Mojo Tapas

Wide selection to suit all needs — not very authentic Spanish tapas — but plenty of fun dishes. Went in a Saturday night and there was live jazz. Wait staff was very friendly.

I love Tapas… in theory. Sharing multiple small plates and trying lots of thing sounds great until I realize that for the price of one small plate I could practically get an actual meal elsewhere. But my friend and I are on a quest to try new places, and when we couldn’t get into Sanctuaria on Saturday night (which was mildly devastating, by the way) we decided to try Mojo.
We started with martinis. My «Newfashioned» was good, but not something I’d probably have again (it was at least strong) and my friend claimed his slightly dirty martini was perfectly executed. For food we selected:
— The special hummus (red pepper maybe?) which was good but served with far too few pita chips.
— Butternut squash bisque. Tasty, though extremely sweet.
— Spinach, Artichoke & Feta Spanakopita. Good flavors, small serving, slightly cold by the time I got to it.
— A salmon dish that was delicious, but again, a tiny serving when split between two people (damn you tapas).
Overall everything was good, but not great, and not really worth the price, at least in my mind. Our server was distracted by a table of very loud friends the entire night and would disappear for intervals that thankfully the other staff seemed to fill. When we asked for the bill he seemed downright distressed, like no one ever leaves after only one round of drinks. We explained everything was fine and we simply had somewhere to be (which we did, and we were now late), but he just kept asking if everything was ok. I feel like maybe we just went in on the wrong night, but I don’t think this is someplace I would pick again.

Went here last night with some friends for a late dinner, and I will definitely return. We asked the waiter to recommend her favorite foods and she said she couldn’t pick one, and after trying all of her suggestions, I completely understand.
Portion sizes are more generous than other places that I have gone in St Louis.
Among the 3 of us, we ordered 3 communal plates and then 3 individual small plates and we left absolutely stuffed.
We ordered the Goat cheese, the mashed potatoes, and the chicken satay. It was all cooked to perfection, and I absolutely recommend them.
My individual plate was the exotic mushroom pizzetta. The flatbread they used was just crisp enough that you could hold it with your hand, but once you bit into it, the bread was very warm and soft. Delicious :)
Definitely come here with a big group of people, it’s a great atmosphere.

Once again the International Supper Club has introduced me to a new restaurant. Going to these monthly gatherings has expanded my taste and horizons. I have always been a fan of Tapas type restaurants, but had not been to Mojo. So when I saw that last meeting was going to be here, I jumped at the opportunity to attend.
It was a Tuesday night and they had a special on their Housemade Sangria when you bought a pitcher, so why indulge and enjoy more then one glass. Don’t worry I didn’t drink all the nectar myself, several of us shared. I’ll try it by the glass next time I visit to see if there is a difference in flavor. I found the pitcher to be good in flavor, but weak in the kick of liquor.
With all the flavorful small plates available I could not believe I found myself ordering a Mojo Burger, but I am glad I did. There will be many other visits to expand my Mojo taste buds. The burger was a meaty 8 oz of beef, topped with a spicy chipotle BBQ Sauce, Cheddar Cheese and Crispy Red Onion Straws. It was so perfect, there was no need to add any additional condiments. As a side they gave me a hearty portion of Battered Fries dusted with Garlic & Parmesan and a little cup of Housemade Spicy Ketchup. I love my ketchup served in a little cup. Take note of my list of other places who offer this as well.
Our bartender was friendly and ready to help us party. Which got our evening off to a great start. Then our server was just there. He took our orders and brought us our food with no personality. Which I guess was alright, because we had all the fun people at our table enjoying supper.
I’m going back for Sexy Grits and an order of Mussels.

