HandleBar

Excellent happy hour. Half off pizza and dollar off beers and cocktails from 4 – 8. Service was very good and so friendly. 90% of food is made
, rest is locally sourced. And you can tell.
Me and my friend sat at the bar for 3 hours. Music was great too. I will be returning!

Fantastic bar with decent Russian inspired bar inspired food. The drinks are priced well and the environment was unique.
The best element is the staff. They’re quirky, efficient, if not a little bit green to the bar scene. Still, handlebar is my favorite spot in the Grove and it deserves a lot more attention than it gets.
Try the mig fuel and borscht

HandleBar is a Grove staple. It has late night dancing, eclectic decorations, and plenty-​O-​hipsters hanging around. The drinks are cheaper than some of their neighbors and just as tasty. I actually haven’t been here very many times except late at night with a group.
I need to come in sometime during the day to try their food. When I first saw Russian I thought someone was trolling us but alas, it’s real!
Most recently I came in this past Saturday and the DJ was terrible. Soooooo bad that people were all running away from the dance floor. Too artsy for us casuals. We ended up going to Atomic Cowboy but the music ins’t always that wack. They change it up.

Heard about this place for years, but not a convenient location relative to where we live in West County so first time visit. Food very good! How refreshing to have something other than wings, toasted ravioli, burgers, wraps, etc., not that there’s anything wrong with that but a very welcome change. Solid beer menu, tried four different Russian items on food menu, all good. Service was friendly and attentive. First but definitely not last visit, might not be such an out of the way place for us after all. Worth the trip!

I was pleasantly surprised with how great the food tasted! There was some sort of happy hour happening so it was somewhat loud in the restaurant. The service was pleasant and quick! (The male bartender/​server was super was nice and accommodating). Ordered a drink and shared the meat Pierogi, which I’ve never had before. It was warm out of the oven and tasted great. I also ordered the Break Fast pizza. It was crunchy, well-​flavored, and plentiful serving! I was very pleased with the two things I ordered. My friend ordered the Naanwich + side and was not very satisfied. They also honored the Unilocal $ 1 off your first drink coupon.

The Handle Bar is literally an art museum/​bar/​restaurant/​pool hall/​haberdashery of cool!
Ever sat in a pew? Like patio seating? Are you a dance maniac? How about ahhhhmazingly delicious food, crazy cool bartenders & servers? Play pool? Ride bicycles? Enjoy good music? How about vibrant art? If you answered «Yessss» to any of these questions, I highly suggest you run over to the Handlebar. Located in The Grove neighborhood and within walking distance to so much awesomeness it’ll make your head spin. However, Handlebar will leave you dizzy enough.
Oh, before I forget to actually review my experience let me say the Roasted Brussels topped with goat cheese were very good, a little salty so if your sensitive to sodium dully note. The Russian Salmon flatbread was award-​winning tasty too.
I’ll be back to handle this bar ASAP!
~Christy

In contrast to most of the other reviews, I did not go here for the craft beer. I went to have Russian food for lunch. The menu offered a lot of items, some Russian, some not. I ordered a Blinchiki. It is a sturdy crêpe filled with a variety of items. There are several choices. I chose the «Breakfast Blinchiki» which had eggs, bacon and potatoes. It was delicious. A side salad came with it which was baby spinach with some artichokes and tomato with a light vinaigrette dressing. Very tasty. The price for the above was $ 9.00. There is no desert served. The décor was attractive. There is a lot of open space with tables around the periphery. Sparse lunch crowd. Easy to find parking that time of day. I’ll be back for another lunch.

We visited recently and really dig this bar.
Pros:
+ Saturday Mule Specials (Mr. Fearless has a whiskey mule, pretty good)
+ Awesome cocktails (Seelbach was delicious and served up fancy!)
+ Solid variety of snacks and munchies. We split a sausage and pretzel board. Yum!
+ Good Service. We sat at the bar. Though she was kept pretty busy, the bartender was attentive and helped make sure we were pleased with our drinks/​food/​experience.
We had a great experience for our first time and we’ll definitely be back to explore the menu more!

The dedication to domestic beer is appreciated, however the selection of Irish whiskey and scotch whiskey should be expanded — perhaps a Tullamore Dew and a Talisker or Ledaig
Excellent St. Louis microbrew selection both on tap and in bottles –well done Tatyana

This place is awesome! Had a fantastic time all night. Drink prices were reasonable. Music was great. Got in before the cover charge. Parking was not too bad for a Friday night. We did not try the food.

Handlebar is my favorite bar in St. Louis. That is pretty much all I have to say. I just felt like doing an update and 5-​starring that shit because we went the other day for happy hour and it was great because OF COURSE it was. Love it.

