The Grove

The Grove is the LGBTQ neighborhood in St. Louis, and is home to a strip of local restaurants and bars. The city neighborhood is officially named “Forest Park Southeast”, but everyone knows this area as The Grove.

It’s also the only neighborhood, as far as I can tell, that has a cute little neon entry sign. I’m a big fan of this sign, as it reminds me of all the signs around neighborhoods in San Diego. I genuinely hope more neighborhood strips in St. Louis add them, though I’m not sure where else would be a contender. Maybe Cherokee St., Demun, or the Delmar Loop.

The Grove was one of the first places in St. Louis I was introduced to, as I had met up with some coworkers at The Gramophone, a popular sandwich shop. I’ve also been to Urban Chestnut, which is a brewery with a great vibe. (I went to both of these before I started paying attention to the food enough, so I’ll have to revisit before I make entries for those spots in the Food map).

I have yet to experience any of the clubs or nightlife that The Grove has to offer, so I look forward to adding to this page once I visit some of those bars.

A few of my favorite restaurants in the city are in the Grove. I think Sultan is one of the best middle eastern restaurants around, and Grace Meat and Three is the best fried chicken in town. Pie Guy (RIP) was the best New York-style pizza I’ve had, but unfortunately they closed down.

As of this writing, the corner where Sultan is has three closed down restaurants, and it leaves the area feeling kind of abandoned. Several times I’ve been in The Grove on a Friday night with good weather, and almost no one was walking around. I didn’t feel the energy I’d expect to feel in the nightlife part of town. I hope things pick up in The Grove and restaurants and bars keep opening up in the area.