First Look: Eat Crow in Soulard

Eat Crow, the new Soulard bar from the team behind The Crow’s Nest, is hosting its grand opening this Friday, July 29. The new bar takes over the former Nadine’s Gin Joint space at 1931 S. 12th St., at the intersection of South 12th Street and Allen Avenue. 

Owners Eliza Coriell and Kenny Snarzyk originally announced that their new bar would be called Crow Bar. However, due to the potential for confusion with other bars with a similar name, they made the decision this week to name the bar Eat Crow. Coriell and Snarzyk have made significant renovations to the space, including reworking the kitchen, adding storage space, and redesigning the bar top. “We poured so much resin,” Snarzyk said. The central bar is flanked by tables, with about 10 indoor tables for dining as well as seating at the bar. The space is finished with an abundance of music and pop culture memorabilia, leaving Eat Crow feeling very much a sibling to The Crow’s Nest. A huge screen on one wall will show classic movies from a collection including 1980s and 1990s hits like The Goonies.  

Outside, the patio is divided into two sections, with one of those reserved for table service and the other for bar service only. There’s also an additional bar on the patio, which is currently not functional but can be used as extra seating. “In the process of ripping out the patio, we found there was a sinkhole that had to be filled,” Snarzyk said.

Co-owner and chef RJ Marsh’s menu for Eat Crow carries over many of the dishes that have become staples at The Crow’s Nest, including cheese curds, pork poutine, hummus and chili cheese fries. “Those are big winners down there, so we brought them here,” Snarzyk said. The big difference here is that Eat Crow’s burgers will be smashburgers rather than the half-pound patties at The Crow’s Nest. All the burgers can be ordered with Beyond Burgers instead of beef patties. “All the specialty [burgers] are doubles, so they’re still 8 ounces,” said Marsh.  

Where The Crow’s Nest offers one mac and cheese with gouda-jalapeno cheese sauce, Eat Crow has a whole section offering spins on the ultimate in comfort food. Examples include the Philly mac with roast beef, sauteed onions and green peppers or the hot honey mac, with fried hot honey chicken, gorgonzola and ranch.

There are also new appetizers like the deep-fried soft pretzel sticks, served with that gouda-jalapeno cheese sauce for dipping, and a taco salad – mixed greens, tomato, cheddar and onion served alongside mini deep-fried chicken tacos. 

In terms of drinks, the bar will open with six beers on draft, though there are eight taps. As with the menu, the cocktail list is a little smaller than at The Crow’s Nest, but features some of that bar’s specialty cocktails. 

Marsh and Snarzyk were careful to emphasize that they are building up slowly, with the focus on quality rather than quantity. Fans of The Crow’s Nest’s beloved Metal Brunch will be heartened to hear that the Eat Crow team have plans to eventually offer brunch, although they won't be rushing into anything. “What it is yet, we’re not 100 percent sure,” Marsh said. “We’re going to take our time, get established in the neighborhood, get our staff all trained up and make sure all the wheels are greased the way they should be, and then we’ll talk about it.” The owners also floated the idea of an industry brunch on Mondays for food and drink industry workers, but say they're going to take their time before deciding on whether to push that one forward.

Snarzyk said that other business owners and locals in the neighborhood have been welcoming and supportive through the lengthy renovations. “We’ve been going to these restaurants a lot and everyone’s like, ‘When?’ And we’re like, ‘Never, we’re never going to open!” Well, now all the pieces are falling into place and Eat Crow is ready to do for Soulard what The Crow’s Nest has done for Maplewood. “I think it’s going to be pretty gangbusters this weekend,” Snarzyk said.  

Eat Crow’s grand opening party is at 5 p.m. Friday, July 29, featuring Stag specials and music from River Kittens from 6 to 9 p.m. The bar will be open from 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to midnight on Sundays. The kitchen closes at 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 9 p.m. on Sunday.