Where to Eat in Soulard: A Local's Guide to St Louis's Historic Neighborhood
Revised July 17, 2026
Where should you eat and drink in Soulard?
Soulard’s must-visit trio: Bogart’s Smokehouse (BBQ, burnt ends), Molly’s in Soulard (huge patio, brunch, New American), and John D. McGurk’s (Irish pub, live music, big garden). For Cajun food with live blues, 1860 Saloon & Hardshell Cafe leads, with Great Grizzly Bear nearby. The 9th Street corner — iTap (craft beer), Epic Pizza, and Session Taco — is a great casual cluster. For coffee and brunch, Goshen Coffee, Eat Crow, and Social Bar & Grill. And don’t miss the historic Soulard Farmers Market (open Wednesday–Saturday since 1779). Note: Franco and 808 Maison have closed.
Keep reading ↓Few St. Louis neighborhoods pack as much into a few walkable blocks as Soulard. Just south of downtown, this historic French quarter is a maze of red-brick 19th-century rowhouses, blues bars, Irish pubs, Cajun kitchens, and a farmers market that’s been feeding the city since before Missouri was a state. It’s the beating heart of St. Louis nightlife and home to the biggest Mardi Gras celebration outside New Orleans.
To eat and drink in Soulard is to graze your way from a Saturday-morning market stall to a plate of BBQ, then land at a corner tavern where a blues band plays till late. The through-line is unmistakable: Cajun food, live music, and market-fresh mornings, all on foot.
This guide walks you through the neighborhood’s best — the must-visit anchors, the Cajun-and-blues spots, the beer-and-pizza corner, the brunch and coffee, and the historic Farmers Market itself. One honest heads-up: Soulard’s scene turns over, so a couple of favorites have closed and hours shift — always worth a quick call before a special trip. Now, let’s eat.
📌 Love Soulard? Keep this — and share it.
Bookmark this guide and send it to the friend planning a Soulard bar crawl, the group doing Saturday market-and-brunch, or the visitor who wants the real historic-neighborhood experience.
Every share points one more person to a great day in Soulard. That’s the whole idea.
The Must-Visit Trio
If you’re new to Soulard, start with three anchors. Bogart’s Smokehouse ($$) on 9th Street is the neighborhood’s BBQ crown jewel — a Pappy’s sister spot famous for apricot-glazed, blowtorch-finished burnt ends and ribs (go early; it sells out). Molly’s in Soulard ($$) has one of the city’s largest patios, a New American menu, seven bars, and a beloved weekend brunch — the all-day social hub. And John D. McGurk’s ($$), St. Louis’s premier Irish pub since 1978, pairs live Irish music six nights a week with a sprawling 15,000-square-foot garden of fountains and patios. Hit these three and you’ve tasted the soul of the neighborhood.
Cajun Food & Live Blues
Soulard’s signature combination is Louisiana food with a live soundtrack. 1860 Saloon & Hardshell Cafe ($$) is the heart of it — gumbo, etouffee, and crab legs alongside live blues and rock seven nights a week, and it’s been at it since 1984. Just up the block, Great Grizzly Bear ($$) is a roughly 40-year Soulard institution, revived under new ownership, with a brick patio and scratch pub food. And Calypso ($$) brings a Cajun-Caribbean spin with rooftop views. This is the corner of Soulard where dinner and a show are the same thing — exactly how the neighborhood likes it. For more on the metro’s Louisiana food, see our guide to the best Cajun and Creole food in St. Louis.
The 9th Street Garden District: Beer, Pizza & Tacos
One Soulard corner offers a perfect one-stop, three-orders night. iTap (International Tap House) ($$) is a craft-beer paradise with around 44 rotating taps, a huge bottle list, and a tropical patio with a tap fountain. Attached in the same building, Epic Pizza & Subs ($) handles the late-night pizza and sub craving. And nearby, Session Taco ($$) — the Soulard spot formerly known as Mission Taco Joint — does tacos and cocktails (the name changed, so don’t be thrown). Grab a beer at iTap, order a pizza to your table, and you’ve got the easiest great night in the neighborhood.
