Araka

There is a reason this restaurant is closing… it’s not the poor state of the economy. The food has always been mediocre and the service was the same. The overall space in the restaurant is great. The next restaurant to take this location should be way better given the bar was set pretty low.

We went to Araka for Valentine’s Day and had a really nice time and an excellent meal. The waiter was superb, even negating our corkage fee for a bottle of wine that we brought which was not good. We did buy a bottle then from him, so all worked out well for everyone. I had a delicious salad, lightly dressed, fresh and tasty. My husband and I shared wonderful oysters which were right out of the bay fresh. I had Osso Bucco and he had a piece of fish; both were brilliantly prepared. Portions were plentiful and I could not eat all of mine. We declined dessert because it’s Lent, but maybe next time!

Dined here for Clayton Restaurant Week as well. One of the best selections for restaurant week in terms of value.
Apps: Beet Salad and Cauliflower Soup-​both delish and great presentation
Entre #1: Duck confit ravioli-​great filling, it seemed to be «baked» ravioli, not exactly friend and not exactly toasted… would recommend a boiled/​steamed ravioli instead.
Entre #2: Pork and Brie Risotti-​Risotto was wonderful, creative combination, (normally cheese and rice wouldn’t really go together?) Pork was a good sizeable portion. A bit hard to cut but overall a really satisfying dish.
I would definitely come back to this place, albeit for a reallllyyy fancy date or some other special occasion.
You could valet, or just park half a block down in a garage (for free!) next to the apartment building. It’s next to the Ritz. Which speaks for the clientele most evenings I would assume.

Went for Clayton Restaurant Week, which is an excellent deal for the restaurant considering the normal entrée prices.
Unfortunately, none of the entrees offered on the $ 25 menu were actual menu entrees. The options were pork, chicken, salmon, vegetarian fettuccine, and flat iron steak for an additional amount. All pretty inexpensive entrees. I wish they could have served their normal entrees, but the food was still quite good.
At the table we had the:
Chicken with mashed potatoes and substitute greens for the listed brussel sprouts– smooth, buttery mashed potatoes, average chicken
Pork with risotto/​apples/​and brie– Well-​cooked pork, risotto wasn’t bad at all.
Salmon with 3 beans and kale– well-​cooked salmon, but the beans just felt like fillers. Probably a dish better paired with more greens and grains, and my friend essentially poked around the beans.
Warmed beet salad– full of goat cheese and perfectly tender beets.
Crispy Wild Mushroom and Duck Confit Ravioli– Wonderful filling, but the ravioli would have been better as a boiled pasta. It was super doughy.
PEI mussels and garlic, wine broth– more broth please! the mussels were fine, but all we wanted was more broth.
Overall good food, but I don’t know if it’s worth the price. Great décor and ambiance.

Tried ARAKA with my fiancé because he had received a gift certificate to this restaurant, and it was quite nice. It definitely has that swanky vibe with mood lighting and dark wood. It’s a very quiet restaurant, and there weren’t that many people there when we went on a Saturday night. ARAKA is kind of tucked away in Clayton near the hotels, which may be why it doesn’t seem to get a lot of traffic.
The food at ARAKA was good, not incredible, but good. I definitely enjoyed my meal of scallops, which had some sort of Thai inspiration. A bit on the salty side, but other than that, no complaints. Nick enjoyed his meal as well, though at the moment I can’t remember what he ordered. I do remember that he thought the creamy cauliflower soup was just okay. For the price, I don’t think we’ll be running back again, but it’s definitely a nice date option.
Nick and I enjoyed our experience at ARAKA in that the wait-​staff was very professional and prompt, our food was quite good, and the atmosphere was relaxing.

I would give this place a better score if it wasn’t so expensive. The food here is good, not outstanding, but good enough that I would come back here. I understand that it is in Clayton and their rent is probably pretty high on Carondolet, but the place is empty for a reason. For what it is, it isn’t worth the price.
Food
I had the Roasted Cauliflower soup which was actually the best thing that either my fiancé or I had. It was really good, but if you order this you should be careful about ordering an entrée that is too heavy because the soup is very filling. For my main course I had the Australian Lamb Duo which was ok. The lamb part was good but the Rice was bland and undercooked. The mango salsa wasn’t much to write home about either.
Overall, the food here is good, we have only come for dinner, but just not worth the price. We spent about $ 65 a person for a meal that was just good. The place is pretty big inside and the atmosphere is nice, but the place was nearly empty on a Friday night so that should tell you something about this place.