Pretty darn great… What is not to love here… You got Bikes, Beers, and general Badassery! It’s in the Grove, surrounded by other great restaurants and bars– so it’s a prime time location for bar hopping. I’ve never eaten here, but hear the food is quite good. They have various themed dance nights which are so fun if you want to break a sweat. The also have a GREAT outdoor patio area. Fun, hip, and easy atmosphere!

Yet another crazy bar on the Groove. But, this is a decent spot.
Pros:
+ Bicycle great for photos upfront
+ Always can get a rousing game of pool going
+ Great events — fun to watch Cards play here
+ Lot of local STL Beer
Cons:
— Cover on weekends that sometimes seems a bit too much for what you’re getting
— difficult to find parking
Definitely need to be back to try out the food though.

Solid beer selection. Chill environment. Loved the pretzel and sausage. Looking forward to coming here many times.

This place has a pretty good beer and food selection. The food is definitely different from your average barfood with the Russian twist. The pizza is pretty good especially the chicken and jalapeño pizza. I appreciate that they carry a lot of local beers and they have some pretty good happy hour as well. I’m not 100% familiar with their entertainment but I know they have music on weekends.

I have visited the HandleBar at least twice and each time has been for a birthday party. Both times the service has been decent and the drinks have been great. I like how they have craft beers on tap and I like how the bartenders (even though they are slammed with business) provide me with information about the beers so I know what the expect.
The atmosphere is pretty cool if you are into bikes. Some really cool architecture and decorations throughout the entire place, including the patio.
I definitely know I am old though because one the DJ starts playing I am usually ready to go! The music is loud and I don’t fell like dancing when I am drinking my craft beer (I don’t want to spill it)!
Overall, I do enjoy the HandleBar, but I don’t know if this would be a top pick for a location I would choose on my own.

I went here for lunch on a Friday. I loved the way the bar looked and enjoyed the murals on the wall. My friend and I sat in a booth along the wall, there wasn’t a lot of seating. My friend and I decided to get a couple drinks first. She loves ginger beer so she ordered a Blonde Bastard. I wanted something sweet but off their drink menu and Keeley recommended A Superior Sour. Both drinks were good. Keeley was not only our server but also the Director of Inebriation, a title posted on a page in the menu. It looks like all the employees are listed with little comments about them. I liked it. Some might say it’s silly to put something like that in a menu but I think its fun.
My friend and I decided to try a couple things. We started with the Sausage & Pretzel Board. The sausage was good, the pretzels were salty and the aioli and mustard and sauerkraut was perfect with both. The only thing I would change would be to offer more of a serrated knife to cut the sausage into bite-​size pieces. I was dying to try the pierogi and she was wanting to follow the «must try «section of the menu and so we got the pierogi and the Russian Flatbread. I’m so glad we did. The pierogi was good… the sweet potato stole the show… but that flatbread but great. The perfect crisp with smoked salmon that I would have eaten off the floor if it fell, cavier, dill crème fraîche and pickled onions that didn’t have that strong onion taste. It was as beautiful as it was tasty. Finally we had the Pelmini (pork and sweet onion). These dumplings were in such a flavorful broth that we would take a dumpling out, cut it in half so it would fit with some flavorful broth and greens on the spoon. I can only assume that the dumplings were made in house but they had a nice portion of pork and sweet onion in them. It complimented the consistency of the dough. My only issue with this dish was that the crunchy bread served with this didn’t soak up the broth and maybe that’s not what it was there for but that broth is fabulous and a bread to soak it up would be a good addition… I think.
My friend works in the neighborhood so she plans to go back soon for lunch. I would if I worked closer.

This is my go to bar for craft beer. They have plenty on tap and the selections are rotated regularly. It’s a friendly place and its clientele is as diverse as its beer selection. The food is great as well. Not the usual style bar food. Served fresh and always plated nicely.

The 1^st place I think of when I want to go dancing. Fun atmosphere, I even got my guy to dance. Not an intimidating place, more hipster. I need to try their lunch sometime.

Limited menu but the food was good and it offers a break from the usual bar food.
You can just go with a pizza if you want but they have some more unique options than most bars you go to.
The different food options pushed a 3 star review to a 4 star, respect has to be given when a place does something a little different
Trivia night was fun, a group cheated but it’s free trivia so no need to let that ruin the fun night.
The drinks were good pours, not watered down and priced very reasonably… Might have had a few more than I should because it was such an affordable night
The service is a drawback, it’s pretty slow, it’s not awful, but it’s a bit slower than I’m accustomed too.
The noise level was horrible, there’s hardwood floors, no accoustic tile on the ceiling and not much on the walls so a level of noise that may be a low hum in many bars was a roaring mess in this bar.
Please put up some ceiling tile or something to attempt an improvement with the noise levels, it was much louder than it needed to be due to logistic issues with the room.
Fun night, I’d go back for sure, it’s worthy of the 4 star for the affordable grub and drinks but the noise level and slow service is a concern depending on what your tolerance is for such things.