I came here with some of my fellow Unilocalers to have our monthly International Supper Club. We chose this restaurant because it was participating in Feast of Nations, which donated proceeds to the International Institute.
We started at the bar but moved to our table when requested. Service was fairly quick the whole meal. The only downside was that all of us had our tapas, multiples ones, before Steven B got his burger. I felt bad stuffing my face while he waited patiently, but he soon got his burger.
I started with one of their special sangrias, watermelon sangria. It was a miss. I don’t think I was expecting the sugary faux watermelon waste (from a watermelon liquor) as I was expecting fresh fruit. I should’ve known since it was April. I wouldn’t order it again and I’d ask next time the ingredients.
Mallory and I shared three tapas:
— Crispy cauliflower with parmesan and pesto aioli — my favorite! Deliciously crispy with a creamy sauce. I could’ve eaten two of these on my own!
— Maple butternut squash au gratin with pecans, rosemary and parmesan — well cooked and also flavorful. I want to like butternut squash more than I do, but this was done well.
— Battered fries with garlic and parmesan served with spicy ketchup –also yummy, and the ketchup was a great addition.
We each also got a black bean cake slider. It was so yummy, with a fresh little bun. I saved some aioli from the cauliflower and added it, which was soo good!
Extra points for having too many vegetarian tapas for us to choose! Lots of choices. This was close to a 5 star experience for me and probably will be kicked up the next time I go!

When I think of tapas, I don’t usually picture a couple in a dark corner having a romantic dinner. I usually think of a small group of friends sharing some snack and drinks. This is the best description of Mojo Tapas, I think. Okay, there were just two of us visiting this time, but looking around the room, there were several groups of four and the feeling was very convivial.
We were making our second stop for the evening, having had a full dinner at stop #1. As such, we came in thinking dessert. Some of these menu items sounded better than dessert, though, so we tried the veal meatballs and the sweet potato and andouille hash. Both of these dishes were delicious, if maybe a little small for the price. We also had a couple of glasses of wine. The list of reds by the glass is kind of short, but we both liked our choices. For the next round, we had a sangria and an excellent cocktail I believe was called raspberry chocolate cake. It looked like milk with a little cinnamon on top, but tasted much much better. The sangria was not as sweet at we’ve usually had, but it was pretty good. With these drinks, we got the bread pudding. It was delicious, if a little stiff. Service was very prompt and friendly.
There was some live music I didn’t care much for — a jazzy crooner and a guy on guitar. Meh to the music. Otherwise, though, we really enjoyed our stop at Mojo and will probably keep it in mind for after dinner cocktails in the future, possibly for dinner.

Just had a nice late dinner with the sister. Yes she had a Groupon deal…
Mojo is a great little place. I like the zin feeling in the décor, but the straight forward food made me feel even better. They have a full bar menu and drink specials although we had good old STL h20. Their menu has many yummy sounding small plates great for tring several and sharing. We had the paella, sweet potato sausage hash and cabbage rolls. All had fresh flavors and were well balanced. The paella was loaded with seafood and rice that was cooked to perfection. The cabbage rolls were beefy goodness in tangy delish tomato sauce. And the sweet potato hash left me wanting more. Yum!
The server was attentive and kept my glass full, what more could a girl ask for?

Overall, Mojos gets a B+. Like another reviewer stated, the description on the menu is a bit inflated compared to what you actually receive. The food is great as are the drinks and the wait staff is attentive. We do frequent Mojos for a few favorite dishes and it is in our STL top 25.

Don’t let the price tag of this place scare you away. I first tried it with a Hot Sauce deal and every bite of the tapas menu was delicious, especially the less traditional items we tried. (Goulash? But omg, it was wonderful; sadly they have taken it off the menu since.) It can get expensive with the tapas but everything they serve is thoughtfully crafted and delicious.
So what can we broke, broke people do? Fittingly enough, it’s the Shrimp Po’Boy. Lettuce, pickles, tomato, and remoulade on a hoagie — simple enough, but it is one of the most delicious sandwiches I have ever had. The bread is fresh and perfect. The shrimp is crispy and well-​seasoned with just the right amount of heat. The quantities of toppings are perfectly balanced, the sandwich is put together with the care would you expect from a nice restaurant — not sloppily tossed on the plate with ingredients sliding out every-​which-​way. The tomato was a good tomato — you aren’t going to get a partly-​green tasteless horror here.
Just over ten dollars, comes with fries (delicious ones, too) or a small upcharge to get any side, including the famous sexy grits or their andouille & sweet potato hash. If you want a nice night out, but don’t want to break the bank, have a pre-​dinner cocktail at home and take your sweetie to Mojo for the Shrimp Po’Boy. You get the fancy atmosphere and a reasonably-​priced meal that is so delicious you’ll want to go again and again.

