Menya Rui in Lindenwood Park is unrivaled in St. Louis

Sauce 75: the essential St. Louis restaurants right now

Very few ramen shops in the United States make their noodles in-house, and restaurants offering broth-less styles like tsukemen and mazemen are comparably rare. Local jewel Menya Rui (Sauce’s Best New Restaurant of 2022) does both, but it’s the broth-less tantanmen that really has us hooked. The fresh, chewy noodles take center stage in this Japanese take on Sichuan dan-dan noodles with ground pork, aromatic chile oil, sesame paste and pleasing notes of that signature numbing spice. Owner and chef Steven Pursley’s passion and expertise – which earned him a Food & Wine Best New Chef class of 2023 honor – are evident from your first slurp to your last lick of the empty bowl. Menya Rui is a restaurant that is clear in its identity, proud in its craft, rigorously on point in its execution and unrivaled in St. Louis.

3453 Hampton Ave., St. Louis, 314.601.3524, menyarui.com

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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.