Restaurants in Creve Coeur

Plates of queso fundido overflow with cheese and chorizo at tables around Chihuahua's Mexican Restaurant, where diners sip five types of refreshing margaritas. In the kitchen, cooks flip sizzling shrimp to include in savory quesadillas, or wrap jumbo shrimp in bacon to fill Juarez fajitas packed with bell peppers and onions.

Peppe Profeta began cooking before he was old enough to grow a beard or tall enough to sneak into rated-R movies. At the ripe old age of 10, in his native Italy, he learned his family’s treasured recipes and techniques at his grandfather’s side. Then Peppe traveled to America and spent his teenage years honing his skills at Gian-Peppe's on the Hill before willing into existence his own Peppe's Apt. 2. Today, he labors in the kitchen to create Italian and Mediterranean pastas, beef carpaccio, and tender pork chops as guests lounge amid the exquisite beauty of the dining area—a historical Victorian house. There, elegant white-cushioned chairs cradle diners beneath twinkling crystal chandeliers as they dig into pasta primavera or rack of lamb. Outside on the patio, a canopy of umbrellas and magenta flowers shields diners from the sun, and a wall of meticulously maintained shrubbery blocks passersby from attempting to start a staring contest.

Strands of ivy dance across the walls, crisp linen-topped tables set the stage for Italian and Albanian meals, and an elegant wood bar presents various libations. In this romantically lit arena, chefs sprinkle walnuts on chicken and almonds on 10 ounces of grilled trout. They also bake lamb and douse it in red-wine sauce. The kitchen team prepares desserts such as baklava to give meals a happy ending, just like movies where the princess finds her prince and gets him to marry her without a prenuptial agreement.

At El Paisano, it’s not uncommon to spot a baby in a giant sombrero or a mariachi serenading a diner with a tiny trumpet. This lively Mexican eatery bustles with color and energy from morning until nightfall—particularly on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, when it plays host to live mariachi performances. Attentive servers bustle about the bright dining room, toting complimentary chips and salsa and the giant frozen margaritas lauded by reporters from Metromix St. Louis. Colorful hanging lights illuminate the festive tablecloths and Mexican murals that stretch across the walls.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, seasoned chefs fold meats and seafood into authentic Mexican specialties—from cheesy chicken chilaquiles to creamy lobster enchiladas. To craft their specialty parrillada dish, they sizzle Spanish-style sausage, grilled steak, chicken breast, and bacon-wrapped jumbo shrimp on a crackling skillet. For dessert, the chefs eschew lackluster meal enders such as cheesecake bought from the store or plastic crumpets borrowed from a child’s tea set in favor of flan, tres leches cake, and other authentically prepared regional specialties.

Though Giuseppe's Ristorante has changed locations and ownership through the decades, the chefs still craft a traditional Italian menu of authentic entrees from 80-year-old recipes, earning them a third-place spot on 10best.com's list of Best Italian Restaurants in St. Louis. Giuseppe's serves white-tablecloth lunches daily but also opens its doors on the second Saturday of every month for intimate, lamp-lit dinners. In the dining room, tables play host to elegant place settings and individual bottles of olive oil, which are paired with diners after eight hours of rigorous personality tests. Artwork festoons the walls, and a solid wood bar with a mirrored back reflects the wait staff’s culinary choreography. Giuseppe's Ristorante also assembles catered breakfast and lunch fare in a variety of cuisines such as Mexican, Italian, Asian, and barbecue for office get-togethers and special events.

Flowing steadily from a fountain, or la fuente in Spanish, water represents luck, promises, hopes, and dreams. For the past decade or so, Las Fuentes restaurant has certainly fulfilled the virtue of its name, as the family-owned eatery has expanded to three locations across St. Louis. At each spot, chefs prepare authentic Mexican feasts fit for meat eaters, seafood lovers, and vegetarians alike. Soft corn and flour tortillas envelop succulent meats, such as al pastor, shrimp, and shredded beef. Cast-iron skillets sizzle with fresh fajita vegetables and a bounty of seafood, including scallops and tilapia. Vegetarians, meanwhile, can enjoy tostadas, chalupas, and quesadillas chockfull of beans and cheese. As patrons chow down, they can also enjoy the day’s event, such as karaoke or a live mariachi band.