Review: Louie

I’m glad to see the return of Matt McGuire to the local restaurant scene. The proprietor of the former King Louie on Chouteau (closed for about a decade) has launched a fresh, delicious and hip spot in Clayton’s DeMun neighborhood. The intimate space was part of the former Jimmy’s on the Park and has been redesigned with a long bar, a partially open kitchen in back and attractive banquette seating, some with views onto the expansive green space of Concordia Seminary across the street.

The menu is intimate, too, with well-constructed Italian fare based on fresh, local and house-made ingredients. A wood-fired oven provides delicious, bubbly crusts for the four pizza offerings, while a couple of inventive pasta dishes start with hand- and house-made noodles. There are about a half-dozen small plates, a few creative veggies for sharing and only four entrees, most in the low $20 range.

It was love at first bite as I practically inhaled a plate of Agnolotti ($18) filled with butternut squash and sauced with delicious brown butter, vibrant sage and toasted walnuts. The standout dish was built around its delicate pasta pockets, which were excellent; the pureed squash, too, was quite good, a little on the sweet side. The browned butter added to the richness, while the sage and walnuts offset it. A side of Cauliflower Fritto ($11) offered breaded and fried florets with a twist: the cauliflower was pickled to yield pungent mouthfuls of tangy flavor.

Also excellent was the Roast Chicken entree ($21), a generous breast and thigh, attached and boneless, with an appealing pan-seared skin browned to perfection. The meat was tender and flavorful, sitting atop a delicious chicken jus and slightly bitter broccoli rabe. The Mussels entree ($21) was superb, with delicate bivalves for the most part devoid of the annoying sand grains and fishy flavor that sometimes plague this dish. The tiny mussels were white with good texture, flavored by shallots, garlic, white wine, parsley and a light tomato sauce.

A small plate of Polenta with Roasted Mushrooms ($12) was well-intentioned, but simply too creamy. The intensity and richness of the cream made it hard to read as a savory dish. Even the excellent roasted mushrooms spread on top couldn’t prevent it from tasting almost like a dessert to me. A Winter Salad ($12) of farro, delicata squash and pomegranate kernels was too earthy for my taste, plus $12 is too much to ask for a small bowl of grains and fruit.

Pizza here is divine, with a premium crust doused in EVOO and topped with first-rate ingredients. Our Margherita ($14) had tomato sauce, mozzarella di bufala cheese, fresh basil and roasted garlic. The simple toppings allowed the crust to shine.

A dessert of Panna Cotta ($8) with red wine reduction, dried cherries, dates and candied almonds was tasty and well-executed, neither too sweet nor too rich.

amuse bouche
the scene | Bustling neighborhood bistro
the chef | Sean Turner
the prices | $5-$17 small plates, $12-$14 pizzas, $21-$27 large plates
the favorites | Agnolotti with Butternut Squash, Roast Chicken, Mussels, Cauliflower Fritto

food • ŏ • lō • gy
panna cotta | A molded, chilled Italian dessert made of cream thickened with gelatin and flavored as desired, with liqueur, fruit, etc. broccoli rabe Closely related to the turnip, this bitter vegetable (also called rapini) has edible leaves, stems and small heads, unlike broccoli.
agnolotti | Small pasta pockets similar to ravioli from the Piedmont region that traditionally were made with circles of pasta folded over a filling and crimped to form half-moons

706 demun ave. | 314.300.8188

Photos by Bill Barrett