Hide Away Restaurant and Lounge

I wanted to like this place, but I can’t. My friend called ahead of time to find out if it was a smoking bar; they said no. We walk in, and see 3 people smoking. They have a guy playing dated songs, which is actually charming. But we felt guilty for having a conversation while he played; lots of dirty looks from the regulars. So we felt super unwelcome. If they got rid of the smoking, and updated the music, this place would be awesome.
Also, there were quite a few creepy, older gentleman. I dance with one that was pretty handsy, and made me feel uncomfortable. And I noticed that the piano player played the same song twice, in one hour.

Horrible! They are supposed to be a nonsmoking bar and they do it anyway. I guess they are asking for a big fine from the City.

Old fashioned, full of smoke and regular customers pushing 70. I came at 6pm or so on a Sunday so of course it wasn’t too, crowded but still I was surprised by how spacious it was. I missed the piano guy, but the place has some other charms. I got a can of stag and the bartender suggested pouring it into a chilled glass, a definite first for me. Make sure you keep your drinks on the knitted placemats at the bar (carpeted in red shag, btw), or apparently the owner gets mad about the condensation. I also had a White Russian with a hint of Bailey’s (the bartender’s suggestion) and intervened to change the channel to the Simpson’s after everyone complained about Big Brother coming on the tv after 60 Minutes without actually doing anything about it.

This is a smoking bar. If you don’t like indoor smoking, don’t go, period. If that’s your jam, then read on.
Having grown up in NY State, I got used to the indoor smoking ban a long time ago, well before I ever started frequenting bars. It’s still pretty difficult for me to get used to a place that allows it. But I don’t let that completely deter me if the place is rumored to be a good time.
A buddy of my had some friends in from out of town, and wanted to take them out south city style. To him, the Hide Away was the logical choice, and I soon found out why.
Tucked away on a side street, but easy enough to find if you know what you’re looking for, the Hide Away is exactly what I pictured. Small, smoky, and filled with southside regulars. Seemed like a predominantly blue-​collar place, a traditional neighborhood bar, and I do love those. A man playing keyboard and singing provided the entertainment. He was occasionally joined by other regulars, singing their favorite songs. Every now and then, couples would dance. One bartender was taking care of the whole room, and doing a good job of it. The beer selection, all bottles & cans, was a lot more diverse than I expected. Craft and AB products shared the cooler pretty equally. Priced reasonably as well.
Personally, I wouldn’t choose to go back. Not because I had a bad time, but because I don’t like smelling like smoke when I get home and it’s not super transit accessible.

This place is cool for late nights and locals — but it is really loud. Like, too loud to have a conversation, when Mark Dew is playing. It was so loud that the speakers were feeding back consistently throughout the night. I wanted to stay and hang out but it was so loud I had to leave after one drink. I think you could have fun at this place but it was just too freaking loud in there because of the music. My boyfriend compares it to the «red room» from Twin Peaks which I think is pretty funny and accurate.

Retro but in a bad way. I especially appreciate the special occasion smokers in their 20’s who think its cool to wave that shit around like its a josh stick, taking a half hearted puff once in awhile, immediately tilting their head back to exhale like it really maters where they’re blowing that crap. Nothing worse than being surrounded by play smokers when the air is already fouled beyond believe. I can handle some smoke. It’s a bar after all. But burning your eyes smoky? Fuck that. Before running out I caught a snippet of a song being played by the resident piano player and it was a really tacky selection.

We’ve been coming here for nearly 5 years. Mark Dew is great on the keyboard. Often there are other people that sing along with Mark. Joe Maggio is a very good entertainer.

Hideaway is a great bar to relax at. Cheap drinks, nice staff, and fun regulars. My favorite weekend visits are when the regular seemingly blind piano guy is playing all the jams from the 50s-​80s and the old couples are on the small floor dancing, chain-​smoking and drinking away.
This place can get really smokey, so be wary if that’s not your thing. Outside of the multiple paintings of the lady with her breast exposed, there isn’t much about the bar itself that stands out. It’s just a fun, old-​timey bar to chat, dance, and throw a few back.

Great neighborhood bar!
For the most part the bartenders are always friendly and so is the crowd. Save some money from the jukebox and listen to Mark Dew hit them notes!

If you rate this place lower than 5 stars, I think you really need to re-​examine your life. This is the best place in the world, and I’m not sure there’s a close second.

The Hideaway is a throw back to the old neighborhood piano bars. I am not a regular, but if I can get through the smoke, I generally get a kick out of kicking it with the geriatric regulars at The Hideaway. Some of the patrons have a reserved space with place mat in tact at the piano bar. The music is played on a keyboard as customers sing along in karaōke style to a very fast paced jazzed up version of most popular oldies. I was convinced to sing a song last time I was there and then some of the regulars who pushed me into it quickly marched up to tell me how I can improve ;-)
Overall, it’s a cheesy atmosphere. You’re not going to meet your future mate here, but a good time can be had with the right attitude. Drinks are cheap, fast and strong. Bring a group.

