Top of the Riverfront

Top of the Riverfront
200 South 4th Street
St. Louis, MO  63102-1804

This was written in 2007, and I did not revise it.  I just copied and pasted.

We decided to celebrate our first anniversary by going to the Millenium Hotel and eating at The Top of the Riverfront. If you haven't heard of this restaurant it is located on the top floor of the Millenium, 28 stories above the ground. It is one of the most unique restaurants in St. Louis as it is the only one that rotates which gives the patrons a 360 degree view of downtown St. Louis, the Arch, the Mississippi River and Busch Stadium.


I called about a week ahead of our anniversary date and made the reservation (men are not required to wear a jacket and tie) When we stepped out of the elevator we were a little surprised to see a couple of guests in jeans and sweatshirts; however, once we stepped farther into the restaurant we were met by a courteous hostess who took our name and reservation time. She pointed us in the direction of the waiting area and while waiting we were entertained by the piano player.


To actually get to your table you have to step onto a rotating floor. The view is absolutely amazing and the fact that there are only two rows of tables on this rotating floor allows for every seat in the restaurant to have a perfect vantage point. When we were seated at our table we were directly over Busch Stadium. We could see all of the downtown area and it was very mesmerizing. I will caution you that it does take a few minutes to get adjusted to the fact that you are moving. I sat in the seat closest to the window and when I looked down I could see the stationary floor of the hotel and the track of restaurant floor, which was moving, and it did make me a little queasy so I just tried to avoid looking down for the rest of the dinner.

 We were greeted by our server and decided upon a bottle of wine (we chose an Australian shiraz priced at $30). I ordered the filet with the peppercorn sauce while Scott had the filet with the gorgonzola butter sauce. The dish came with a green bean and carrot medley and a cheesy potato side dish, which reminded me of scalloped potatoes (the filet was priced at $32 including both sides). I ordered the ceasar salad which came with an Australian imported white anchovy and Scott ordered the white bean chili (both the salad and chili were priced at $7). However, when our food came out the waitress actually brought out two salads instead of Scott's chili. Instead of sending it back, he told her that he would go ahead and try the ceasar salad. Since he typically doesn't like anchovy-based ceasar dressings, he was not impressed with this course. Without us asking, our waitress did take the salad off of our bill since this was not what he had originally ordered.


The filets were both tender but both were slightly over-cooked. We each ordered them medium and they were closer to medium-well.


For dessert, we ordered a peanut butter cup pie. It tasted very much like a Reese's peanut butter cup but it was extremely rich (the dessert was priced at $7)


My overall impression of this restaurant is that you definitely pay for the view. While we did enjoy the taste and tenderness of the filets and side dishes, I would not say that they made a lasting impression on us. The service was adequate but at times we felt as if our waitress was too busy to give us adequate attention. While we were not surprised by the total of our bill (especially since we had the bottle of win), we both felt that the price did not reflect the quality of food but that the view made up for this deficiency.


I would definitely go back to Top of the Riverfront for a special occasion. However, there are so many other restaurants in St. Louis to try that I would not put this back on my re-visit list anytime soon. Out of 5 stars, I would give Top of the Riverfront 3 3/4 stars.