the scene at Nick Bognar's Shaw Avenue room as hip, suitably shadowed and minimalist, which is the shape of a good second date. Order nigirizushi from the sushi chefs, red bream toasted with a blowtorch, and Hokkaido uni fattened on kelp. Bognar also sends out Southeast Asian plates such as salmon slices in an emerald aguachile cream. Mahe's advice on drinks is to go with the cocktails rather than the wine list.
Brasserie by Niche · Central West End
Gerard Craft's Central West End bistro turns out mussels and steak frites in what Mahe calls a convivial atmosphere that is indubitably Parisian, and he rates the sidewalk two-tops among the most cosmopolitan seats in the city, weekend morning or night. It suits an early date because the room is lively enough to relax into. Order the mussels and the steak frites; the adjoining Brass Bar handles the drink beforehand with a cheese plate.
Trattoria Marcella · Lindenwood Park
The brothers Steve and Jamie Komorek have kept this Watson Road trattoria on St. Louis Magazine's romantic and cozy list, where Mahe calls it a classic and ever-popular place. His instruction is short: do not miss the lobster risotto special. The room is close-set and warm, the sort of Italian dining room where a two-hour dinner passes unnoticed. Book ahead, ask whether the risotto is on, and order the house pastas around it.
Polite Society Restaurant and Bar · Lafayette Square
Mahe's note on this Lafayette Square room is that the brick-walled, folksy little joint pulls you in for a cocktail and keeps you for dinner. That is a low-pressure date: start at the bar, move to a table when you feel like it. Order the bistro steak or the confit chicken wings he points to, and let the cocktail list open the evening. The scale of the room keeps a conversation easy.
Charlie Gitto's On the Hill
Mahe places this Hill fixture on the romantic list as classic Italian that accommodates both dressing up and dressing down, which is useful when you are not sure what kind of evening it is going to be. He calls the eggplant Napoleon a wonder and notes that Nunzio, the house veal dish, is named for Gitto himself. Order both, and ask for the toasted ravioli the restaurant is credited with putting on menus.