Food (³⁄₅)
For the price, I felt that the quality of food was not up to par, with the exception of the salmon. Salmon was delicious, and beautifully medium cooked with just the right amount of seasoning, beautifully plated on a bed of green edamame mash and topped with black bean and corn salsa. The portions were PERFECT– and while relatively more pricey, it filled me up (and I was STARVING since it was 8pm and I just finished a rough workout.)
My friend’s food on the other hand…
Tofu: The square of tofu was maybe half the size of an iphone, and served with an awkward looking pile of black «coconut» rice lacking in any flavor. While the tofu was acceptable, for its mediocrity it was NOT worth it.
Fettucini with braised beef short ribs: The sweet and sour sauce likened the syrupy, mess from those packets from takeout. The pork was relatively rough.
Porkchop: I thought Home Wine Kitchen was salty… eating this rough porkchop was like biting into a block of rocksalt. DO NOT GET THIS!
Ambiance (⁴⁄₅)
Swanky, sophisticated feel. We were seated in a round wooden table. Besides us was a half dome, booth-​style sort of seating– very date worthy. Dim lighting, we needed an iphone to light up the menu so our waiter could make a wine suggestion.
Service (³⁄₅)
For the price, the service was unprofessional. Because we were party of 6 and gratuity was already, I felt that our waiter was less attentive. Perhaps he was inexperienced, but he neglected to tell us about the specials. In addition, he advised us to choose a wine that was not up to standard and showed his incompetence.

Fun place for HH. Good prices on wine and appetizers. We tried some of the pork belly meal which was great and normally those meals don’t appeal to me. I had the cheese plate appetizer which was good and my friends had pizza which they enjoyed. The atmosphere is great, very upscale and lounge/​club-​like. We sat in booths near the bar. This is a place we would come to again for a fun night out with friends.

Fantastic location and great ambiance. Great bar and wine list with a lively outdoor patio in nice weather – often live music on patio. Easy parking and they seem to have valet during dinner. Food is a fun mix of Mediterranean and seafood dishes. Service is always superb, although I had a somewhat dull bartender last week. Some comments say it is expensive, but I find it very typical for an upscale/​hip restaurant in St. Louis… especially in pricey Clayton. The area (by Ritz Carlton) is fantastic part of town. Lots of things to walk to nearby, great fountains, patios, shops, etc. Out of town guests will love it. Cap off a dinner here with a drink at the Ritz Lobby bar or awesome Ritz Cigar Bar. Great for business dinners, groups or a date night. It’s not a quiet place due to high ceilings and hard floors, but it’s great for groups or wine drinkers.

We were the only people in the restaurant, so service was excellent, but I wasn’t too impressed by the food. We started with the mushroom flat bread which was delicious, with the arugula topping at a perfect sweetness. I also had the simple greens salad which has fresh raspberries. It was pretty heavily doused in vinaigrette which tasted very average. My entrée was the Amish chicken, which had a great crust, but a big chunk of it was dry and flavorless in my opinion. My boyfriend loved it though, more than his flat iron steak. I had a bite of the steak and wasn’t too impressed.
The chicken came with a side of broccolini and mac and cheese (but with lots of nice cheese), both of which I enjoyed more than the chicken.
We didn’t get dessert since we were planning to go elsewhere for dessert. I left feeling, meh.

Here’s the deal: I have eaten here at least a half dozen times and the ambiance is great, but I don’t think the food is worth the price… and especially last night because my friend and I are both suffering from eating there… in the form of symptoms of food poisoning.
I by no means want to throw the restaurant under the bus, you should try it if you’ve never been-​please make your own assessment. I however, will probably not go back nor will my friend.
We started with the bibb lettuce salad which was refreshing and light and then the calamari… which we think might have been the culprit. My entrée was the special-​halibut with gnocchi and some veggies, which was good and cooked appropriately. My friend had the Amish chicken with mashed potatoes and broccolini.
Our server, Scott was very accommodating and gave great service. The welcome committee, not so welcoming.
Anyway, back to the illness… so we both called and told the owner-​as we would want any other diner to do to make sure they were aware that there might have been an issue with something we ate and prevent it from happening to other diners and let’s just say we didn’t get any warm and fuzzy feelings. Neither of us were expecting a free dinner or anything, but an apology would have been nice and maybe an offer to buy our meal which made us both sick would have been a better business strategy than just blatantly defending your restaurant and not taking into account your patrons feedback or experience. While defending your business is important, there should be a balance between that defense and providing your unsatisfied customers with the appropriate amount of compassion and/​or solution to their complaint.

