Niche

Such a great experience. The service is just as good as the food. The chef’s tasting menu is worth every penny. Some of the standouts were the mushroom tea and the caviar egg. These guys know what they are doing, give it a try.

Insanely imaginative and creative. The aesthetics of the dishes left me in awe, and the taste… sweet Jesus.
It’s on the pricier side, but very fair. It takes an exorbitant amount of thought and effort to make these dishes. Anyone on here that complains about the prices should just stick to Cheesecake Factory.
I’ll be back.

Aaaaah! I am blown away! This place is EXCEPTIONAL. You can NEVER go wrong with anything you order. NEVER! The food is phenomenal and flavorful. It’s the BEST cuisine in St. Louis. Upscale venue. Friendly staff. Service was great.

Truly amazing restaurant experience. From the smoked mushroom tea to the ribeye with creamed kale. Wow!
I am a chef and was looking for some inspiration. I found many new ideas and amazing flavors.
Thank you!

We’ve dined there twice, and were fortunate both times to sit at the «chef’s table» counter facing the kitchen. The meals were as good as anything we’ve ever had– and that includes NYC, LA, and SF. The food is fresh, perfectly prepared, delicious, and really interestingly presented. This place is a treasure. Each dish we had was excellent. Nothing was average or mediocre. If any place is deserving of 5 stars, this is it.

Went to the famous Niche Saturday night for what I thought would be a great dining experience. What a disappointment! The food was not up to what I thought would be coming from a James Beard award winning chef. We ordered the 4 course dinner and there was not one dish that tasted good. There were 4 of us dining so we all tried different things and the entire meal was very unsatisfactory and bland. The 2 of us paid about $ 250 for our dinner, drinks and a bottle of wine and felt like it was the biggest waste of money. Wish we would have dined elsewhere.

I mean come on who in their right mind wouldn’t give niche a 5 star rating. Although Niche’s previous location on Sydney St produced a much classier atmosphere the ceilings were too low causing the restaurant to be incredibly loud. The new Niche in Clayton maintains the high class food and upscale venue. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would eat again!

Niche is always delightful. I’ve mostly done the tasting menu and it’s had it’s ups and downs depending on the day, but I’ve never had anything bad. Usually very interesting and flavorful, with outstanding presentations. I look forward to the cream filled caramelized caviar egg at the end of it more than anything else each time!

Surfing in Indo ruined me for surfing most other places, Helicopter skiing in Southern CO did the same for skiing. My wife 20 yrs ago ruined me for all other women (still does, btw) — and I’m afraid Niche has ruined me for food. It is simply wonderful.

I have eaten at this restaurant 3 times and it just gets better and better. I are at the chefs table and watched them make the pizza, what an amazing experience to see my pizza made in front of me. The interaction with the staff at the chefs table made it even more of a great experience.
The food is wonderful, service is great and now that you can book on line with their app it is a total win win, you won’t be disappointed.

It’s a decent restaurant. Food was good and staff was kind. However if you’ve been to a high end restaurant in other city, you wouldn’t call this fancy. We’ve been there for our anniversary dinner and our expectations were high. Now knowing the place, we were overdressed. Being limited to a fixed 3 course meal and sitting at a booth was interesting for such place. However price was pretty low. So, it’s a better option than a chain restaurant but don’t keep your expectations high.

I’ve dined around the world (on expense account mostly). :)
This place is excellent. Sit at the «chef’s table» — actually a long counter with about 30 stools. It’s dinner and a show.
P. S. I pretty much NEVER give give stars.

Niche is an intimate restaurant with great food and a cozy ambience. We had the a la carte menu and everything on it was good. The only disappointment was the trout which lacked flavor. The service was excellent and we will definitely go back.

This is the first time I have dined at this restaurant in five years. It was also the first time for my wife dining at this restaurant. We did the Sunday dinner, which is a prix fixe three course menu. We started with the parsnip soup which was certainly the highlight of the evening. This was followed by a duck ragu parpadella and followed a flourless cake. The pasta was great but the dessert just ok. I also got the wine pairings which were lovely. Any time there is a Chateauneaufdupape in a wine pairing I am one happy camper.

