Angad Arts Hotel brings on chef Matthew Birkenmeier to revamp restaurant and bar menu

The Angad Arts Hotel, located at 3550 Samuel T. Shepard Drive in St. Louis’ Grand Center Arts District, recently announced that chef Matthew Birkenmeier, who goes by chef Birk, has taken over as the new executive chef for the hotel. Birkenmeier has worked in the St. Louis area at many restaurants, including as executive chef for Quincy Street Bistro and the now-closed Monarch Restaurant, as well as the chef de cuisine for a variety of cruise ships and the Ritz-Carlton Golf & Spa Resort in Jamaica.

In his new role, Birkenmeier is working to revamp the currently closed Grand Tavern restaurant at the Angad Arts Hotel. The restaurant, which will have a new name when it relaunches in late summer, will focus on light, modern European fare including fish, duck, quail and oysters, along with many vegetarian and vegan options and lots of shareable dishes. The menu will also have signature cocktails, with details yet to be released. On the dessert side, they’re collaborating with local ice cream spot Serendipity to make a signature ice cream flavor.

With so many diners coming in for an early dinner before shows at the Fabulous Fox Theatre, they plan to create fun experiences with the menus. “We’ll be featuring pre-theater dining menus that’ll be themed around the shows at the Fox Theatre,” he said.

The restaurant interior is currently being revamped as well. “It will definitely have a new look and feel,” said general manager Stacey Howlett. Much of the 3,250-square-foot space will have a modern and fresh vibe when diners come back in, including the addition of a private dining space.

Birkenmeier recently redesigned the rooftop Art Bar menu at the Angad Arts Hotel as well. The menu features lighter fare, shareable plates and a few entrees for now, with dishes like lamb chop lollipops with tomato-mint salsa and an apple jelly demi-glace, and shrimp and scallops paired with a sweet corn-bacon succotash and blood orange reduction. One of Birkenmeier’s standout dishes is the compressed watermelon salad. “We wanted to do classic dishes in a little different way,” he said. The watermelon is vacuum-packed with different seasonings and marinades and topped with goat cheese, a balsamic-blueberry reduction and crushed pistachios. 

Art Bar is open Wednesday through Saturday starting at 5 p.m. Stay tuned at angadartshotel.com for more updates regarding the relaunch of the restaurant at the Angad Arts Hotel.