I went with a friend on a Friday night when they allowed people onto the rooftop. Yes, you have to make reservations and pay a $ 5 cover per person, but that was ok by us. I was pretty excited to eat on a rooftop restaurant on a crystal clear St. Louis night, and they totally didn’t mind us geeking out and taking pictures from every corner of the porch upstairs.
We were able to pick out some vegan options for my guest, and were very impressed by the Curried Edemame Hummus and the sliders. The Lemon Basil Mojito was a little too sweet for my taste, so I stuck to their wine options.
There is a limited drink menu on the rooftop, just FYI.
The service was great. There are two dedicated servers on the rooftop, and they had lots of good suggestions.
Insider tip: the rooftop reservations book up way ahead of time, so get on that list early! I snuck a peek at the list when they told me it was booked, and saw that most of the people were coming at 7:30 or 8:00. I left my name for a manager to call me, which she did the next day, and was able to get up there at 5:30, leave at 7:30, in time to make it to our 8:00 play on Grand. If you’re willing to go early, you may be able to get your name on that list!

Mojo Tapas is worth checking out but it’s a place that I probably would not go again if up to me. There’s just something about it that did not impress me much.
Let’s start with cocktails. Their sangria is ok, and very pricey. We went on a night where there was a sangria special, but the pitcher was not that big and still ran us $ 15. Not really a «special.» The lemon basil mojito was pretty good and I am not really a big mojito fan either.
The food was also just ok. The dates were good, the tacos were good, and the sliders were good. Nothing really stood out for us except for the Spinach, Artichoke, and feta spanakopita. Now that was yummy!
We sat out outside at the tables along the street both visits. The inside seating was pretty empty both times we went but it was on weeknights.
It’s over priced like almost all tapas placed seem to be and the service was pretty crappy. We waited over 30 minutes for the server to bring our check and another 15 for her to bring back our card.
Overall, I was not all that impressed with Mojo Tapas. Maybe I will be back, we will see.

With great tapas, good drinks, and reasonable prices I really enjoyed this place.
The edamame hummus was phenomenal and had a unique taste that was really delicious. The mushroom ragout was also very good and was interestingly served with the spicy tomato jam and balsamic. The house maple smoked trout was excellent and the beer battered grouper was really great as well.
The prices were reasonable and the drinks were solid with some good specials during the week. The service was great and the atmosphere was cool with a nice full bar as well.

Beautiful ambience…,.excellent tapas dishes… wonderful server. Tried just enough dishes to fill all three of us ladies up.
The shrimp & grits were awesome. Goat cheese was delish. Drinks were tasty and fab!
A must try spot for any age.

There was a groupon for this place not too long ago so I got it to try it out. I dragged my boyfriend and we were very glad we had the groupon.
The food, while good, was expensive. For a bowl of soup (sweet potato with bacon and blue cheese, very tasty), a tiny order of shrimp and grits (good, but not amazing), some baked goat cheese that was severely lacking in the cheese (it also had too much tomato sauce and not enough bread to eat it with), 5 bite-​size pieces of fried cauliflower (with some sort of pesto-​related sauce. not enough pesto, too much mayo), and a nice portion of bread pudding, 40 dollars is a lot to spend (after tax, before tip). Thank goodness I had the groupon.
I would be willing to come here again for a pitcher of sangria or something, but that’s about it. Their happy hour drink deals looked great (but my boy and I didn’t feel like getting a pitcher not at happy hour price so we skipped out on that) and the atmosphere would be fun for a girl’s night out or something. I think had I been looking for a snack (maybe just drinks and a dessert) while catching up with friends I would’ve enjoyed it more.

