All Outdoor Dining

Quintessential Rivertown Spice & Tea At 195 Market Street in downtown Sainte Geneviève, Quintessential Rivertown Spice & Tea occupies an 1811 historic home lovingly converted into a tasting lounge, gift shop, and lunch destination where over 75 tea varieties are brewed at precisely the correct temperature using thermometers ensuring each variety reaches its optimal extraction point—because green tea scorched at boiling turns bitter, black tea steeped too cool tastes flat, oolongs demand specific ranges, and the difference between mediocre and exceptional tea comes down to temperature precision most cafés ignore. This is where proper afternoon tea meets serious spice appreciation: dainty sandwiches with crusts trimmed, finger foods arranged on tiered serving platters, expertly baked scones with clotted cream and preserves, and over 100 specialty spices (organic, wildcrafted, kosher options) creating sensory experience impossible in supermarket aisles. Open Wednesday-Friday 11 AM-2:30 PM and Saturday-Sunday 11 AM-5 PM, Quintessential Rivertown manifests Sainte Geneviève’s slower pace, appreciation for craft, and commitment to doing things properly in cups of perfectly brewed tea and plates of beautifully presented food. As one regular testifies: “Finally, a place where tea is treated with the respect it deserves—proper temperatures, real varieties, and service that understands what afternoon tea Read more…

Sirros – Nearly Three Decades of Familiar Faces, Good Service, and Homemade Onion Rings in Downtown Ste. Genevieve At 261 Merchant Street in the heart of historic downtown Ste. Genevieve, Sirros delivers what a family restaurant should: consistently good food, friendly service, comfortable atmosphere, and the sense that you’re eating somewhere deeply embedded in the community. Since opening in 1989, this casual ninety-seat restaurant has built devoted following among locals and wine country tourists by specializing in what they call “samiches” (yes, deliberately spelled that way), hand-tossed pizzas, hearty pasta dishes, and those legendary homemade made-to-order onion rings that customers describe as “munching crunchy mouthfuls of heaven.” Open daily (Monday-Thursday 11 AM-8 PM, Friday-Saturday 11 AM-9 PM, Sunday 11 AM-8 PM) with dine-in and carryout options, Sirros occupies a building with remarkable history—the 1930s soda fountain here once served as the lone bus stop between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau. Now, under longtime manager Lauren Smothers’ leadership, Sirros continues three-decade tradition of making visitors “feel at home, feel comfortable, and leave with a smile on your face.” The Name: Orris Spelled Backward (Plus an “S”) Sirros “began life backward”—literally. The restaurant’s unusual name comes from spelling “Orris” backward with an Read more…

Stella and Me – Where Award-Winning Sandwiches Meet Tearoom Charm in Sainte Geneviève’s “Little Bohemia” At 198 North Main Street, tucked into Sainte Geneviève’s art district, newly dubbed, “Little Bohemia,” a quaint café with rustic hardwood floors, local artwork on the walls, and a cozy tearoom atmosphere serves what customers describe as “sandwiches so good you forget your own name.” Stella and Me has built its reputation one carefully crafted lunch at a time, earning awards, devoted regulars, and the kind of enthusiastic reviews that make food-focused travelers detour specifically to eat here. This isn’t fast-casual chain dining or generic café fare—it’s a small, intimate space where fresh ingredients, creative combinations, and genuine hospitality create lunch experiences that visitors remember long after leaving Missouri’s oldest town. Small Space, Big Flavors, in Ste. Gen’s Premier Lunch Spot Stella and Me occupies modest square footage—the kind of intimate space where tall visitors need to watch their heads and parties larger than four or five might wait for tables. But what the café lacks in size, it compensates for emphatically in flavor, quality, and attention to detail. Those award-winning sandwiches didn’t earn recognition through volume or marketing—they won because they’re genuinely excellent. The Read more…

The Kozy At 701 US Highway 61 in Bloomsdale, The Kozy serves what most breakfast destinations wish they: fluffy blueberry pancakes, a succulent Smoked Turkey Benedict, mouth-frothing French toast stuffed with pineapples, pecans, and cream cheese, and the signature “Goat & The Egg Benedict” featuring award-winning Baetje Farms goat cheese made right down the street—this places makes morning meals worth waking early for starting at 6 AM daily. More than a just breakfast joint, The Kozy operates through lunch and dinner (open 6 AM-7 PM Sunday-Thursday, 6 AM-8 PM Friday-Saturday) serving contemporary Americana with fun twists on American classics: fish tacos, catfish, homemade burgers, hand-cut fries, onion rings, and menu items allowing ample opportunity to tweak your order towards health or gluttony depending on mood and appetite. Part of a multi-building complex that includes the adjacent Dew Drop Inn restaurant, The Mill Room event space, and outdoor game area for children, The Kozy creates a family-friendly gathering destination where breakfast excellence anchors identity while lunch and dinner expand options for different occasions and timing. Beer and wine available. One satisfied visitor testified: “We stopped for breakfast before wine country exploring. The pancakes were genuinely fluffy, the coffee was excellent, and Read more…

Weingarten Vineyard Winery & Wedding Venue At 12323 Rottler Road in the rolling countryside west of downtown Ste. Genevieve, Weingarten Vineyard Winery & Wedding Venue enters an exciting new era under fresh ownership—bringing renewed culinary vision, expanded wine offerings, and reinvigorated energy to one of the region’s most picturesque destinations. The 15-year legacy continues under new stewardship committed to honoring what made Weingarten special while pushing it forward. Open Thursday through Sunday (Thursday 11 AM-8 PM, Friday-Saturday 11 AM-9 PM, Sunday 11 AM-6 PM), Weingarten delivers wine tastings, full restaurant service through Garten Haus, private events, and wedding celebrations against stunning terrain where architectural beauty, viticultural passion, and genuine hospitality converge. One delighted guest testified: “The food was absolutely amazing. This isn’t basic winery fare—coconut shrimp, fantastic pizza, ahi tuna nachos. Probably the best food I’ve had at a winery.” That’s the Weingarten promise: exceptional wine paired with equally exceptional food, all presented in one of the most beautiful buildings in Ste. Genevieve County. A Beautiful Building in a Beautiful Setting Weingarten boasts one of the most beautiful structures anchoring the landscape—the building itself enhances rather than competes with the surrounding scenery. The architecture works with the rolling hills and Read more…