This is a special place. It sneaks up on you. The food is universally wonderful. The staff is professional and attentive. The management is the secret weapon. They are all from the same family, and they treat you as if you were part of their family. Generous pours, great food, and an atmosphere that is conducive to easy conversation across the table. A true treasure, right in the heart of Kirkwood. read more

Attentive service without hovering, food is varied, approachable and delicious without the unnecessary embellishments that denote haute cuisine. The restaurant is undergoing a makeover after receiving water damage, but before the ambiance was an uncluttered comfortable space with a nice little patio for nice weather. read more

Disclaimer: This review is based on having Thanksgiving dinner at this restaurant; I can't speak to their normal menu. The atmosphere of the place is friendly, almost clubby. It seemed as though the 'regulars' who were there were all older. I had their turkey entree, as did everyone else at the table, and had a salad to start. Others at the table had butternut squash soup to start and it looked and smelled pretty good. The salad was unusual; I think it was caesar dressing, but on mixed greens with onions and mushrooms. It was fine but not amazing. The turkey dinner was pretty good, but not overly flavorful. The mashed potatoes and the green beans were both well cooked but bland. The stuffing was very good, as was the turkey and gravy. The turkey was a touch dry for me, but with the gravy it was hard to notice. They had a nice selection of wines, both by the glass and by the bottle. The service was tremendously attentive and friendly...water glasses constantly refilled, bread basket replenished, etc. Good restaurant for family get togethers and other large group occasions. read more

Love this restaurant. Attentive staff, delicious food and great selection. Then there's dessert! Yum I say. read more

I was looking for somewhere new to have dinner with my husband, mother-in-law, and two of our daughters. I had never heard of this place, but the menu looked good and the reviews were good, so I made a reservation. We were not disappointed! The service was great and the food was SO good! One of my daughters and I shared the Greens and Goat Cheese salad and I can't wait to have it again - the goat cheese fritters that are in the salad are pretty yummy. Two others shared the House Fresh Greens and said it was really good. We had two orders of the Braised Short Rib Ravioli, a Mushroom Blue Cheese Burger, and two Lobster Rolls which were a special that night. Everything had great reviews. The ravioli was my fave. I'm glad rolls were served so we could sop up all of the sauce. My husband thinks the lobster rolls were the best he's had. There was a LOT of lobster and it wasn't overly sauced with mayo. Cocktails were good. We were all full, so we didn't get any desserts. We will definitely be back! read more

Love this place! It's a locally owned business and part of our community. We found them during COVID and ordered curbside on a regular basis. We are now regulars. My daughter always orders steak and she says it always cooked perfectly. I typically order their specials and have never been disappointed. Their indoor dining area is now open and there is a lovely patio in the back for warmer weather. The food is always fantastic and the service is exceptional. Make sure to leave room for dessert; the brownie pie topped with homemade ice cream is awesome. They also have a great selection of wine. Check out their website for special events such as wine tasting nights. If you are in the Kirkwood area I highly recommend Sunset 44. read more

This is one of favorites in Kirkwood. My go to happy hour (all night btw), date night, or book club with the girls! The service, drinks and food NEVER disappoint. The pours are very generous. I hesitate to even tell you how awesome it is because I don't want it too get too popular! ;) read more

Sunset 44 Bistro - The barrel aged Negroni is my summer favorite! Truly one of a kind. - New American Near Me - Saint Louis, Missouri

Had an absolutely outstanding meal last evening at Sunset 44 Bistro. I began with a light turkey vegetable soup almost a consume which was perfect. My wife had a Cesar salad with a light vinaigrette dressing which she loved. We both had the beef medallions special medium rare which were perfectly prepared with mashed potatoes and beautifully grilled vegies. The meal was completed with as good a piece of bread pudding as I have ever had. Bob Menendez took time to visit with our table and give us a history of the restaurant and we were blessed to have his daughter Carrie wait on us. What a rockstar. In addition they have a large selection of quality wines to take home at a deep discount. A truly wonderful evening. read more

Wow! We held our son's rehearsal dinner for 44 people here last Friday night. The service was phenomenal, the food was fantastic. The staff worked very hard to make sure that everything was perfect. Everyone of our guests loved it! In fact, the guest from St. Louis can't wait to go back for a date night! That should tell how good it is. Also, I loved the fact that it was family owned. Our lead waiter, Mike was the best! Thank you all for making our event very special. read more

I went with some of my friends and let me just say it was terrible. The burger I got was completely cold and undercooked, I asked for medium and it looked rare. One of my friends also got the burger and she asked for medium well and she got rare and cold as well. Another of my friends asked for a medium steak and got completely rare steak. The service was also terrible. It was super slow and we were in a rush. We asked if we could get the checks rushed to the table and it took them an extra 15 minutes. Now I hope I don't get food poisoning. read more

