Top of the Riverfront

I came here on a business trip sometime last year and thought the food was just mediocre. I decided to write a review about this restaurant since I am just getting into Unilocal,and found that this restaurant has been closed! Not really surprised considering it was rather slow when I had gone. I had the steak and bourbon drinks. The rotating platform gave diners a spectacular aerial view of the arch, downtown St. Louis, Mississippi River, and Busch Stadium (home of the Cardinals).

This really a two and a half star place… But it has a gorgeous view… not much else… The place has a strange «Asian twist on American steak house» that I guess just didn’t appreciate… For the prices we paid I was expecting a whole lot better service, Better options and better quality overall… But that view and some wine… And they validate parking… it not being crowded/​loud like 360… That’s why I would come back…

Service: Great
View: Excellent
Food: Pretty good
Drinks: Tasty!
The service was pretty good right off the bat. I ordered the caprese salad which was pretty good. Then I had the peach chicken which came with quinoa and glazed carrots — it was quite good. I had the chocolate cake for dessert (of course) and I also had a martini. The drink was very good! The views were spectacular but you are paying for the views overall. Definitely make reservations and keep in mind they are closed on certain nights for dinner (I think).

I’m so glad I ignored the few negative reviews. Personally I couldn’t find one thing to complain about on our visit on June 8, 2013. The place was very nice, food was excellent, and ambiance was 5 stars. The pictures really don’t do it justice. It takes about 90 minutes to make the full rotation. Our reservation was for 7:30 and we were able to watch a beautiful sunset.
Dress is casual but the food is far from it. You will feel comfortable there in tuxedo or khakis. Just the right amount of lighting along with crisp white linens and well dress waiters only enhance the ambiance of the restaurant. It could only have been better if someone was playing the beautiful black lacquer grand piano.
We had the Korean Octopus for appetizers and they were exquisite. My husband had the Blackened Grouper and I had Duck Two Ways. Both were excellent and I would highly recommend.
Our waiter was professional and attentive. They had a nice selection of wine suitable for any budget. The dessert menu was scrumptious and we decided on sharing a wonderful Cream Brule. It was no skimpy one either. Plenty for two.
I gave the noise level a «moderate» only because when we rotated past the kitchen area it was a little louder than I thought was appropriate. Otherwise it was have gotten a «quiet» rating.
Together with a bottle of wine and dessert and tip our meal was about $ 120, much less than I had expected.
I highly recommend Top of the Riverfront restaurant in the Millennium Hotel in St. Louis and was very happy the Mississippi River was too high to take the riverboat dinner I had originally planned.

If you’re looking for a place to relax, have a great view, and enjoy a quiet 2 hour dinner this is the perfect spot. The food was great and so was the atmosphere. Soak it in and plan to stay awhile.

Duck Confit spring rolls were amazing. Service was great. Atmosphere was great. Filet mignon was great, but not at the level of the best I’ve ever had. Peppercorn steak could use some work.
Recommend. Price was right. Good for a date.

This was one of the oddest dining experiences I’ve ever had. It’s touted as this fancy restaurant (to the point that I stressed over what would be appropriate to wear) but then you walk in to find a dated place (think early 90s country club décor) with an over priced menu. Sure, the view is awesome, but that’s about all it has going for it. I was expecting a true 5 star dining experience, but the service fell far short of that. The food was good, but nothing spectacular, and definitely not worth the price.

Quite disappointed by the experience for a place that creates such an upscale feel. The view was amazing but give that credit to the architects of MO/​IL, fall colors and that muddy Mississippi. Service was not what I expect — below expectations and the pepper steak was smothered with nearly whole peppercorns.
I’d rather order off the grill than this place!

I took my parents here for an anniversary dinner when I was in town. Not knowing the food scene, I asked my parents if they had heard of anything, and they both said something about this place. So we looked it up, booked our reservations, and at the time, went to eat!
THE GOOD: The view was breathtaking. There was a Cardinals game going on during our dinner, so that was that much cooler! Service was also good.
THE BAD: The food, for many reasons. First, the caesar salad. I am no stranger to anchovies in a caesar salad, but I have never had small, in tact anchovies on my salad WITHOUT ANY WARNING. No where on the menu did it say there would be several whole anchovies sitting on top of your salad. So I didn’t eat the salad, minus a few bites, because the fish taste was extremely overwhelming. Next, I ordered a steak. The steak was cooked properly, but the meat seemed very tough and cheap, honestly. I have had much more tender meat from Texas Roadhouse!
Overall, the view kept this place from being 1 star only.

