I was really excited to try Scout's after hearing about it opening in November of 2025, so going…read moreinto this I was very optimistic about the food and vibe.
Let's start off with the location & vibe:
Located off of a quiet part of Locust street, the building gave a minimalistic vibe on the outside with a white exterior & black trim on the windows. Upon entry, you're greeted with a warm, homey vibe which I enjoyed. I also enjoyed how they offered a choice of 3 different seating types when booking a reservation, allowing you to choose between The Living Room (akin to bar/lounge seating), The Dining Room (your standard seating for more intimate occasions), and The Kitchen (a more social vibe with communal seating at large tables). We chose to sit in The Dining room, and I found it to be clean & pretty nice, though it was quite loud which made it very difficult to hear our server and have a conversation. The table for two we reserved was sufficient, albeit a bit small & crowded with the lamp, water glasses, coasters, and other drinks/plates that were ordered. The Dining Room area was also quite small which contributed to the noise level. Overall, the space was very well-kept, warm, & modern, but the noise level really brought down our enjoyment.
Regarding the Service, it was mostly great, though again, the noise made it very difficult to understand our server at certain points. In addition, due to either the noise or a simple mistake on our server's part, we were served the wrong pasta dish, though this was corrected fairly quickly. The first round of drinks also seemed to take quite awhile, though everything afterwards came out in a respectable amount of time. Other than the issue with our pasta dish, the service was pretty good.
Onto the meat & potatoes, so to speak:
Starting with the drinks, they were absolutely phenomenal, to say the least. I ordered a Lime in the Coconut and it turned out to be the best cocktail I've had in STL! The brown butter rum really set it apart and complemented the toasted coconut & lime flavors. I also ordered a Beach Bummer, which was incredibly good as well (I forgot to take a picture) though the Lime in the Coconut really stole the show.
For the food, this is where things take a bit of a turn. We started off with the Charred Cabbage which had an 'Nduja Cream, sunflower seeds, ramp, & dill. While the flavor was pretty good, the texture was more of a wet, steamed cabbage that happened to have a tiny bit of char on it. The cream added a level to the cabbage that was enjoyable, and of course softened the texture, but when we ordered Charred Cabbage we were expecting something with a crunchier, more charred texture.
Our next small plate was the Sweet & Sour Meatballs, featuring roasted brussel sprouts (a favorite of ours) along with Pork & Beef Meatballs, agrodolce, & fried garlic. These were definitely our favorite thanks to the agrodolce sauce which provided great flavor. Although the meatballs were the main part of this dish, the brussels shined through for us as the sauce complemented them very nicely. I would definitely order these again if I returned in the future.
For the mains, I ordered the Flank Steak which came with farro, grilled broccolini, roasted peppers, caper verde, & Calabrian chili. The presentation was very simple despite the upscale vibe to the restaurant which left a bit to be desired. The steak was warm, teetering on room temp/cold, and was overall quite dry even with the caper verde & peppers accompanying it. I was most excited for this dish as it's a classic, but it fell flat to me as the flavors didn't mesh the same way they did with the smaller plates. Combined with the presentation, it didn't feel very appetizing but wasn't awful by any means.
And that's where we ended things at Scout's, choosing to forgo dessert in favor of a different spot. Overall, the space & vibe was incredibly inviting, offering a modern, homey, upscale vibe which suffers a bit from the level of noise. The drinks & small plates were amazing and where Scout's really seems to shine, while the mains left a bit to be desired. Sometimes you find a place that offers better cocktails & appetizers than they do a full dining experience, and for us, that was Scout's.