Peppe's Apt 2 — Restaurant in Kirkwood

I've been driving past this restaurant several times a week for years but hadn't gotten around to trying it. Recently several friends really enjoyed it, so we selected it for our anniversary dinner. Reading the stellar reviews, we were really looking forward to dinner there. Unfortunately, our experience left much to be desired. When we arrived on a Saturday night, it was very busy and quite noisy, which obviously was to be expected, and it was a few minutes before a server arrived at our table. Knowing the problems that restaurants are having with finding help, we were okay with the delay and spent that time admiring the lovely room. Unfortunately, the server who finally arrived was uninterested, unfriendly, unhelpful, and borderline hostile. That became evident almost immediately when they returned to take our order. They made no comment about the menu or any off menu items, standing with pad and pen in hand as if we were in a diner. It appeared to us from the online and printed menus that the emphasis was on tasting menus with varying numbers of courses. We questioned the server about this regarding the size of the portions, and what would be a reasonable order for two of us. We were informed that "most everyone orders ala carte and they usually order a salad and an entree." OK, we said, but we were interested in some of the appetizers as well. We particularly asked about several entrees on the menu that were labeled as "split entree portion" or something like that and were informed that the veal chop is "really huge" at 24 ounces with no further elaboration. I asked whether there were any off menu specials and what was the fish of the day and was told that the fish is "the halibut we always have." When the server left the table after completing our order, my normally laid back husband commented that the server was "the worst I've ever seen in a high end restaurant," echoing my thoughts. I mentioned that this reminded me of the nasty teenager thing of leaving a penny tip, which of course we would never do, but I suggested that one way to give a message of sorts would be to calculate exactly 15% down to the cent and add that as our tip without rounding up, which we did, so that they received $XX.65. When a table near us cleared out, it was less noisy and we were able to hear other servers behaving more normally, doing such things as describing items and volunteering information about the sides that come along with the entrees, even offering parmesan at the table for one of the courses. One server even took a photo of the party at a neighboring table. I would never have dared to ask. I should add that the hostess who greeted us was very pleasant. Many reviews mention that the owner typically greets and interacts with the diners and is pleasant and likeable. If he was on site, we never knew about it. We weren't particularly impressed with the food, either. Everything was beautifully presented and really lovely. However, there was nothing that really stood out or made us consider a return visit. Overall, two appetizers, a split salad, and two entrees were basically very bland. Nothing was at all adventurous or unusual. We wondered whether that was something about the Kirkwood location and whether this restaurant caters to a very conservative clientele. I can't answer that, but the menu items all sounded and looked better than they tasted. Our favorite thing was the chocolate ice cream pie. When we left, we noticed a party seated in the garden area. It looked really pleasant there and much quieter than inside. We weren't offered that option when we made the reservation or...

We didn’t fit the demographic (old, white, and rich) so we were immediately asked to leave the bar area, they claim it was because of reservations but the bar is open seating. Never been kicked out of a restaurant because of the way I looked or was dressed. Absolutely ridiculous to deny a new customer like they did.

By the response of the “owner” you can tell that there was clear discrimination telling me to dress better if I want to patron the restaurant. This is the whole point of the review, the “reservation” excuse was not even mentioned, only that we were dressed inappropriately for the small restaurant.

And the push to seem like a hip restaurant by claiming the average age was that of a college student is laughable and totally false, there was white hair everywhere, and yes some were beautiful.

Please tell me a "college age" establishment that has a dress code, that does not welcome walk ins and even the open seating bar is reserved.

I did stop by the hostess stand, but sadly there was no one there to assist, so like every other restaurant we took a seat at the bar, which is standard practice in college age establishments.

The personal attacks in your response show your true character and only reinforces how we were treated, the numerous grammatical mistakes in your review also lean towards someone writing a response in a fit of rage or anger, please consider breathing techniques to control outbursts.

Here are some things you can fix in your review. old Geyer Inn or Buffalo Wild Wings should read as follows; Old Geyer Inn or Buffalo Wild Wings.

date ( which I think probably hard to do for you)do dress a little should read as follows; date (which I think is probably hard for you) do dress a little, clear sentence structure with adequate spacing in sentences is very important, you also have an extra space between places and the !, this should read; places!

It's nice to be nice and your not! should read; It’s nice to be nice and you’re not! I mean do I really have to explain this one.

Again shows your ignorant narrow view..Not seeing, realizing should read; Again shows your ignorant narrow view. Not seeing, realizing. Punctuation is great but not when used twice.

Please save your pity for yourself and your employees, it is a real shame that people work in an environment like the one you created.

Your response could have been professional, instead you chose to be childish and provide insults instead of providing insight and reflection, your response was definitely a miss and only makes you look ignorant and...

So, we visited with a party of 9 on a Wednesday and the place was more or less at capacity. So get yourself a reservation, and you may need to bump your party up to 5:45.

The restaurant is located on a quiet Kirkwood side street in an old corner store building that’s been renovated with classic Italian/ rustic decor. The space is white and bright, clean and formal.

We split a few appetizers to start. The standout was the pan fried goat cheese, but I hate to mention it because it was off menu! But it makes me think going with the specials is a safe bet.

The entree I had was the halibut, which had recently been highlighted in Sauce Magazine. It was good. I don’t know if I’d say it was a top ten dish of all time or anything. Mine was just slightly over cooked and the sides were very basic—some potatoes and French cut green beans. There was an oil beneath that was quite delicious which I have to imagine deserved to be better represented on the plate, but it was just a dash on my dish. With the amount of diners, the restaurant was likely in quite the panic. Apparently everyone had a birthday that night—including me!

The complimentary panna cotta was fresh and the perfect amount, thanks Peppe!

I can’t wait to return for a date night. I also want to try the five course tasting menu, but everyone in your party has to agree to do it, but it’s very reasonably priced!

Sorry, I didn’t get more pics—-but trust me the place is gorgeous, as...