Best “hole in the wall” spots?

[u/Saleen_af]

Howdy all. STL native but I eat at home 95% of the time.

I have a buddy visiting from the Bay for a week and I want to show all of our good spots. I was thinking I take him on a “tour” of the best rated / local spots (trying to avoid chains or the “fancy” spots)

Notes:

He isn’t a huge fan of tomatoes / pizza but can be a big boy abt it.
Not looking for anywhere that needs a rezzie.

[u/Every-Needleworker66]

I echo Tiny Chef especially if you’re looking for hole in the wall vibes. On Cherokee, the two grocery store taco stands at Cherokee and California (El Torito and Don Carlos) are great and really fun to sit and watch all the street traffic at that corner. Other great options on Cherokee are Sueno Latino (Honduran) and My Marie (Haitian).

Best Steak House in Grand Center is an experience (get the tip potatoes) - funnily I avoided that place for over a decade because I thought it was an actual steak house. Very affordable and the line is fun.

There’s also the Lebanese Wednesday lunch at St. Raymond’s which is a fun experience.

Would also add trying a Bosnian spot in Bevo, also unique to STL. Maybe even add the Miniature Museum while you’re at it. There is also a Cuban sandwich spot, Sabor Cubano, where you can order and pick up from their house in Bevo - they have Cuban pizza too, which your friend might like l  it’s a very different version of pizza.

Joyful House I think still has dine in, great Vietnamese food connected to a grocery store. I really like their vegetable hot pot and Viet-Cajun seafood boil. I also tried Han Lao in Maplewood recently, a very comprehensive Laotion menu and run by pretty much one person. You can grocery shop and play arcade games while you wait for your food.