Took a little trip outside of the box and found myself among 7 friends during a Friday night.
Opted for the escargot starter, it was tasty but the portabella mushrooms were a bit of trickery. The Paella, it was like a deconstructed presentations, which is common in today’s trendy dinning establishments. The glass of wine, Super Tuscan — super superb!!!

Walking into Araka, you are immediately greeted by a warm and attentive staff. The décor is something you can expect to see in Clayton (contemporary/​pretentious/​commercial). Lots of money was invested to combine stone, glass and other natural elements. Unfortunately, the end result of the décor is SO neutral that none of it has WOW factor (except for previously mentioned bathroom sinks). Don’t get me wrong, it’s very nice. It’s just a bit sterile for such an expensive undertaking.
I was there for Clayton Restaurant Week, which meant that for $ 25 I was choosing my courses from a limited menu. My first course was a goat cheese cannelloni, topped with burgundy escargot, mushrooms, and pea shoots. It was delicious. The pasta was rolled thin and was so fresh. The escargot was cooked perfectly. It was light and I had wished there was more!
Next course was a squash risotto with wild mushrooms, arugula, black walnuts and apple saba. It was cooked to perfection, creamy, and DELICIOUS. YUMMMMMMM! The last course (dessert) was okay. The house made banana ice cream was GREAT, but the dense cake was forgettable.
The regular menu is pricey, but looks awesome. Most small plates are $ 10-​$ 13 and entrees are $ 18-​$ 32. Not the cheapest game in town, but a lot of thought was put into this menu.
I wish I was warm and fuzzy about the décor. In that case I would say it would be a great special occasion spot. Because it’s sterile and masculine, I’d say… not so much. However, if you want to impress someone with food and you have some money to throw around, this is your place.
Parking is at a premium in this part of town. So, expect to pay $ 3 for valet if you can’t get the rock star street spot that I had.
I would give them 4 ½ stars if it were available because the menu is interesting for the area and it delivers! Fresh and VERY tasty. If it were just a tad cheaper, they would get 5 stars. I can’t knock the décor if I am comparing apples to apples in Clayton. It’s just not for me.
P. S. The Happy Hour bar menu looks CHEAP and GOOD

Went here during Restaurant Week. Not bad!
First of all, the place is absolutely GORGEOUS. The architecture is unique, with lots of open spaces, interesting facades, and a frosted window that allows you to see right into the kitchen (I’m sure the cooks HATE that, haha!)
Anyway, it was packed at 7:30 on Thursday. I blame it on restaurant week. Luckily, I made reservations, so the 6 of us were able to be seated at our table immediately.
I went with the three course restaurant week menu. Started out with a simple greens salad: spring mix, gorgonzola, pecans. I was NOT a fan of this. At all. There was literally one crumb of gorgonzola and one tiny pecan on my plate. The spring mix was extremely bitter. The croûton (yes, there was just one croûton!) was blah. Flavorless. I was jealous of my friends, who seemed to have better luck with the celery root soup and escargot. Silly me for ordering a salad.
For the second course I went with the classic paella: shrimp, mussels, chorizo, edamame.
THIS was delicious! The paella was formed into a patty of sorts, with a slightly crisp exterior. The shrimp and chorizo were fabulous; the mussels were sub-​par. This was still a very delicious dish (I only wish the portion was larger!)
For dessert, we all decided to share. I tried a bit of everything; banana ice cream, chocolate ice cream, hazelnut semifreddo, and chocolate chestnut cake. Everything was quite good, although nothing blew me out of the water (the semifreddo came close!)
Service was nice, considering the huge crowd that was there. My water glass was always kept full, which is a plus. And the waiter had no problem splitting the check 6 ways.
Would I come back to Araka again? Probably not; the menu on its own is a little too expensive for my tastes, especially considering I wasn’t blown away by anything.
Oh, and parking SUCKS. There was no street parking available, and the tiny garage was full. I couldn’t find the valet that was advertised. I literally had to park at my gym (good thing Wellbridge is not too far away!) and hoof it to Araka from there.