Decent beer selection. Need to carry a few Belgium beer in my opinion. The food is odd but fresh. Had the potatoes with anchovies on them… I let the man friend eat that dish while I nibbled on the hummus. Sometimes the music is great, other times there’s no live deejay, simply a playlist. A good spot to chill & meet up with people before you go out.

Loved the bicycle themed atmosphere, the very friendly staff and the delicious Eastern European themed foods! The smoked salmon, arugula, caviar and dill flatbread was amazing! The beet soup wasn’t borsch but delicious in it’s own right. If I ever find myself in St. Louis again I will definitely be returning here!

They stole my money for wanting to leave literally two minutes after paying cover because I had quote «already enjoyed the bar» even though they wouldn’t let my friend with a temporary ID enter the bar. Result, payed ten dollars (menu price 4.50) for a beer and left. Do not give these thieves your business as they will just find ways to steal your hard earned money.

We stopped in for lunch on Sunday and were pleasantly surprised by the unique menu. The pizzas were great, and we also tried the blinchikis, the white fish bahn mi, and the pimento cheese dip. Everything was delicious!
I have come to HandleBar to drink before, but now I will definitely return for the food!
Side note: yes, this is a bar, but we brought our 2-​year-​old for lunch and she had lots of space to dance around while we waited for our food. The staff and other customers were gracious and didn’t seem to mind.

Always a reliable spot full of hipsters that love to dance. Even when other locations suck/​are not busy/​have odd crowds, you can find a crowd at HandleBar that just wants to have a good time.
They’re not consistent about charging a cover. The most that they’ve asked for has been $ 5. Drinks are average pricing.

The bartender Megan was really friendly and had great suggestions on the food as well as the beer. The food was amazing we had the pierogi and the flaming chicken pizza thin crust with an amazing crunch went perfectly with the half wit!

Awesome bar in The Grove with unexpectedly good Russian food.
During lunch it’s a laid back bicycle bar with a welcoming feel. It kinda has a Colorado-​esque feel.
The service was fantastic. The only person that seemed to be FOH was the bartender but he made a great server too. He was friendly and attentive. Also, he was very apologetic when our order came out wrong. He not only fixed it but offered us dessert as well, which we politely declined but greatly appreciated.
We ordered and shared: Russian-​style Pierogi ($ 5) 2 with traditional cabbage, mushroom, and egg.
They were very different from Ukrainian style but still tasty. These had a hearty buckwheat crust that was tasty and complemented the savory filling well.
We also ordered and shared: Blinchiki Two Russian inspired crêpe-​like pancakes, made with local beer, filled, and baked. Topped with sour cream and scallions (unless noted otherwise) with Sambal on the side. The Caprese: marinated tomatoes, mozzarella, basil pesto, caramelized onion Topped with provalone and basil pesto $ 8
The Greek: spinach, feta, olives, roasted red pepper, mozzarella, provolone
So, we ordered a Greek Pizza but got a Greek Blinchiki on accident. — They still brought us the pizza.
Everything was tasty with good flavors and fresh ingredients.
We will mos def pop back in at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later.

It seems that every city I’ve been to has a place called the Handlebar. I came in here after falling down a hill and cutting my leg open, (I’m sure it won’t scar too badly — thanks for your concern). Decent priced, quick service and after the bartender took my drink and it still had booze in it, I complained and they quickly brought me another no charge.
Twas chill, I dig.

I really liked this place!
Stopped in for lunch on a Saturday. Miles (manager/​bartender) took great care of me and really gave me some unique insights into how they run the place and where they place emphasis. Rare to find these days…
I started with the pierogis. One pork and one potato. Each was accompanied by its own dipping sauce. The dough was slightly crispy but not dried out. The pork was slightly spicy and the accompanying sauce was a little sweet so they paired very well. The potato was more savory and accompanied by a dill sauce. Also delicious and paired well. It is important to note that their pierogis are a little different than most that you find in Eastern Europe (haven’t been to Russia so can’t comment on their version) but that’s not a bad thing. Different but still very good!
Next up was a small portion of their pelmeni — basically a pork dumpling soup. I would say the dumplings are more closely related to tortellini than dumplings. Very flavorful vege broth that they make in house. Lots of pieces of veges in the broth and the addition of green onions and sprouts gives the dish an interesting combination of both flavors and textures. The dumplings themselves are amazing but pairing them with the broth and a little sour crème puts this dish over the top.
I opted for dessert, mainly because I cannot name another time I’ve ever been offered sweet potato cheesecake with a beer-​caramel sauce. It’s been a few hours and I’m still not really sure what I thought of the cheesecake but the beer-​caramel sauce was pretty amazing.
Lots of house-​made stuff and great presentation shows that they take their food seriously here. Can’t wait to go back and try some of their wild pizza ideas…