One of the best kept secrets in St. Louis. Americana food served by knowledgeable and skilled wait staff. Wine pairings and selections are incredible. It is all amazingly well priced. Very kid friendly, ambience is upscale casual. It will quickly become your "go to" restaurant when visitors come in town or when you need a reliable place for special occasions. So good! read more

My wife and I had the Sunset 44 Valentine's Day Dinner Special last night (we picked up curbside) and it was absolutely terrific. We savored every bite and have enough left over for another full meal. Truly one of the best dinners we have ever had. Hats off to Bob, Matt & Carrie and the entire Sunset 44 staff. Joe & Kay Walsh read more

Had a wonderful meal and enjoyed a great outdoor dining experience at Sunset 44 Bistro. The staff was also outstanding. Can't believe I haven't been there in so long...but that is changing now. Check it out! read more

I was soooo happy with Sunset 44's curbside service, from when I called in my order, to when I picked up. They were so courteous and accommodating! And, knowing Bob, who came to my car to deliver, was part of the process, I knew safety was important to them. I ordered one of the specials, two entrees and a bottle of wine, added on a wedge and a dessert and I was in the neighborhood of heaven! Delicious dinner, great people! You can't go wrong with Sunset 44! read more

My family and I went to dinner last night and had a wonderful dinner. The fried chicken was fantastic and the whipped potatoes served with them were so yummy. The salmon entree was also cooked perfectly. The flatbread offered with the beer cheese is great and the cookies given at the end of the meal is a nice surprise. Thank you also to our friendly server. We will be back. Thank you. read more

Have looked for over 30 years for Pilot House Fried Chicken...and finally found it here where the family operates this incredible restaurant. Parking? Close, free and available! Decor? Gorgeous! Service? Impeccable! Food Presentation? Beautiful! Serving Amounts? Generous! Pricing? More than reasonable for what you get! Only wish we would have found them sooner! read more

This place is awesome. They totally stepped in to help my friends out and host their wedding reception when Schafley cancelled on them. And this place this place is way better than Schafley. The food was amazing and the battenders, waiters and staff were super attentive. We loved our evening there and look forward to going back for dinner the next time we are in St Louis. read more

My Movie Club (6 women of a certain age!) dine here every month after movie at Plaza Frontenac. The service is excellent, and menu offers everything from wraps and salads to dinner entrees at reasonable prices. Comfortable place to visit with friends without feeling rushed. A nice neighborhood choice for good food in quiet, but casual, atmosphere. read more

I liked my food, but it was nothing too special and of course I'm going to tell you why! They have these crackers with seeds (as I like to call them, they're actually lavash), garlic scented cheese whiz (I honestly think this is what it is, pressed into a little cup), and butter waiting for you at the table when you arrive. I actually like that part b/c I like to eat before I eat. I always seem to be starving by the time I get to any restaurant, so crackers w/ seeds are nice, not too heavy like thick white bread. The cheese whiz, I could do without. Try this and tell me it's not cheese whiz in a cup. I dare you! I ordered the goat cheese salad and the crab cake appetizer. They were alright. The crab cake didn't have a good sauce (sauces are incredibly important to me), but the taste was okay. It didn't make me sick, so that's a plus, right?! The goat cheese salad was decent. I thought it would have crumbles of goat cheese on it, but it came out w/ 2 lumps of fried goat cheese. I will quote Padma from Top Chef, "They could fry my toe and it would taste good." They were good, but SO heavy and SO rich I couldn't eat both of them and they weren't all that big. Now that I'm complaining, I may as well get it all out there. Where was the salad dressing? Where was it I ask you? I detected hints of a dressing here and there, but no real sighting of the dressing was ever made. I don't want to eat leaves alone. Okay, there were some carrot curls on top, but mostly leaves. I want to eat salad dressing with some leaves in it. Oh, the salad is NOT big or medium either. It's small. Here's why I can give it 3 stars: Our waitress was really friendly and I'm finding that to be like winning the lottery here lately. The prices are good. Cheap even. I would go back there and get more opinions on the cheese whiz. I would have my friends close their eyes and taste it. I can already imagine the fun!!!! read more

We met friends we had not seen in over a year for a special dinner when they were in town and we chose Sunset 44 Bistro. What a delightful and enjoyable evening of wonderful food! We enjoyed cocktails and several appetizers before an excellent dinner! Salmon, Chicken and Pork Chops were delicious and our wait staff was exceptional. We will definitely return for another meal when we want to celebrate a special occasion or just feel pampered a little bit! Thanks so much ... you made it even more special! read more

A very good continental restaurant where none of the food has blown me away.... yet. The food that I've had here is really good and none has disappointed, but I haven't found anything that makes me crave this place. However the food is juuuust unique enough with little twists here and there that it makes me want to go back and try their other dishes in hopes of finding that favorite. It's all very well prepared and definitely warrants a special occasion visit. read more