The only reason to come here is for the view. The food and the service definitely don’t live up to the price you pay. First off, the restaurant is at the top of a very strange and outdated motel. I came here with a group of about 30 people and the servers seemed to struggle to keep up with everything. I had to ask for refills and to even order in the first place. I had the Primo Tuttomare. It was a little to saucy for my taste and I was hoping for more meat than there was. I’d definitely rather go to the Hill area for better Italian pasta. The bathrooms are down the stairs and a little random. Nevertheless, the view is breathtaking and the fact that it revolves is a nice touch– but that’s what you pay for.

I have to agree with the other reviews. Food is just ok. View is amazing. Great spot for appetizers, drinks or dessert. I wouldn’t recommend having dinner here for the price you’re paying.

If you come here wanting a nice meal and an amazing view, you’ll be pleased. My wife and I came on a Saturday night expecting this, and that’s what we got.
The food and service were good, but nothing spectacular. The prices are very expensive, and there’s no way the food alone is worth what you pay. But just like you have to pay extra for a room with a view, you pay extra for a meal with one. If you want absolutely top-​notch food, stay home. If you want an absolutely top-​notch view, this is your place!

Let me start by saying this review should have been done quite some time ago so maybe they have straightened up their act a little. This is a place that had a great view and can be a romantic location for a date or a night out. I wish I could rate it higher but the food was just ok and the service was terrible. We got the wrong wine however they managed to get the brand right, the bread guy had been missing in action for the first 15 mins we were there. And the guy sitting next to us with his two lady friends that looked like they were being paid to be there having inappropriate conversations made it hard to hear my wife. Definitely a sour night for what could be a great place to dine.

My friends and I decide to go here for Easter brunch earlier this month. After looking around at a number of different spots (including many favorites) we decided that the Top of the Riverfront would not only be nice for a special occasion, but even with the increased holiday brunch rate ($ 50) it was the best value for our money because unlimited mimosas were included. At least that’s what we thought… things turned out differently though.
1. We thought it was going to be the best value since when we called to make reservations we were told that that the $ 50 rate included gratuity AND tax. You can imagine our surprise then when we each got our bill and discovered that tax and gratuity were NOT included and our brunches were instead $ 65 EACH! While I am usually one who does not mind spending money on good food and drinks, I had some big issues with this. First, we felt deceived because of what we were told on the phone. At the end of the day the restaurant ended up basically getting an extra $ 100 from our table alone, that none of us were planning to spend. Second, although it was nice, it was not a $ 65 brunch. That brings me to my next issue:
2. Usually when I go to a nice buffet lunch at a hotel or other restaurant (on a normal day at about $ 35 just as it is here) you expect a great quality of food and a great selection. Although the selection here was okay for the most part — shrimp and oyster raw bar, breakfast foods, omelet station, lunch items — the quality was just a little off with many things.
The bacon was GREASY. Not that big of deal, bound to happen. On the lunch bar the meat selection seemed great at first but really was sub-​par once you tried it. The pepper steak was overcooked and the lamb was mushy. Worse than anything else, however, was the omelet station. The selection of items was OK (cheese selection could have been better — they only had cheddar) but when I asked for half egg white and half real eggs you would have thought I lost my mind judging from how the woman looked at me.
While they may not have many requests for partial or full egg whites, I know that this is not that uncommon of a request, particularly in this «nice» setting. After huffing around a bit, she finally came up with some egg whites for me (which actually were just under the table so I have no idea why she reacted as she did). Everything would have been fine at that point, except neither of the women at the omelet station knew the correct way to make an omelet. They basically just pushed the eggs up from the sides into the middle until the final product looked more like scrambled eggs than a omelet.
3. Finally all other issues with food aside (there were a few), there were also a few issues with service. First, when we arrived for a 1:30 reservation we were asked to wait downstairs in the bar area. That would have been fine, since they had some snacks and juices and such, were it not for the fact that they were OUT OF COFFEE. By the time we were told that we could go upstairs to be seating at 2:15, fresh coffee had still not arrived.
We were finally seated at our table, no one came to great us for almost 10 minutes. We finally had to ask where our server was. As it turns out, he was the person we asked, but he never thought to tell us that he would be over in a minute or how we should approach the buffet.
At the end of the meal we left stuffed (seriously, we were getting our money’s worth after we learned of the higher price.) but feeling cheated.
IMO the view is okay, but this restaurant has seen better days. Do yourself a favor and go to one of the dozens of amazing brunch spots that St. Louis has to offer… if you need a view, just go to 360 afterwards and get yourself a cocktail. In the end you’ll probably spend the same amount or less and enjoy yourself much more.

