It’s WashU Parents’ weekend season: the perfect time to catch up with your parents, show them around the STL community, and get a few meals that aren’t from BD or the DUC. With the plethora of options available in St. Louis, it can be difficult to decide where to start. Here’s a list of the best brunch, lunch and dinner places to bring your parents to save you the hassle of deciding where to go.
Brunch
Price Range: $$
Distance from WashU: 10 minute drive from campus
Neighborhood: Downtown STL
Turn is the perfect place for a nice brunch with the family. Filled with lots of big windows, there’s a plethora of natural light while you sit down. Their biscuit flight is amazing – featuring four different seasonal biscuits – as well as their “L.E.O,” an open faced sandwich created as a rendition of an eggs benedict. If your family is a lover of egg dishes, this is the place for you.
Price Point: $$
Distance from campus: 5 minute drive
Neighborhood: UCity
Right by campus, Winslow’s is the perfect nicer-casual brunch place to swing by with your parents. They serve a variety of freshly baked pastries and have a wide ranging menu of savory and sweet brunch items. Caution: if you’re there on a weekend, make sure to get there before 11am or you may be stuck in line for a while.
Price Point: $$
Distance from campus: 10 minute drive
Neighborhood: Shaw
Fiddlehead is a great spot to bring your parents for a quick bite and coffee. Their fancy toast and pastries are incredible! Some fan favorites include their everything bagel danish, strawberry-matcha croissant, and gooey butter cake danish. They also have delicious coffee drinks like their spiced chocolate or Moon Goddess ube latte.
Lunch
Price Range: $
Distance from campus: 8 minute drive
Neighborhood: Tower Grove
If your family’s looking for a quick lunch, this is quality fast food. Their chicken sando sandwich and mushroom swiss burger are out of this world. You also can’t miss their pretzel and cheese dip. If it’s a sunny day, they also have an awesome patio area to lounge in while you eat.
Price Range: $
Distance from campus: 5 minute drive
Neighborhood: Clayton/Demun
Most WashU students are probably familiar with Hi Pointe by now, but it’s a classic that must be shared with the parents. Though widely known for having the best burgers in STL, their “Totally Smore-tified” shake and Greens & Grains salad can’t be ignored either. This is the perfect place to give your parents a glimpse into some quintessential WashU eats.
Price Point: $$
Distance from campus: 15 minute drive
Neighborhood: Tower Grove
Union Loafers is one of my favorite restaurants ever. They bake their own fresh loaves of bread everyday, and usually sell out by 12pm. They serve big sandwiches on their fresh bread everyday for lunch and serve incredible pizzas for dinner, even offering a side of marinara sauce for the crust. This is the perfect spot for any time of day with the family: couldn’t recommend more.
Dinner
Price Point: $$$
Distance from campus: 10 minute drive
Neighborhood: Tower Grove
Indo is perfect for a nice dinner with the family. Some fan favorites include the kanpachi sashimi with shiro ponzu and peach and their hamachi kama with truffle teriyaki which falls right off the bone, so buttery and delicious. The staff is super friendly and they also offer some fun drinks.
Price Point: $$$
Distance from campus: 5-10 minute drive
Neighborhood: Central West End
If your parents are staying the Central West End, this is a great place to stop by for dinner. They have a big patio area to sit in if it’s nice weather that evening, and beautiful decor inside as well. The mushroom orecchiette and pappardelle bolognese are great pasta dishes. If you’re looking for a nicer dinner out, this is definitely the right place to go.
Price Point: $$$
Distance from campus: 5-10 minute drive
Neighborhood: Central West End
Brasserie is perfect for a nice dinner out. They have a beautiful interior and great dishes including the selection of cheeses board and brasserie burger. Perfect for the night you’re all looking to get dressed up.