I’m giving Araka 3.5 stars, bumped to 4 — though admittedly, the best parts of the evening were aspects that they had little to do with. More on that in a bit.
The beautiful wife and I were invited to dine with Kelly B. and two of her friends tonight, in part to enjoy Clayton’s Restaurant Week. When drove up, we discovered a complete lack of street parking, so we had to valet it. No problem — there wasn’t an upfront charge, but when we left I noticed the backside of the sign read «$ 3.00.»
Don’t worry, it gets better.
So we walk in and witness this huge, Lite Brite on steroids bar. So far so good. We sat down at the bar and the beautiful wife ordered a cocktail while I had wine (they’re not called Super Tuscans for nothing!) The bartender was quick and efficient, though with it being Restaurant Week, I think a bit overworked.
After Kelly and the rest of the party showed up, we were seated at our table. I faced the half-​frosted glass wall, where the unfrosted portion gave me a view into the kitchen. Which was slightly distracting, but a minor point.
I’ve managed to get the wife addicted to oysters, so rather than order off the special Restaurant Week menu, we decided to order off the menu. A dozen oysters (delicious, worth a star right there), a Bibb salad (really good), and the wild mushroom flatbread (enjoyed the mushrooms and truffle oil, the flatbread itself was… eh…nothing too incredible).
For dessert, sweet mother of Jesus. No, it wasn’t cake or pie or anything other baked. Dow’s 30 year old tawny port. How good was it? The wife didn’t just have a sip — she had three. That’s good stuff comrade.
Service was excellent — food came out in an orderly fashion and drinks were refilled promptly.
My biggest complain (and it ties into «I need to diet») was wedging myself between tables as I ventured to the bathroom (which is really awesome) and back. I’ve spent less time solving mazes on placemats than I did trying to figure out how to get back to my chair.
I can’t say I was blow away, but at the same time, our ordering was fairly limited. We’d come back if invited, but I’d hesitate to return, unless we were in the area and dying for oysters (which is more than likely).

I was desperately searching for a nice restaurant to host my graduation lunch family gathering which wouldn’t break the bank (those loans don’t just go away!) I was really happy to find that Araka had a decently priced lunch menu. I mean it is more expensive than a quick bite at Il Vicinos or San Sai, but honestly, the atmosphere and service are other things that you pay for and you get. I was also happy to find out that they had private rooms which was perfect for my family/​party of 18. When we get together, the noise level tends to rise, so its always more comfortable (i.e. for other guests) when we can just chat in a private area.
Everything looked great on the lunch menu, even though they limited the number of options we had for larger parties. The Lobster BLT (which they seem to have taken off the party menu now… hmm…) and the Araka burger were popular choices. Each entrée came with a choice of a soup or salad. The food was served pretty quickly and seeing how fast everyone ate their food, I think we were all pretty satisfied with it.
The service was also really attentive as they had someone available in our party room at all times to make sure we had everything we needed. The family can be hassle sometimes with so many people with different requests but the servers were all really patient and helpful.
Overall, for the price, service, location and food, Araka was the perfect place to have my grad celebration lunch!

Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.
Gorgeous looking joint with an incredible bar as you walk in. That was the best part of the evening.
Our waiter was friendly and attentive. My girlfriend and I were here for a birthday dinner, so we were hoping for a memorable dining experience.
We had three braised pork tacos that were so-​so, but based on what Araka is striving for, pretty pedestrian. The tacos at Tortilleria (Central West End) make these look very average.
Dish one… some sort of chilled cucumber soup. My girlfriend tried it and made a face, so I tasted it. The soup tasted like pureed cucumber doused in cheap italian dressing. I actually took a big swig of bourbon to help my mouth forget how awful the flavor was.
Dish two… scallops with braised pork belly over risotto. Scallops were overcooked and very very salty. The grissly pork belly was room temp… and when you bite into a room temperature, fatty piece of meat, it’s nauseating. The risotto was cold.
Dish three… (I can’t honestly remember… my girlfriend ordered it)… it had linguini. The linguini was visibly undercooked… it had hard elbows everywhere and you could actually see a difference between the barely cooked edges of the pasta and the still very hard center. It stuck to your teeth when you tried to chew it.
I had never been so embarrassed at a restaurant in my life. We sent these three dishes back and said we would like to settle up for our drinks and leave.
The manager came out, which made me roll my eyes. I didn’t want somebody questioning why I sent the food back, and I certainly didn’t feel like explaining it again. He was actually very courteous. His first words were, «I am so embarrassed… this really is a nice restaurant…». I was thrilled at this because naturally I was expecting, «Was there some problem with the food tonight??», but he was very courteous, took care of our entire bill and sent us out with a dessert to go, which I put in the fridge and enjoyed the following morning (don’t judge!). The desert was actually really good. It tasted like gourmet wafter cookies with fudge and raspberry sauce… I’m really not doing them justice. They were tasty.
All in all, I’d give them another shot, because the menu READS well, but I’ll keep them on a short leash…