Food is consistently very good. From salad to burger to finer meals, the quality and taste has been terrific and a pleasant experience. Extensive wine list as well. Service has always been friendly and attentive. If you've never been, check it out. read more

Continue to love this restaurant. Picked up dinner tonight curbside: crab cakes for everyone and a roughly 1/2 price bottle of wine. Appreciated the wine recommendation and always look forward to their lavish. $60 for 3 meals + wine, tax and tip of course. read more

A great surprise! An eclectic, worldly inspired and sophisticated menu. Everything we ordered was perfectly cooked and really tasty: goat cheese fritters salad, potato and leek soup, fried chicken breast (amazing!), clams and mussels in white wine broth, and strawberry sorbet. The service was impeccable as well. We'll certainly go back!! read more

Sunset 44 Bistro - Fried chicken breast. So good! - New American Near Me - Saint Louis, Missouri

Sunset 44 Bistro is not only a great restaurant but also a great neighbor. The owner, Bob Menendez, is always welcoming and manages to shoehorn us in during peak holidays such as Valentine's Day. During the pandemic, we ordered takeout for all the major holidays. We lined up along the street for in-car pick-up, seized our order, and had delicious, special meals with no Herculean efforts on our part. The food is outstanding, as is the dine-in atmosphere, either inside or out. Special nod to the addictive lavosh that is served to every table while you look over the menu. The brunches for Easter and Mother's Day--which hopefully will return when COVID wanes--are delightful. Altogether, a wonderful fine-dining experience. read more

Great family run business doing a great job during COVID. The food was excellent and a great value. The owner made his rounds to make sure everything was satisfactory. Also observed a waitress explain to a patron that he must wear a mask in order to go inside to use the restroom. And she was firm! Feels very safe and friendly. Highly recommend. read more

Terrific Takeout Service. I highly recommend the haddock.

Had a work dinner at Sunset 44 with 14 people. Overall the food was good, but not great. I had the baked pork chop, which was quite good. The spinach was way too salty for my tastes. The onion soup was good. We did find some Larkmead "Firebelle" wine, which made the night a success! read more

To put it lightly-the owner of this restaurant is a jerk. We came in for a birthday dinner. Ordered drinks, appetizers, salads, entrees, and dessert. My mom brought in two cupcakes as a last minute surprise for my niece. We told our waitress about the cupcakes, (we also ordered ice cream and a separate dessert as well- which we paid for). The owner comes up to us as we're eating a cupcake and says, "you know you really should tell us if you're going to being in outside food when you make your reservation. It's not allowed here". We explained that we spoke to the waitress and we're not told we couldn't eat them. We weren't told anything about a cutting fee either- which we would have gladly paid! He then made a rude comment, "our chefs need to get paid". Again, then charge us a cutting fee. He just went out of his way to make us feel humiliated and was rude, and frankly make us feel stupid. I'd rather eat at a restaurant owned by a nice kind person. I get that he might need to charge a cutting fee, but simply communicating that to the customer would be the mature way to go about it, as opposed to making them feel stupid. read more

Disappointed in last Saturday's meal. Our server was very good and attentive, but the food (sauerbraten and salmon) were not up to par. My sauerbraten was served in a big heap on one plate with a tablespoon of applesauce (it was served in a tablespoon). We eaten here before, and this is one of my wife's favorites, but not sure what happened last week. read more

Disappointment tonight of the service and temperature of food. Steaks were way too salty. Server was slow with everything. Not sure we will go back. read more

Excellent dining experience. Family owned and staffed. Food was great. Fried shrimp a great appetizer. We also had salmon and a Sunset burger. Both cooked perfectly. But the best was the desert. A warm brownie with ice cream, chocolate drizzle and whipped cream. Such a treat! They offer carry out specials, and patio dining, please check their website so they can survive this shutdown. read more

Great bistro bar with a Cheers atmosphere. Happy hour food selections all evening. The owner comes around and talks with you. read more

If you're looking for a quiet, relaxed atmosphere, excellent service and good food, then Sunset 44 Bistro is perfect for you. The shrimp tempura and crab cake appetizers were great. My mahi mahi entree was very flavorful atop a cheesy risotto. Our service was well-timed and attentive. It was a very enjoyable meal and evening. read more

food and service was great, atmosphere was nice and even the music was good we enjoyed our meal and definitely get dessert if you go soo good read more

I think the food is good however my problem is with the lack of anywhere to change a diaper. This place offers high chairs so they welcome kids but they don't have a changing table in any of their restrooms. There is absolutely nowhere to change a diaper other than on a booth bench in the restaurant. The owner or manager didn't seem to care. This place has a banquet room which hosts large parties like rehearsal dinners and possibly other family events yet you can't put a cheap plastic changing table in the handicap stall??? read more