The Hide Away is a special kind of place. I think we were by far the youngest group in the place with the average age of the patrons probably in the sixties. There was a classy picture on the wall with with a nip slip going on that we all got a laugh about. They do have a piano that had had someone playing so it was better than just a juke box. There was an old man that was just too much fun. I think he tried to dance with every woman that was in our group, much to the dislike of his female friend. It was an interesting place to stop in for a drink, Steph B. loved it, I was not as enchanted as she was but it got us out of the house and into a place that we would not normally have stopped by. Not sure I would go back, but glad we stopped in.

The minute that you set foot in The Hideaway, you’ll swear that you just stepped out of your time machine set to the 1940s. Frank Sinatra music rules this place, the divey décor is right out of a Bonnie and Clyde movie, and half the patrons are still partying like it’s 1945 (although now around 85 years old).
It all adds to the experience! I go to the Hideaway when I want to drink whisky sours out of giant brandy glasses, participate in boozy sing-​a-​longs to «You Were Always on My Mind» and «Fly Me to the Moon», do lots of alcohol-​induced social cigarette smoking, and socialize with the utmost colorful cast of characters.
Mark my words, there’s no other place like The Hideaway!

It ain’t the Ritz but well worth the trip!

One of my top 5 favorite bars in St. Louis.
It’s kitchsy, and you can smoke there. Bring your grandma.

If Lawrence Welk’s spirit came back as a 29 year old hipster with jagged bangs, a penchant for PBR and parliament cigarettes, you’d find him cozyed up at The Hideaway every night of the week. Once there, he’d strike up a nominal conversation with the Coen brothers, who, too distracted for anything beyond their furious note-​taking, brainstorm their next bizarrely situated movie, most likely some sort of dark comedy, opening with a menacing twist on Moon River for the opening title track.
Weeks ago, Ethan Coen actually asked Mark Dew, The Hideaway’s resident and blinded keyboard piano player if he would play Moon River at his request. Ethan’s hand snapped quickly away from the Garfield Tip Fish Bowl jar as Mark snarled in a low growl, «I don’t sing that song here,» and went on to masterfully slip into a perfectly pitched Willie Nelson «Always on My Mind.» Back at the table, Joel was so thoroughly impressed, that he yearned to hear Mark sing «Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain» but his brother’s exchange created too much fear in his heart to ask.
Relinquishing any hope of decent conversation with those two, Lawrence turned his attention back to his contemporaries and smiled. His soul danced and sang with the still lively octogenarians, sipping on their kitty cocktails, enjoying the soft bounce clap round the piano that old people are fond of doing. Yet his spirit ran with the youths, wrapped in their well worn flannel, chipped nail polish flicking cigarette stubs, raking through unwashed yet still attractive hair and keeping time to intense chatter of some sort of cultural disaster or another. To Lawrence, The Hideaway was the ying and the yang, the salt and pepper, the ebb and tide, the perfect balance of the self.
Somewhere on a humid summer night, our road weary brethren heed the silent call of The Hideaway. Barmaids always wanted, Mark Dew always singing, (lately a recorded voice sings, as his health ails him) and the damned best cheap Makers Manhattans always flowing atop of the red shag carpeted bar. Like the dried up fountain at the front door, the past and hope for the future is gone here, just an endless shadowbox bar in the diorama of time.

Fun when its dead. Interesting spot, you must check it out at least one time.

Dive bars for life! We stopped in late on my birthday to witness the phenomonen that is The Hide Away.
This place reminds of me a tiny slice of The Dresden in LA. A corner with hipsters, a table of middle-​aged mountain lions, red shag-​carpeted bar, a diverse crowd. It is the place that time forgot, and that is just fantastic. We met a charming couple celebrating their 65^th wedding anniversary. And yes, they danced together on the 10×10 dance floor to a Johnny Cash ditty. The live piano/​guitar duo that night was charming as it was enjoyable. They played request after request. Danced to Sinatra. Surprisingly, the lead singer/​piano player did not know who Kesha was. The owner shook our hands on the way out and thanked us for coming. Drinks are cheap.
If it weren’t for coming home with a sore throat due to breathing in a carton of cigarette smoke, I would go back every weekend. Warning: Don’t swim in the fountain inside the front doors.

I feel like I’ve always had a good time when I end up at the Hide Away. I guess that I’ve lucked out, and the piano playing dude is always at it when I’m there. Sure, he plays the same songs over and over in one night, but it’s pretty charming and you can feel free to dance or sing a long.
The drink prices are good and the clientele is often middle-​aged and up, which is nice for a change of pace. If you’ve seen the sign outside, it seems that they are perpetually hiring «barmaids».

I really can’t say I understand this bar. It advertises itself as a piano bar, but other than a jukebox blasting classic rock and a waitress that runs around singing along with the thing, I can’t say I have ever seen any live music in this place… EVER.
Even though it doesn’t have live music, I really love coming to this bar. It’s tiny and unassuming and from what I can tell, most of the neighborhood has forgotten that it exists since it’s nearly empty all the time, even at 11PM on a weekend night. My friends and I are usually about 30 years younger than the mean age of this place, but that’s never a problem. It’s nothing stellar but if you are just looking for drinks and conversation, this may be perfection… especially if you aren’t looking for great lighting for, well, whatever reason you wouldn’t want great lighting.