St. Louis, MOMiddle Eastern

This Euclid Avenue Lebanese room serves homemade dishes and sampler platters. The mezza covers appetizers, while the Taste of Lebanon platter covers entrees; each comes in meat or vegan form. Share a platter, then consider dessert, coffee or hookah.

Kurdish immigrants run this Grove restaurant, serving dishes from across the Middle East with Arabic music in the dining room. Order the signature Sultan Pilau, a phyllo potpie filled with savory rice, lamb shank, oven-roasted nuts and raisins. The naan bakes in a tandoor installed after a pizza oven did not work for it.

This North Lindbergh room has a cozy, brightly decorated interior. Chef Wasam Hamed, formerly of Layla in The Grove, serves Levantine dishes and takes special orders with advance notice. Try the hummus and baba ghanoush among the mezze.

Owner Pearvz Gholina welcomes guests to this roughly 20-seat Persian dining room in Holly Hills. Start with sambosas, phyllo filled with spiced minced beef and baked golden, then the koobideh and barg kebab combination. The house-made ayran is a chilled, savory yogurt drink; no alcohol is served.

This family-run O'Fallon restaurant cooks meats over charcoal. Skewered grilled chicken arrives on lemony basmati rice with a sumac-dusted salad. Order the chicken platter and hummus with warm pita.