My love affair with South Grand continues, and I recently found myself at Mojo Tapas on a gorgeous Wednesday night. Nowell G wandered by me on the patio and advised I get a pitcher of mojitos, but when my friend refused to drink them with me, I just ordered a mojito for myself – sans pitcher. I went with the lemon basil version, and it was refreshing, and as Nowell promised, quite strong. Major win! It was a little sweet for my taste, so I’d add some extra club soda next time. A good mojito is the best reward after a long and tiring day, I tell ya.
We only tried a couple of things on this trip, and the first was the beer battered grouper. Let me first admit this… I’m pretty sure I’d eat someone’s shoe if it was beer battered. It’s just so delicious! The grouper was perfect, especially for someone who’s not a fan of the «fishy» taste. It was served with an awesome mayonnaise/​aioli (I’m improvising here, apologies for lack of specifics) which was the perfect compliment. I could’ve ordered double and still finished them all. Buuuut that would be disgusting, so I didn’t.
Next up was of course the baked goat cheese! I order it at every tapas place to just see who has the best version. Barcelona’s is still my personal choice for baked goat cheese… Mojo’s version was pretty «meh.» The goat cheese to tomato sauce ratio was not good, and the bread seemed like it was the kind you buy from Schnucks last minute when you find out your mother in law is coming over for dinner. It just wasn’t very special.
Our service was alright, but there was a big event going on inside so the staff was a little distracted. I’ll definitely be back… I can never say no to tapas! Or a good mojito! Cheers, Nowell!

Construction on the sidewalks is underway on this section of Grand, getting to Mojo’s tonight I felt like the frog in Frogger trying to navigate through traffic just to cross the street.
The hubby and I shared a large Spinach Salad, topped with smoked bacon, red onion, goat cheese, cornbread croutons and balsamic. The cornbread croutons were freaking amazing. I want to duplicate this salad at home it was so good.
I ordered the BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza with apples, onions and bleu cheese. The combination of BBQ with bleu cheese was really good. The hubby ordered the 8oz Mojo Burger with Chipotle BBQ sauce, cheddar cheese, topped with crispy red onion rings and shoe string fries. The fries didn’t do anything for me but the burger was pretty good.
I think next time I’d lobby for the Slider Sampler Plate. The sampler is your choice of any 3 sandwiches, they are a smaller version of the original sandwich size.

We used our Hot Sauce certificate here on Monday night. I had heard mixed reviews about the place, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. We got there around 7pm and it was empty– I think there was only one other couple at a high top table. As usual, we bellied up to the bar and ordered a couple drinks (Woodchuck hard cider on tap) as we looked over the tapas menu. We ended up picking three items to share for dinner plus a lot more that I want to try on our next visit.
Ahi Tuna — The tuna was pretty bland and wasn’t that exciting. The pickled carrots and onions were tastier! I’ll keep my tuna in sushi TYVM
Pork and Pineapple Kabobs — These kabobs delivered a yummy combination of sweet and savory. I would definitely order them again.
Shrimp and Sexy Grits — Whoa. These were so delicious I wish we got two bowls! Being from the south, I LOVE grits. Adding shrimp, garlic, tomatoes, and some heat was the perfect combination. They also offer sexy grits sans shrimp for only $ 5!
There’s a lot more on the menu (which is online), including pizza, sandwiches, and full size entrees. Yes, Mojo is more expensive, but it’s a great place to go when you’re craving something different. It’s also fun to go with a large group, split a bunch of tapas and a lemon basil mojito pitcher (which are half-​off on Thursday for happy hour).

7.15. 2012 Update:
Still enjoyed the red sangria but wasn’t happy about being kicked out at 1 AM. The door clearly said open until 1:30 AM but the place was empty and we were the only people still there. We had just bought a couple of drinks when they told us they were shutting down… not cool. :\ I understand that if business is slow, there is no point in staying around, but if business is consistently slow on weekends, then maybe they need to change their «operating hours» to til 1 AM or 12:30 PM.
What happened?!
I came back after an awesome first experience and ordered the lemon basil mojito again. This time it was made by a different bartender and was done in all the wrong ways! It was way too sweet, the basil was tortured, and the bartender muddled it on top of ice, which is a no no. I was very disappointed. I had thought that I found a good place for quality Mojitos but it seems not everyone working here knows how to make it proper.