The thing about Top of the Riverfront is, it’s GREAT the first time. The view is spectacular. The menu is fancy. It’s a destination for sure.
It’s that second visit, and for me the third, that just never could live up to the first dinner there.
Maybe it’s because we chose to go during Downtown Restaurant Week and the quality of their food suffered from being produced in mass quantity, but I can count on one hand how many times I’ve sent a dish back in my entire life. This was one of those times.
My plate was too hot to touch, with a hardened lump of potatoes and dried-​out vegetables stacked next to a cold rib eye smothered in some white sauce I wasn’t expecting. I only made it through one bite, after fighting to even find a decent enough area to cut. I get that rib eyes are «well marbled», but it’s still got to be edible.
Also, it was hardly crowded when we went, but they sat us at a table immediately next to a service station where I got to overhear lovely conversations about how stressed out the staff was.
It just kind of ruined the magic for me; like being five years old and seeing the guy in the Chuck E Cheese suit without his head on.

My husband and I went here recently to celebrate our anniversary. WE enjoyed it, but it was a little expensive for the food that we got.
THE VIEW: The view was beautiful – we looked like tourists because we took so many pictures of the scenery! And it was neat being able to see the Cards/​Rockies game from above.
THE WINE LIST: I don’t drink much wine, and stuck with water. But my husband ordered a glass of red that he enjoyed. He looked at the wine list for a little while, which means it was extensive. But, again, I am no wine connoisseur, so I can not definitively tell you the wine list was great.
THE FOOD: The rolls tasted like the bread that used to be served with Business Class dinners on Continental Airlines. They were a bit bland and dry, and I smothered them with butter to give them flavor. The appetizers that we had (crab cakes, tomato tart), were good. The crab cakes were moist yet flaky on the inside. Very flavorful. The tomato tart was basically a caprese salad in a tart shell. It was acceptable, but not anything too special.
My husband ordered a Caesar salad; I ordered a spring greens salad. Both were good. The Caesar salad was a little too heavy on the dressing for me. I ordered my salad with the dressing on the side, and was quite pleased with the flavor of the salad.
For dinner, my husband ordered the filet. He raved that it was cooked perfectly. I ordered the eggplant Napoleon. It lacked flavor. The couscous was extremely bland. I ate the eggplant, but no other part of the Napoleon. The sauteed green beans that were on the side were nice and garlicy. I ate mine and a few off of my husband’s plate, much to his chagrin.
Though we were full, we had to order dessert – it was our anniversary! Our waiter told us that the cheesecakes are all special order from The Cheesecake Factory, and the ice cream is from Serendipity. Really? The only dessert that seems to be their own is the crème brûlée. Being a sucker for cheesecake, I went ahead and ordered the cake that has chocolate cake sandwiched between vanilla and chocolate cheesecake. It was yummy, but I kept thinking it was overpriced since it was from The Cheesecake Factory. My husband got a chocolate cup filled with a Serendipity ice cream sundae. It was good, but the chocolate cup tasted like it had parafin in it to help it harden.
THE SERVICE: The staff was extremely friendly. Our waiter, Jerry, was a lot of fun to talk to. There were some veterans in town for the AmVet convention, and he was so excited to tell them all about St. Louis and where they should go to explore the city. He was very attentive, and even boxed up a third dessert (a mocha cheesecake) as an anniversary gift for us from the restaurant! Yay!
Overall, we had a blast. Even though the food was less than exceptional, the view and service made the night fabulous.