Brunch, Coffee & Casual
Soulard does mornings and casual just as well as nights. Goshen Coffee Roasters ($) on Geyer is a specialty roaster cafe (in the former Soulard Coffee Garden space) doing breakfast burritos, toasts, and excellent coffee. Eat Crow ($$) is a newer spot from The Crow’s Nest team serving elevated bar food like smash burgers and mac bowls. Social Bar & Grill ($$) is the big, family-casual sports bar with two full bars. And for a hearty breakfast, Nadine’s Hash House ($) (a reboot from the former Nadine’s Gin Joint owner) covers the diner craving on the Soulard edge. Molly’s weekend brunch, mentioned above, is also a neighborhood favorite.
The Soulard Farmers Market
You can’t talk about eating in Soulard without the Soulard Farmers Market — the historic covered market at 730 Carroll Street that gives the neighborhood its name and its rhythm. With 140-plus vendors selling produce, fresh meat and fish, baked goods, honey, spices, and prepared foods, it’s a genuine destination, busiest on Saturdays. The market has roots going back to 1779, making it the oldest operating public market in St. Louis and reputedly the oldest west of the Mississippi; Julia Soulard donated the market blocks to the city in the 1840s on the condition it stay a public marketplace forever. It’s open Wednesday through Saturday, roughly 8am to 5pm (individual vendor hours vary, and Saturday is the big day). Come hungry, bring cash and a tote bag, and graze.
Soulard Nightlife
After dark, Soulard is one of the city’s great going-out neighborhoods. Beyond McGurk’s Irish music and 1860’s blues, iTap anchors the craft-beer crowd, the cozy historic Bastille ($) is a welcoming neighborhood tavern, and Big Daddy’s ($) is the party bar and a Mardi Gras hub (famous for burgers and animal-style fries). The beauty of Soulard nightlife is that it’s all walkable — you can wander from a blues set to a craft beer to a late slice without ever moving your car. It’s the closest thing St. Louis has to a New Orleans-style go-out-on-foot district. A classic Soulard evening might run from a craft beer at iTap to a plate of gumbo and a blues set at 1860 Saloon to a nightcap at a corner tavern — all without ever getting back in the car. Just remember that late hours vary by night and season, so a quick check before you head out never hurts.
Mardi Gras & Soulard’s Festival Calendar
No neighborhood in St. Louis throws a party like Soulard. Its Mardi Gras celebration is the biggest outside New Orleans, drawing enormous crowds for a season of parades — the family-friendly Barkus dog parade, the wild Grand Parade, and weeks of events centered on the neighborhood’s bars and streets. Beyond Mardi Gras, Soulard hosts Oktoberfest, holiday markets, and a steady rhythm of live-music nights year-round. Planning a visit around a festival supercharges the experience — but also means bigger crowds and special hours, so book ahead and, again, call to confirm before you go. Even on an ordinary weekend, though, the combination of the market, the food, and a blues band down the block makes Soulard feel like a celebration.
What Soulard Does Best
A few things define this neighborhood’s food and drink. Cajun food and live blues together are the signature — nowhere else in the metro pairs them so naturally. Barbecue is a genuine strength thanks to Bogart’s. The big social patios, led by Molly’s, make it a warm-weather favorite. The historic Farmers Market anchors weekend mornings. And the sheer walkable density of bars and kitchens — plus the annual Mardi Gras blowout — makes Soulard the metro’s premier go-out-on-foot neighborhood. It’s history, music, and good food all in a few brick-lined blocks.
A Note on What’s Closed
One honest update, because old lists still point people to shuttered spots. Franco, the upscale French-American restaurant behind the market, has closed, as did its short-lived successor 808 Maison. The historic Clementine’s (long St. Louis’s oldest gay bar) closed years ago, the Soulard location of Llywelyn’s Pub has closed (other locations remain elsewhere), and the old Soulard Coffee Garden is now Goshen Coffee. Soulard’s scene turns over quickly and a few spots have changed names or owners recently, so — as with any neighborhood — a quick call to confirm hours before a special trip is always smart. When a Soulard spot wins you over, become a regular; that’s how this historic neighborhood stays vibrant.
