THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Busch's Grove

THIS RESTAURANT IS CLOSED Busch's Grove Restaurant Review:

Nostalgia isn't a craze in St. Louis, it's a constant. So when the shuttered landmark restaurant Busch's Grove, originally opened in 1890, was bought, gutted and reopened, paroxysms of delight engulfed, well, some people. The interior, designed by David Rockwell, offers three large rooms and several smaller ones, the nicest being the dark and civilized wine room with the (much) quieter of the two bars. The tasteful and discreetly lavish building shows touches like Lalique glass door handles. The guests are pretty much what’s expected: establishment types, business dinners, seekers of the new and talked-about and neighbors from the Old Money suburb. The kitchen is producing what's pretty much private club food: steaks and chops and fish. Except for sushi, first courses are fairly predictable. Any attempts at excitement are found in some side dishes: broccoli rabe and a silky purée of root vegetables reside with an undercooked potato gratin and a tiny roasted tomato. The truly reluctant have a section of plain grilled fish. Service is almost well-organized. Most of the noise comes from the bar, which gives the young and not-so-young a place to meet new chums. The restaurant has no affiliation with the brewery or the dynasty that owns it, by the way.