La Pâtisserie Chouquette creates beautifully detailed pastries and more in Botanical Heights

Sauce 75: the essential St. Louis restaurants right now

At this beautiful Botanical Heights patisserie, owner Simone Faure creates cakes, pastries, macarons and desserts that are as beautifully detailed as they are delicious – it’s no wonder many sell out daily. The intricate Darkness croissant is filled with dark chocolate and two chocolate batons and is topped with Himalayan sea salt, while the Canele (vanilla rum cake) is a Bordeaux specialty with a custard center. The sweets are irresistible, but don’t overlook savory items like the flamiche tart, crisp puff pastry with thin-sliced potatoes, leeks, crème fraiche, Gruyere and Asiago. In early 2024, the French-inspired pastry shop was named a James Beard Awards semifinalist in the Outstanding Bakery category for a second consecutive year, and we wouldn’t bet against a third nomination next year. 

1626 Tower Grove Ave., St. Louis, 314.932.7935, simonefaure.com

---

The Sauce 75 is a photomosaic of the best in St. Louis dining in 2024. This list is a celebration of the diverse skills, techniques and culinary traditions that meet across our region. In sum, it tells a story about where St. Louis has been, where it is now and where it’s going next. Many great and good St. Louis restaurants have not made the cut. (Seventy-five is a lot fewer than you think!) Restaurants are constantly growing and evolving and go through ups and downs. Newly opened restaurants can take time to find their feet: There are a few exciting new places we’re cheering for, but which we feel haven’t yet fully hit their stride. Read the entire list here.