Run a Soulard restaurant, bar, or market stall? Be the name they find first.
Every month, about 2,400 people search for Soulard restaurants — locals and visitors planning a night out in one of the city’s most popular neighborhoods — but most get handed a national app that buries the small spots (and still lists places that closed years ago). Here’s your opening: get in on the ground floor of a growing local directory and become one of the first spots locals — and AI assistants like ChatGPT — surface when someone’s headed to Soulard. It works because a focused local directory shows up where the big apps don’t, and being easy to find (with correct hours) is what turns a search into a full room.
And it’s simple: get your profile, add your photos and real hours, get seen by more customers — easy, right? Even if you already have a Google listing, this is a second net catching the people Google misses. Even if you’re not a “tech person,” it takes minutes. Even if you’re a small tavern or market vendor with no ad budget — that’s exactly who a local directory levels the field for.
Claim your spot and be the name they find first — or start with a free visibility audit to see how findable you are today.
Soulard is one of the most distinctive places to eat, drink, and wander in all of St. Louis — a walkable knot of history, music, market mornings, and Cajun-spiced nights. For the bigger picture, see our guide to the best restaurants in St. Louis — then spend a Saturday in Soulard: market in the morning, BBQ in the afternoon, and a blues bar at night. The best of Soulard isn’t any single restaurant — it’s the whole neighborhood, brick by brick, with a band playing somewhere down the block.
Prefer a quick, at-a-glance list? See our where to eat in St. Louis directory page for this area.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best restaurants in Soulard?
The must-visit anchors are Bogart’s Smokehouse (BBQ, burnt ends), Molly’s in Soulard (huge patio, brunch, New American), and John D. McGurk’s (Irish pub with live music and a big garden). For Cajun food with live blues, 1860 Saloon & Hardshell Cafe is the signature spot, with Great Grizzly Bear nearby for scratch pub fare. The 9th Street corner — iTap, Epic Pizza, and Session Taco — is a great casual cluster.
What are some good restaurants near Soulard, St. Louis?
Just outside Soulard proper, Benton Park and the downtown edge add excellent options a short walk or drive away: Blues City Deli (po’boys, Benton Park), Sidney Street Cafe (romantic fine dining, Benton Park), Frazer’s (eclectic, Benton Park), and downtown’s Broadway Oyster Bar (Cajun and live music). Within Soulard itself, stick with the anchors above — Bogart’s, Molly’s, McGurk’s, and 1860 Saloon.
What is Soulard known for?
Soulard is known for its historic Farmers Market (operating since 1779), red-brick 19th-century architecture, and a lively nightlife of blues bars, Irish pubs, and Cajun kitchens. It hosts the largest Mardi Gras celebration outside New Orleans, drawing huge crowds each winter. In short, it’s St. Louis’s most walkable, most festive historic neighborhood — equal parts market mornings and live-music nights.
What is the Soulard Farmers Market?
The Soulard Farmers Market is a historic public market at 730 Carroll Street with more than 140 vendors selling produce, fresh meat and fish, baked goods, honey, spices, and prepared foods. Its roots trace to 1779, making it the oldest operating public market in St. Louis. It’s open Wednesday through Saturday (roughly 8am–5pm), with Saturday the busiest and best day to visit. Bring cash and a tote bag.
Is Soulard a good place for nightlife?
Absolutely — Soulard is one of St. Louis’s premier going-out neighborhoods. It’s packed with walkable bars and live-music venues: McGurk’s for Irish music, 1860 Saloon for blues, iTap for craft beer, plus taverns like Bastille and party spots like Big Daddy’s. Because it’s so dense and walkable, you can bar-hop on foot all night — and during Mardi Gras season, it’s the epicenter of the city’s biggest party.
Written by a dedicated team of St. Louis locals who live, work, and play right here in the St. Louis metro. Founder Lane Forman and team are committed to building the region’s most trusted directory by verifying listings and connecting local businesses with loyal customers across Missouri and Illinois.