What can i say. My gf and i have dreamt about coming to Niche for a while. Im not in the position to go to a place like this but on a special occasion, very special occasion. I finally was able to make this happen for her birthday recently. First and for most, if you’re thinking of going to Niche sometime soon, i would urge you to make your reservation two weeks ago. I had the option of 530 or 930 for a reservation a week before hand but it was a Saturday night.
I knew i would need to save up some money to do this right, since i prepared so well, i insisted we both have the chefs tasting menu, for 100 $ each. Honestly i joked saying, i knew it would be the best meal I have ever had, but we may need to swing by the drive through on the way home. That was incorrect, by the time we got to the last few dishes, i was begging them to stop.
Everything i had was insanely good. Everything seasoned so well, simple dishes did magical things to my taste buds, it was a mind blowing experience. I knew it would be good, but my expectations were so far off. The smoked mushroom tea was one of the best things i ever tasted. At first i was put off by the idea, but once i tasted it i was asking for a pitcher. It’s so good.
Although this place isn’t somewhere i can frequent, this birth day dinner, with a few drinks, tax and tip was just about a weeks pay for me. Was it worth it? Without a doubt. I have honestly had dreams of Niche since we’ve eaten there. If i could give it more stars i would. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

My husband and I used to frequent Niche in its original location in Benton Park and, frankly, were disappointed when we discovered it was moving to Clayton. So disappointed that, although the restaurant has been relocated for more than two years, we haven’t visited the Clayton location until tonight in recognition of our fourth wedding anniversary.
Returning was bittersweet. We missed the character of the shot gun styled space where we had celebrated six months of dating and, a year later, our engagement dinner. Stepping into the location in charming Benton Park always felt like walking into a NYC restaurant and Clayton is… well, with all due respect… Clayton — a perfectly nice area that doesn’t capture the same imagination as other STL neighborhoods, in my opinion.
Tonight, we sat at the chef’s counter and we could not have been more pleased with our experience from start to finish. Every single person we encountered was friendly, service oriented and genuinely wanted to make our anniversary dinner special. Gerard himself came over to chat and started the conversation off that he had heard we were regulars at the old locale and it was fun to reminisce with him.
All night, we were treated with surprise gifts from the kitchen and everything we had was positivity special — the flavors and textures were so wonderfully matched and experienced, I found myself in awe and amazed that we had the good fortune to be enjoying it; quite literally a meal that made me want to pinch myself between bites!
To say that we will be back is an understatement. I’m ashamed it took us so long to check out the (now not so) new place. Tonight was truly among the top dining experiences of my life. Many thanks to Gerard Craft and his top notch staff!

Wow! Foodie overload! I just started working out of St. Louis so I was in the search for the best restaurant there. I decided to splurge so I went to Niche. They have been coming up in all my food searches and they have a really good review history. I went all out. I got the Chef’s Tasting Menu, It consisted of about 10 courses that are all the highest quality that Missouri has to offer. All I ca say is that if you are a foodie, you will enjoy this restaurant a lot. Since the menu changes all the time I’m not going to write every single dish that I had out here but in the photo’s that I took. If I can’t remember everything in the dish I’m sorry, there was SO many ingredients. Can’t wait to go back for another round.

we participated in the sunday supper and it was an experience that was well worth it. $ 40 per person for a three course meal. it’s been four years since our last visit so we were pretty excited to check it out again especially with their new location. I’ve read a lot of Unilocal reviewers complain about the noise that came from the adjoining restaurant, pastaria, but i really had no qualms with it and didn’t notice it at all.
first course was a broccoli soup. it has asparagus, sunflower seeds, parsley, and caper berries. the caper berries were a pleasant surprise because it added some acidity to the bowl. two thumbs up.
for the second course we got the steak and chicken. UM, the flank steak was amazing. just really, really amazing. it was cooked to perfection. it came with fingerling potatoes, green beans, and romesco sauce. it was superb. the chicken was also cooked really well. it was very tender and the meat just fell off the bone. it came with a couscous fennel salad but I found it to be pickled too much (if that is even possible) for my taste.
dessert. vanilla gelato with chocolate sauce was too rich for my liking but my husband really enjoyed it. we also ordered «local cheese» and it was a party in my mouth. the cheese was called fleur de la vallee and the cheese on its own was pretty good… BUT the cheese paired with the crackers and strawberry jam was a party in my mouth. WOW.
other than that, the service was very attentive and collaborative. teamwork was very evident. my husband and I appreciated that the place was pretty well lit. it wasn’t super dim like a lot of other restaurants. we were able to see our food and appreciate our food.

