St. Louis is a city that takes its food seriously. From classic barbecue to innovative farm-to-table cuisine, the Gateway City offers a diverse and delicious culinary landscape. Here's a guide to some of the best dining experiences St. Louis has to offer.

The chef and owner of iNDO won a nomination for a James Beard Award, Best Chef: Midwest, for his culinary work. It’s a blend of Japanese and SE Asian flavors done in an intricate, modern way.

For starters, we tried the Hamachi, Sake, & Toro Temaki which were creatively presented in a tray. They were of the highest quality and showed his experience in previous Japanese kitchens.

Then we headed on to the Isaan Hamachi, Shrimp Toast, Hamachi Kama, and Palm Sugar Ribs.

We absolutely loved the Shrimp Toast and Hamachi Kama! The Shrimp Toast reminded me of a modern take on dim sum and high-end toast. Just a perfect bite each time. I always love Hamachi Kama, which is the collar of the Hamachi. This one was absolutely gigantic and full of sweet, soft fish combined with grilled flavor and sauce on the bottom. Pure comfort food.

The Isaan Hamachi was also nice - it had Thai-inspired flavor that complemented the raw fish quite nicely.

By the time the ribs came around, we were getting full and these ribs were so big! Full of flavor and on the heavier side - we had a few bites and surrendered. Perhaps our eyes were too big when we ordered!

All in all, an excellent meal and a well deserved James Beard nomination!

For a touch of Parisian elegance, make a reservation at Bistro La Floraison. We loved the beautiful interior and sophisticated dining experience.

The menu features classic French dishes with a modern twist.

Start with Tour de France which is a sampling of all their best appetizers. Everything was inventive and tasty - but the gougères (gruyere mousse) and financiers (almond, thyme oil, & comte cheese) really stood out.

For the main course, we had the Ocean Trout and the Parisan Gnocchi. The Ocean Trout was the star of the show - super tender fish in a delicious sauce. The Gnocchi was pretty good, but the trout was really top notch.

The restaurant also boasts an impressive wine list, featuring both French vintages and local Missouri wines.

One of the most popular BBQ eateries in St Louis and known for its its modern take on traditional barbecue, we absolutely loved the friendly service at Salt + Smoke!

If we have to recommend anything here it’s the Smoked Wings, Hush Puppies + Maple Butter, Beef Fat Fries, and Cheddar Popover.

The Smoked Wings were some of the best I’ve had - full of smoke flavor and super juicy!

I don’t usually finish my hush puppies - but these were so good and had an interesting texture with the perfect maple butter accompaniment.

Beef Fat Fries need no explanation except the beef fat gave the fries an extra dimension.

The Cheddar Popover comes with the plate and was just so addictive!

Nothing beats small-batch, handcrafted ice cream on a warm day - which is what Clementine’s is known for.

Coming from an ice cream obsessed city (San Francisco) - we were impressed by the quality of the ice cream. You could really taste the ingredients and see the care they took into making some of the innovative flavor combinations.

Our favorite flavors were Gooey Butter Cake, Italian Butter Cookie, Maple Bourbon with Pecans, and Key Lime Pie.

There are several locations around town, but we loved how quaint the Lafayette Square location felt.

We always love chill neighborhood cafes with good coffee and food, so we were so happy to discover Fiddlehead Fern Café. Named after the edible fern frond, it has a menu that changes with the seasons to showcase the best of local produce.

We love a good toast and both the Roasted Tomato Goat Cheese Toast and Avocado Toast were some of the best we’ve had!

For coffee we chose a Lavender Lime Espresso Tonic along with a classic Latte. Both were wonderful and made by a talented barista.

We felt like we could have sat here for a couple hours, but the rest of St. Louis was calling!

Coming from a serious coffee town (San Francisco), I’m always on the lookout for high end coffee shops. After some research, I narrowed it down to Blueprint Coffee, and boy was I right!

I had a long conversation with the girl making my espresso about the taste profile of the beans they were using, which is always a good sign of a great coffee shop. She also brought over some carbonated water to help clear my palate. The espresso she made was excellent - it’s always the test I use to see if a coffee shop is any good or not! No milk to hide behind to cover an overly bitter espresso!

On top of this - the coffee shop is full of natural light and has plenty of seating and tables to enjoy a morning or afternoon here.

Part plant shop, part restaurant - this Bowood by Niche has excellent seasonal food sourced from local farms.

We recommend the super delicious egg toast or the french toast bread pudding for breakfast. For something healthier, yet still amazing, the grain bowl will hit the spot.

Afterwards, browse the beautiful plant shop just outside.

This converted industrial space to food hall is a popular spot for people to drop in for lunch or dinner, and it offers a wide variety of cuisine from all over the world.

We saw Indian, Mexican, Poke, Sushi, Pizza, Filipino BBQ, craft beer and more among the choices at City Foundry STL.

After some deliberation we chose some colorful, delicious tacos from Sur Este. If we still had room left, we would have gotten a freshly made pizza from the guys with the brick oven!

Housed in a working church, Crave Coffeehouse offers a unique ambiance along with excellent coffee and food. The soaring ceilings and stained-glass windows create a peaceful, almost reverent atmosphere that's perfect for starting your day or taking a midday break.

It sits near the Saint Louis University campus, so there are plenty of college students milling about getting their caffeine fix and using the tables to get homework done.

I had never eaten Burnt Ends before and I’m a bit of a BBQ snob as I’m a born and raised Texan who spent most of his time in Houston and Austin eating Texas Brisket. So when people told me to head over to Bogart’s for something called Burnt Ends, I was a bit skeptical.

Turns out, you can plesantly surprise a Texan when it comes to BBQ! The burnt ends were super juicy and full of smoky flavor. I loved the vinegar-based sauce they handed to me for dripping the burnt ends in as well!

Remember to get here early as the Burnt Ends typicall sell out by lunch time!

I didn’t try the rest of the BBQ at Bogart’s but I hear they have great pulled pork, smoky beef brisket, and apricot bruleed ribs!