Loved the food here. The ambience was a little... weird. It doesn't look fancy but the prices make it seem fancy. The lights were too bright. Not a very romantic atmosphere. The food was very good though. We got the shrimp tempura appetizer which was incredible. I got the lobster roll special with sweet potato fries and my husband got the crab cakes. My lobster roll was perfect. My husband liked the crab cakes but thought for the 26$ price tag, their shouldn't be imitation crab meat in them. That's the only reason for the 4 stars instead of 5. Lots of other things to try on the menu so we may be back! read more

Everytime I pass by here, which is practically once a day, I remember the meals we had for dinner. Or, perhaps more accurately, I remember that we didn't like Sunset 44 precisely because the dinner was so unmemorable--- so very, terribly bland. No flavor, no pizzaz, no zing. Absolutely nothing to bring us back. read more

We went to Sunset 44 for Mother's Day, we decided to dine very early and arrived while the restaurant was almost empty. The people that were seated were almost all elderly. (We learned later that there is a Nursing Home kind of next door/above). Things started off well, although we were walked through a maze of tables to eventually get to our booth. The first thing I noticed was that the menu was missing about 1/3 of the items that had been on the website. I am a vegetarian and I'd sort of mapped out what I thought I wanted to order. Unfortunately neither of the items I wanted were on the menu any longer, (Summer Tomato & Mozzarella and Pasta Verde). Nor was the Zucchini Bite starter that everyone had raved about. We ordered the Lavosh and beer cheese crock. The cheese was a bit like cheez wiz as one reviewer stated, but it wan't completely horrible. They also brought out rolls which were very good. I ended up ordering a Wedge Salad without bacon and my Mom ordered the Ceaser. My salad was decent. My mother didn't remark on it at the time but later in the car she advised that her ceaser was very bland with almost no flavor, she didn't finish it. There were no vegetarian entreés so I ordered the Wild Mushroom Flat Bread. My mother ordered the Beef Tenderloin Tips. The flat bread was inedible, room temp, cardboard crust, it had an odd smell and the mushrooms seemed to be dried and not all the way re-hydrated. I ate half of one small section and sent it back. It takes a lot for me to do that, I've been a vegetarian for 20 years and I am adaptable and will eat pretty much anything that doesn't have meat. The server checked with the kitchen and they agreed to make me a pasta dish without meat, which was nice but it didn't overcome the quality of the flatbread. The pasta they brought out was a huge bowl of linguine with the veg of the day (steamed carrots, zucchini, cauliflower) mixed in and a tomato sauce that tasted like canned stewed tomatoes with no seasoning. After three bites I decided it was something I could take home and add some seasoning to on my own. The biggest disappointment was probably the Beef Tenderloin Tips which were covered in a thick gravy I could smell from across the table. It smelled like cafeteria gravy you'd find on cheap meat. According to my mother that's the way it tasted as well, she said it seemed like it was out of a bag. In addition to our meals we got an order of sweet potato fries, they were very good. The best part of the meal by far. Sweet, nicely salted, crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. We had a gift certificate and were trying to "use it up" so we ordered dessert to go. The Créme Brúlee and Chocolate Glazed Napoleon were both good but nothing spectacular. If we had actually been paying for the dinner without the certificate I think my mom would have sent back the Beef Tenderloin. All of the waitstaff was very nice, friendly, they seemed to be especially kind toward the many elderly people. However, their behavior was not the stuff of fine dining. They yelled across the floor, they took plates from a table and scraped the scraps onto one big plate before carrying it into the kitchen, they used a loud swiffer vacuum under one of the tables right next to us while we were eating. We didn't need any additional dessert items but the cookies other reviewers have mentioned were never offered. There were also several periods in which we sat for long periods of time waiting. By the time we left the empty restaurant was now filled. In the car on the way home we discussed the meal and decided the major issue was it didn't live up to the name or the website. The food wasn't bistro-like. It was more reminiscent of cafeteria or hospital food. Bland, canned, over sauced, un-inventive. We won't be going back. read more

Pretty sure I can't say one good thing about this place other than its in a good location. It's super dated, the servers couldn't be less interested and the food (what I could eat of it) was poor quality. I was really excited to try Sunset 44 as I've lived in Kirkwood for several years and never made it into this restaurant. I ordered the fish tacos and requested nothing with mayo be on the plate as I am allergic. It was a huge portion of fish - which was great. It was, however, covered in a mayo based sauce. I politely reminded the server that I asked for no mayo. He sighed and took it away. He then returned 30 seconds later with a soggy piece of breaded fish that had clearly been rinsed off and put back onto my plate. Two thumbs down. read more