I actually was planning on going to the restaurant next door– the wait was over an hour– we had walked in here, after looking the menu over– I was sold–
I do like the ambiance. It’s chic and elegant. Whether you’re chilling with friends or conducting business, this place has a good atmosphere. from watching the chefs cook, the plants, the servers all came together– great experience– not for people who don’t want actual taste —

I came to Niche on a whim… in St. Louis for one night and found this gem while walking around in Clayton. Overall, I’d give 5 stars to the food and 4 stars to the cocktails (which in my mind are just as critical).
On Mondays, they do «supper,» which is a three course prie fixe with two entrée options for $ 35 but no other menu options. I had the green bean salad (wonderful, with pickled red onion, confit potatoes, green beans, and a basil aioli), the confit chicken (rich, with a green risotto and marinated greens on top), and a cheese plate for dessert (just say yes to homemade sassafras crackers and rhubarb compote). Their attention to deal was on display with every plate.
As a budding cocktail enthusiast, I tried two. The snowdrops was refreshing (and very pink) but I thought the absinthe was a little overpowering compared to the gin and elderflower. The berry pimm was solid, with the Pimms #1 really coming through and very subtle berry flavor. My favorite of the two.
Service was solid, and my server (Jordan) made me feel welcome as a temporarily displaced Oregonian in Missouri. Also, good to note that I think the other 6 – 7 tables were all locals, and a couple sitting next to me came every Monday. Good times all around.

I wish I could come up with a singular word for «attention to detail» that didn’t conjure up mental illness like OCD or obsessive-​compulsive. Not that those qualities are always necessarily a bad thing as I resemble those remarks. However. Niche is obsessed with detail in only the very best way. I mean they make their own butter for crying out loud.
Everything from the amuse bouche (house made goat Brie) to the insanely good ice cream at the end of the meal was truly excellent. Miso marshmallows in the soup. Bonita «caviar». I’m sure there are many endless descriptions already posted.
The key message here is to just trust the chef, kick back, and relax. Let them tailor the evening for you. (and perhaps ask not to be seated next to an annoying couple planning their wedding who only know first world issues). I’m just sayin. ANYWAY. the service is outstanding. The food is outstanding. The seating could be a wee bit more comfy. I won’t let that stop me. Next stop– little sister Pastaria next door. I’d love to see a few seating spots here that were a bit more special– like for an anniversary or whatever but it’s a minor quibble.
Come here. Every chance you get. And hopefully on expense account.

I’m not sure how I haven’t written a review for Niche… If you’re looking for the best food in St. Louis, make your reservation now. I’ve come here a number of times for special occasions, normal days, and just ’cause.
Niche is exceptional in St. Louis, and I think every reviewer can attest to that. My favorite thing about Niche right now is their 3-​course, $ 35 menu, which is a steal for the food quality.
The most recent time we dined here, we had an asparagus based soup, which was lick-​your-​bowl good.
We also had the chicken with panzanella salad– although we never order chicken in restaurants, this was tender, perfectly brown, and had a well-​paired accompaniment.
Meatballs over polenta– large portion, easy to share, flavorful and well-​cooked meat.
Raspberry tarte and vanilla gelato– better together than apart
I honestly can’t remember all of the dishes I have had here, but if you scroll through some of my past photos, you might get an idea. The execution of dishes is always consistent, the presentation is superb, and the service is impeccable. This restaurant is «upscale» without being stuffy or unapproachable.

We’ve been to Niche 2 Mondays in a row for their Monday Night Suppers, that’s how seriously hooked I am. And I have to say that the food keeps getting better each time.
I love the ambiance and décor. It’s fine dining that you can also dress casual. It’s great for a romantic dinner, family dinner or casual dinner with whomever.
The staff is friendly and service is great!!! Now there are a few waiters whom are better than others but all in all everyone is cool.
3÷30÷15
Cesar salad
Chicken pot pie/​some type of steak
Tress leches cake
4÷6÷15
Wedge salad with may tag blue cheese
Brick chicken/​red wine braised beef
Berry cobbler
We always order 1of each of the main entres and share. Grace is one of my favorite hostesses. She’s friendly and accommodating. The house manager is also tops. She’s friendly and personable and remembers her dinners. Our portion sizes are always perfect because I’m usually stuffed in the middle of the entre. I was absolutely floored by the brick chicken over polenta with brussel sprouts and the mixed berry cobbler… I mean the chef did an outstanding job on that chicken. It was soo moist you could see the juices in the meat with each cut of the knife and seasoned perfectly and the sides were delicious. My oohh my that wonderful pie!!! That cobbler kicked but. I should have ordered an entre to take home, that’s how seriously good it was. The chicken pot pie on our 1^st visit was also very delicious. The BF went with the steak that night which he enjoyed.
Monday night suppers are our thing and it’s a great opportunity to try Niche.

The Monday evening dinners at Niche are very accessible and last night was absolutely luscious! The soup, the fish dinner, and the tiramisu dessert, were all exceptional! Gerard Craft is consistent in his very fresh locally sourced cuisine with every flavor shining through! His artful presentations just add to your desire to partake…
Niche is the place to go for exceptional food in a relaxed atmosphere; definitely a top choice for the true foodie!!!