Visited Mojo during their grand opening weekend. The menu covers a lot of ground. We ordered the following: garden salad, salmon gravlox, baked goat cheese with tomato sauce, roasted pork empanadas, and swordfish kabobs. The swordfish kabobs were by far the best — cooked perfectly — although they were the last to arrive at the table. We also took advantage of the ½-​price lemon basil mojitos, in which the bartender substituted basil for mint. These were really tasty and refreshing.
I found the tapas to be a little too sweet for my tastes though. For example, the empanadas had a mango sauce that tasted fresh but was very sweet. My ideal tapas lean more towards the salty and savory and I didn’t see much of that on the menu. And even though this is not an authentic Spanish tapas restaurant, it would be nice to see some sherry on the wine list. We did not try any of the desserts; the bread pudding sounded good, but all the other options seemed very «basic» and typically American, not inspired by Spanish or Latin-​American cuisine in any way.
The service was odd… Our waiter was very nice but seemed a little out of it. Maybe just nervous or inexperienced? We didn’t realize until we had left that he actually undercharged us for our meal. Everything we ordered was on the check… but somehow the total amount ended up reduced and I have no idea why.
Do I like what they’ve done with the space? NO. The exposed brick has been conserved on one side but covered up with plaster and an orange-​ish/​pink-​ish paint on the other side. Hopefully they will get some art up on the painted side. The raised stage area has been converted into seating, so no live music here, I guess. What really bothered me was the ugly divider they put down the middle of the restaurant between the bar and the main seating area. Our table was right next to the divider, and we felt our seating area was cramped and dark. My date and I would have liked to see the bar from our table.
I am tempted to only give 2 stars, but they just opened, and I have a history of being very hard on tapas restaurants (I was spoiled by José Andrés in DC). The swordfish kebobs and mojitos were excellent, and I look forward to going back and trying some more items.

Looking for dinner on a Tuesday night, my friends and I turned to the trusty Unilocal app to find something new. Mojo Tapas was nearby, so we went for a try.
After being seated immediately, we selected a variety of tapas and didn’t have to wait very long for them to start rolling out. Overall the plates were so-​so with some being tasty and others a bit disappointing. I’ve listed the plates in order from good to not so good:
Pistachio encrusted aged provolone with Creole tomato sauce & pesto, $ 8. How can you not love a big piece of deep fried cheese covered in marinara sauce?
Slow cooked Chinese five spice pork belly with black vinegar sauce & jasmine rice, $ 8. If you like pork fat, then this one is for you. Avoid if you don’t like pork fat!
Crab empanadas with mango mustard mojo, $ 8. Deep fried and stuffed with crab, they we so-​so, but nothing special
Calamari with chili lime aioli, $ 7. Your usual calamari, but the chili lime sauce had a very nice flavor.
Bleu cheese stuffed bacon wrapped dates with balsamic reduction, $ 6. Ohhh… this one sounds so good, but a bit of a disappointment. The bacon was overcooked and the dates were a bit small.
Beef & peppers with chimichurri (mojo on a stick), $ 9. Nothing special about this one, I thought it was a bit lacking in flavor.
Garbanzo bean, roasted pepper, & goat cheese hummus with pita bread, $ 5. The hummus was lacking in any wow factor, just average.
Swordfish with squash salsa (mojo on a stick), $ 8. Recommended by the waiter, this plate has potential, but our fish was dry and lacking in flavor.
Total cost: $ 63 for 8 plates. I must say I was a bit disappointed in this place. I’ve had better tapas in St. Louis, but it beats those deep fried pig snouts in Barcelona! I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and maybe give it another shot someday. Overall though, I give it a very average 3 stars.