Vicia

"Tara and Michael Gallina, veterans of Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns, came to St. Louis with a staggering amount of dining and hospitality experience. At its most basic, their restaurant Vicia celebrates vegetables, the land they’re grown in, and the farmers who grow them, in a space that’s cool, timeless, and clean, like a freshly pressed white linen shirt. At the seasonal outdoor Vicia Wine Garden, diners scan QR codes to order early evening snacks of oysters, olives, crudite, and pimento cheese to pair with the award-winning wine list. Inside the formal dining room, the Gallinas put avant-garde preparations of vegetables center stage, like carrots cooked in beef fat or chicken-fried oyster mushrooms with lovage, buttermilk, and kohlrabi. Supporting acts come from meats cooked on the wood-fired grill and items like peekytoe crab bucatini. For one of the best fine dining values in the city, go for the three-course, family-style prix fixe." - Holly Fann, Joel Crespo

"From the all-white interior to the wood tables and chairs, Vicia feels like somewhere that would sell a minimalist vase for $400. But instead, they serve a vegetable-focused menu (with meat options) and cocktails made with things like beets and cardamom. The food changes almost weekly, but the zucchini steak and roast pork with peach mustard are two dishes to keep an eye out for. Or there’s a five-course $95 tasting menu as well, with off-menu dishes and occasional activities, like build your own turnip tacos." - jen maylack

"Currently booking our 3 course Farmers Feast menu experience. Future dates released 30 days in advance on a rolling basis at 11am."

"Tara and Michael Gallina, veterans of Dan Barber’s Blue Hill at Stone Barns, came to St. Louis with a staggering amount of dining and hospitality experience. At its most basic, their restaurant Vicia celebrates vegetables, the land they’re grown in, and the farmers who grow them, in a space that’s like a freshly pressed white linen shirt — cool, timeless, clean, and welcoming. Pre-COVID, the restaurant was known for casual lunches (tartines, soups, charcuterie, and salads with midday wine), but the restaurant truly bloomed in the evening, with 15-course tasting menus that astounded diners. The Gallinas are willing to put avant-garde preparations of vegetables center stage, like carrots cooked in beef fat, while using meat dishes cooked on the open wood-fired grill as supporting acts. The restaurant currently invites guests to celebrate the bounty of the Midwest through the humbler three-course farmer’s feast, a chef’s selection of dishes served family style. The menu changes daily, but previous offerings have included starter snacks like turnip-shell tacos with black beans, shiitakes, kale, yogurt, and carrot hot sauce, or a delicate dish of juniper-cured scallop with sorrel. A main might feature Berkshire pig with grilled strawberry mostarda or barbequed hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, served with sweet potato with fresh cream, preserved citrus, and toasted seed cracklings. Whether the menu is long or short, Vicia serves food that is more precise than seasonal, anchoring each meal to a specific time and place." - Holly Fann

"Vicia Restaurant Husband-and-wife team Michael and Tara Gallina met while working at New York’s acclaimed Blue Hill at Stone Barns, he as the chef de cuisine and she as a captain. In 2017, they moved to Michael’s native St. Louis and opened their own restaurant, Vicia, which received almost instant accolades, including “Best Chef: Midwest” from the James Beard Foundation in 2019. The restaurant focuses on vegetable-forward cuisine, made with the freshest possible ingredients from local farmers, fishermen, and artisans as well as from the on-site garden. In the sleek but inviting dining room, diners enjoy such innovative dishes as kohlrabi shell tacos, grilled fairy tale eggplant, and Berkshire pork with nectarines and pistachios, all served in warm, unfussy Midwestern style. While the à la carte offerings stand on their own, you should consider ordering the Chef’s Menu to try off-menu dishes, or the Farmers Feast to share family-style options with the table. Whichever you choose, pair it with one of the botanical beverages, like the Garden Herbs with your choice of nasturtium-, lemon verbena–, or orange-mint-infused rum."