dunnell.net

So, Bill Cardwell opened a place out in Lake St. Louis last year. For those of you who don’t know, Bill Cardwell operates one of the higher-end restaurants here in town. There were a lot of questions about his newer restaurant, mostly of the form “Can he make it out here?” I think he can, it’s a nice place, and I recommend it for a nice dinner out. Their appetizers are interesting – huge plates of nachos, crab rangoon dip with won ton chips, better calamari than I’ve had anywhere else, etc. And their sandwiches and entrees are also generally good, with lots of interesting things you won’t find elsewhere in the area.

Of course, now we get to the tradeoffs. Restaurants (to me anyway) aren’t 100% about the food. Atmosphere and other intangibles factor in as well. I love the food there, generally speaking. There are a lot of inventive things on the menu, but they are definitely sold at a premium price. For the area, BC’s is not cheap. It will not attract the same regular crowds that other local places do. This is a blessing and a curse at the same time, and I will say that it is nice to have that higher-end option out this way. They have improved their happy hour pricing of late, but mundane things like beer get hit with the same price premium. This makes it a tough sell for a happy hour with friends. This kind of stuff goes with the territory.

The real issue that I’ve heard a lot about, and experienced firsthand, is that the dining room service could use a kick in the pants at times. It has improved a lot since the original opening, and I’ve never had a single problem with service in the bar, but it was noticeable and at the premium price, pretty much inexcusable. The good news, as I mentioned, is that it has been slowly improving, but I still think you get much better service on the bar side of the house. Overall, I recommend the place for a nice dinner, maybe even a romantic dinner if you get one of their side rooms, but I don’t find it economical to dine there regularly. If you do, feel lucky and enjoy it.

BC’s Kitchen | 11 Meadows Circle Drive, #400 | Lake St. Louis, MO 63367 | 636-542-9090