Review: The Hide Away in St. Louis

Guy’s Perspective

It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that a “The Arch Sucks” T-shirt would prompt conversation at a south St. Louis tavern. (A wiseass friend with very passionate views on the urban planning of 1960s St. Louis got the T-shirt made as a kind of lark – a somewhat ironic, somewhat ruffle-the-STL-establishment’s-feathers, damn funny lark. It works. Well.) Almost exclusively, the on-every-corner South City tavern attracts lifelong St. Louisans – guys who, as boys, ran the streets in front of the tavern, and guys who, as adults, drink Busch drafts and talk Cardinals inside the tavern. These people love the Arch.

And so, on a visit to South City tavern The Hide Away with my friend and his shirt, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that our lifelong-St. Louisan barmaid would have, as a schoolgirl in 1964, participated in the creation of a time capsule placed in the bottom of the Arch’s leg. It also shouldn’t be much of a surprise that the gentleman next to us at the bar grew up in the neighborhood and hitchhiked to high school every day from the busy intersection two blocks away. “I went to CBC. The military uniform helped,” he said. Lastly, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise that most of the lifelong-St. Louisan clientele at The Hide Away had three decades on our barmaid and CBC friend.

Now, it is the norm for South City taverns to keep it down for lifelong-St. Louisan patrons with hair so gray it’s blue and skin so wrinkled it folds. It’s not the norm to see said patrons singing with the piano player, energetically dancing on a tiny dance floor and, well, smiling. And so, it’s here that The Hide Away sets itself apart. For the usual South City tavern’s dank, smoky air; non-existent lighting; corny wall mirrors; PG-13 paintings; from-the-block clientele; talk of paying off living room sets; and cheap brown appetizers with burgers, the piano player Mark Dew gives The Hide Away its unique vibe.

On Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights, Dew sits against the wall at his electric piano, surrounded by a bar top and bar stools, lounge-singer style. Two feet away, patrons sit facing Dew, snorkeling through Lucky Strikes and singing along, sometimes with the mic. Dew does most of the numbers – country western to Elvis Presley to Nat King Cole. If you’re lucky, he’ll let you sing. If you’re good, he won’t tell you to sit down.

Dripping in authentic South City kitsch, The Hide Away is hipster heaven. It returns all its Anheuser-Busch bottles for a few cents each. For longevity, these recycled-bottle Buds come in thicker, heavier glass. Hipsters notice. Additionally, The Hide Away has crocheted red coasters to host said recycled bottles. Hipsters notice and use. Surprisingly, the bar’s not as popular as expected with the scenester set. Perhaps it’s the mention on a Web forum in response to a 50-year-old couple seeking nightlife. Perhaps it’s the woman singing her rendition of “Sixteen Candles.” Another friend said she may be numerically dyslexic.

The straight 411 …
For South City kitsch with a live-piano soundtrack, recycled-bottle Budweisers and blue hairs getting drunk, head to The Hide Away, hipster or not.

Gal’s Perspective

As my friends and I pulled up to The Hide Away on Arsenal and peered through the outer windows, the first thing we noticed was that most of the people bellied up to the bar have probably been collecting Social Security checks for a long time. My friends, a group of younger guys all looking for a night filled with chatting up young and lively ladies, were not all that impressed. Nevertheless, we opened the door and headed in for what was soon to be an interesting evening of drinking with seniors.

The cozy, cabin-like atmosphere inside is definitely a welcome change from the garish décor of most St. Louis nightspots. Also, the music isn’t blaring techno or whining contemporary. It’s basically a low-lit place filled with high spirits and free-flowing hooch. Had it been located in a hidden basement somewhere, I could see this place having been a speakeasy. All the patrons have an air of knowing a secret that you are not quite hip to, but if you stick around for a while, they may just divulge the details.

There is a U-shaped area with barstools in the middle of the bar. It boasts a real-life piano player tickling the ivories to some golden oldies of the country music variety. While the piano man played a trio of Johnny Cash songs – “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Ring of Fire” and “Walk the Line” – a regular got up and took the singing part for “Walk the Line.” In a two-word description, he rocked! His gravely voice, and appreciation for the opportunity to use it, would have made the Man in Black proud.

We put in a request to play a song by The Doors on a $5 bet of whether the maestro could muster it and, sure enough, the next song was “Light My Fire.” The sometimes-sad country songs also make The Hide Away the perfect place to cry a tear in your beer if you feel so inclined.

Booze selection is what you’d expect from a local tavern: a few beers on tap, some boxed wine and mixed drinks. I wouldn’t suggest ordering a cosmopolitan at The Hide Away, but the beer is cold and the service is friendly. I couldn’t complain when the bartender handed me a domestic for only $2.50 on a Saturday night.

One of the coolest things at The Hide Away is definitely the people who frequent it. Seriously, these people were boozers and made me hope to be as lively as they are when I hit retirement. I would put money on it that half of the men in the bar could out-drink my fresh-out-of-college friends, bar none.

The Hide Away is in fact one of the classic hole-in-the-wall bars in St. Louis. It is a real diamond in the rough, perfect if you are looking for a night of relaxed drinking with some unpretentious people. All you have to do to fit in is grab a drink and a table and refrain from using excessive profanity (there is a sign near the entrance that states: “Excessive profanity and vulgar language are not allowed.”)

The straight 411 …
The crowd is older at this blast-from-the-past pub, and they have personality and drinking ability in spades.