As of late, I’m not a fan of restaurants inside hotels. For some mysterious reason, I always end up feeling lost in the shuffle of a much larger operation outside of the food.
But I liked this place. I really did, and the work-​in-​progress way that this restaurant is both unique in its structure, and its menu.
It’s on the top floor of the Milennium (FALCON!) Hotel and rotates for a 360 degree view of St. Louis. Wonderful! This unique view is well worth the visit alone. Just be patient with finding the restroom, which is two flights down, accessible only by stairs. I have a few friends and family in wheelchairs; I wouldn’t take them here if they were to visit STL.
[[Reminder: this is a unique restaurant. Something to be kept in the back of your mind the further you read this post.]]
Our service was spot-​on. (Antonio?) was like a ninja, giving out a few suggestions and making our selection process a happy, wonderful interaction; something lost with many servers. During service, our glasses were filled, and we had the perfect amount of customer/​server interaction. Sometimes, you simply want to have a conversation with your dining partner.
For our appetizer, we ordered Asian Duck Tacos, served with a side of greens meant to be eaten with the very flavorful tacos. The duck wasn’t too greasy, as duck can get sometimes, and went well with the a pineapple-​pepper-​onion coulis. Bite of taco, bite of greens. Delicious Megafusion dish.
From what I get from the menu, it seems like it’s attempting a subtle stab at fusion cuisine although in my humble opinion, it should be strikingly fusion. A unique establishment like this should be experimenting with the latest food trends and have daily specials that reflect the season, right? We weren’t given a daily special and assumed there wasn’t one.
We ordered Tutto Mare pasta, and the grilled salmon entrees, which were very delicious, but very St. Louis in terms of portion sizes (huge!). I think I had a half lobster in my pasta dish, with a small ocean of various sea creatures swimming in the white sauce. The pasta was cooked al dente and drew a brininess from the seafood itself, rather than the sauce.
Her grilled salmon was on top of a bed of slighly spicy couscous, which seemed a little overcooked to me (it should be fluffy) but could have wilted under the hot slab of salmon, which was cooked perfectly. Unfortunately, it was topped with a spicy red sauce (I’m assuming a classical tomato+onion+caper) that kind of detracted from the salmon itself. Wonderfully hearty, but I probably wouldn’t order it again.
Like I said, the portion sizes were huge, and I really wanted to order dessert, but was way too full to continue.
I want to come back for lunch, but apparently, this restaurant is only open for dinner service.
The highlight of this restaurant is that it’s perfect for conversation. The rotating view can be a little confusing, especially if you go to the restroom and have to find your way back. But for a dinner for two, we marveled at the lights of the city, and enjoyed a decent meal that wasn’t over seasoned.
I look forward to checking out their Sunday brunch with a group of friends.
My wife and I visited the night of our wedding. We wanted a unique, calming experience for conversation and got that. I’d like to thank the staff at Top of the Riverfront for being professional and accommodating to a couple that simply wanted to enjoy each other and their city over some tasty food.

I am throwing another star to my review of the Top of the Riverfront.
No, I haven’t been back for a visit, but shortly after posting my review, I was contacted (via Unilocal) by the owner, Amy. She had read my review and asked me if I would be willing to provide some details on our evening there, which I did. She let me know that she appreciated my feedback, and that she would pass along my comments to the chef and management team.
For me, that was a classy move. I really do appreciate a business that is truly interested in what the customer has to say, and doesn’t get all turned out when receiving some constructive criticism.
So, kudos to you, Top of the Riverfront.
With that, I would like to update my review and state that I look forward to another visit in the future. Hopefully my experience will be better… which I am sure it will be if the management stays on this course.

I really like this restaurant: panoramic view leads to some interesting conversation, good food and usually decent service. I have been here for corporate dinners, graduation dinners, birthdays and have always enjoyed it. I recently had a peppered fillet mignon that was delicious. I also had a salad with candied nuts and fruit, but they over did it on the dressing. I did not have dessert, but many people did which they raved about.
Over the years, parking has improved dramatically. The Milennium Hotel has parking in the garage across the street and the restaurant will comp the parking, which can be pricey, so take advantage of it.
My one complaint is the service. We dined on a Tuesday night and the restaurant was not busy at all. We had to ask for bread 3 times before getting the first basket. We had a party of 12 and had to wait nearly 90 minutes for our food, so bread should have been a given and needing to ask for it three times, absolutely unacceptable! The server was OK, not great and with a nearly $ 1000 bill, the service needs to be top notch.
I do not think this restaurant is condusive to large groups because one side has their back to the windows, while the other has a great view throughout dinner. Keep the party small (6 or less) and then maybe both sides of the table can have a great view the entire time.

Wow. Thank goodness that the beautiful wife and I went to Top of the Riverfront during Restaurant Week. Not that we saved a lot of money because I had to drink constantly due to the fact that it would be impossible to dine and dash from the 28^th floor.
Seriously, if I had found a fire hose, I would have pulled a Die Hard. Speaking of Die Hard, I would rather walk through broken glass barefoot than eat here again.
I’ll let the beautiful wife write about her meal. For me, the best part was the wine. And the bread, which was pipping hot.
I started off with the Apple Jack onion soup. After breaking through the glacier of melted Swiss, I encountered a decent, though lukewarm, French onion soup. As for the Apple Jack, I presume this was the liquor, not the cereal. Though maybe the cereal would have been better.
I ordered the filet. What the fuck was this? You know those filets you can cut with a butter knife? Maybe if I had a electric butter knife. Or a fucking katana. Just a crappy piece of meat.
Finally, it ended up with cheesecake. Which was some sort of mass produced crappy crap cover with some sort of Reese’s peanut butter cup crap.
Our service wasn’t bad, but as we rotated in slow motion (oh, note to the non-​meteorologists out there, don’t come here when the sun is shining, you’ll freaking melt like the butter on our table), when we came around to the kitchen, I couldn’t help but notice food sitting there for a bit. At least it wasn’t ours!
Avoid. If you want a view of the city, go on a helicopter ride. Bribe somebody that lives Downtown with a view. But for the sake of your stomach and wallet, don’t go here.