The food I had today couldn’t have been higher quality. I attended a seminar (Big Freakin’ Idea Lunch) and had a great time. Araka has a good patio area, very nice cool interior décor (with a bar, a lounge area and dining tables) and a just the right size loft room upstairs for small groups (well, for dining, larger groups, 50 or so?) with a staircase fitting of a nice home.
I was served a light green salad (decent and very fresh), mushroom risotto (probably the best I have ever had) and their chocolate hazelnut bar (very, very good). The dessert was small and light and reminded me somewhat of a piece of Kit Kit bar, similiar in size and crispiness. Really the perfect dessert … full of color and flavor and light enought that just about anyone could eat it with little guilt. I plan on going back for a full dinner sometime soon. Only 4 stars because as a luncheon (and when it was slow) they are certainly more prepared but there is 5 star potential.

Happy Hour at Araka! It was not as busy at 5pm during their Happy Hour as I would have expected. There were mostly business professionals out after work with colleagues.
We took advantage of their $ 5 Absolute specials and sat at the bar. The only problem was getting to the bar, the bar chairs were pretty close together and not very easy to squeeze into. One less chair and more spaced out would have been better.
I still stand by my statement that this is a great place for business and special events. They have a nice bar lounge area with comfy seats and coffee tables and a couple intimate booths along the wall. Although I was on a personal visit and may have stood out with my tee-​shirt and jeans wearing husband, we were treated like any other valued customers.

Araka makes a great first impression, with an absolutely stunning interior, replete with a comfortable crescent-​shaped bar with an impressive two-​story backbar and a sweeping design to the dining area that is at once open, but still affords a great deal of privacy, due to the way the tables are arranged. Off to the right, there are a number of cozy half-​tables that are a perfect spot for a drink or two with a special someone.
The other thing that immediately impresses about Araka is the service. From the hostess to the bartender, to the wait staff, Araka seems to pride itself on having some of the most friendly and attentive staff in St. Louis, or anywhere else for that matter. Meals are perfectly paced, drinks never get too empty, and the staff knows each dish inside and out and can make recommendations that you can trust.
With such inspired design and service, it is a bit disappointing that the same cannot be said for the menu. Araka’s food is very good, and in some cases excellent, but despite some nice presentation, there are surprisingly few standouts on the relatively small menu.
Appetizers run a pretty standard path, with calamari and cheese plates, all of which are solid, but not spectacular. The salads are very fresh and all very good, but fairly standard. The one standout during the early courses is the watermelon gazpacho, which is probably the most unique offering on the menu. Not for everyone, but a very interesting mix of ingredients.
The main courses are all solid, but with no real standouts. Most recently, I had the ravioli topped with lobster and peas. The ravioli was very solid, and the lobster meat was plentiful and fresh, but the peas and the pea-​based purée that covered the dish were both very bland, and served as a black hole for flavor, making the entire thing just crash on the palate.
Specials are offered that deviate from the path, but the regular menu, which consists of only 10 options, never seems to change. For a restaurant that puts so much into its image, it is perhaps a bit disappointing to see that the menu options don’t rotate.
The dessert selection suffers the same fate. Very limited, and very stagnant. The standout used to be the glazed donuts, but sometime in the past 6 months, they changed the donuts into donut holes, which lack the superior texture of the larger donuts. Why this change was made, I cannot fathom.
All in all, Araka provides a great meal at a very reasonable price. First-​time diners are sure to be impressed, and with good reason. However, the disappointingly limited and never-​changing menu is a challenge to the repeat customer.