ELAIA — Restaurant in St. Louis

Overall this was a really disappointing meal that fell short mainly because the price we paid did not justify the food and experience we received. We did 2x Chef Tasting Menus at $135 each, and split the premium wine pairing at $140 for a total of $410 before tax and tip.

For this price, we found some issues in the dishes we received (e.g., overcooked sturgeon, beef short rib itself was on the bland side), the ingredients in the dishes didn't justify the price point (most expensive was the small scoop of caviar, then followed by beef short rib, and sturgeon - both of which had small portions as you can see in the photos), the wine pours were fairly restrained over 8 glasses, and the overall experience wasn't up to par with 'fine dining'.

As a direct comparison, the last fine dining experience pre-COVID was with a 1 michelin restaurant in Chicago called Temporis. They offer a $165 seasonal tasting menu which was an intimate fine-dining experience from the setup, the service throughout, and the final parting gift of a goodie bag with the tasting menus and a sweet treat from the pastry chef. Their menu also features premium ingredients such as Lobster, Duck, Venison, A5 Wagyu Ribeye, etc. Finally, their comparable 2nd tier wine pairing to Elaia's comes in at $165 over 9 courses.

For just $30 more on the tasting menu, and $25 more on the wine tasting, you could've gotten excellent cooking (as recognized by Michelin if that makes a difference to you), premium ingredients, reasonable wine pairings, an extra course (and wine pour!), and a really positive memorable experience. Elaia was certainly memorable, but for all the wrong reasons.

I do not recommend Elaia. There's definitely other restaurants in the St Louis area that gets better bang for buck. If you're looking for a guaranteed fine dining experience, I highly recommend making a trip up to Chicago - there's plenty of really great...

This place was pretty good. Fantastic wine selections and knowledgeable sommelier. Quick and attentive service without being overbearing. We got the full tasting menu, and while many of the courses were spectacular, I thought that the overall tasting menu was lacking. They were heavy handed with the Maldon(or whatever flake salt they were using) and it made a couple of the courses inedible. It blew out my palette out. The other issue I had was with the portion size. They were way too big for a 10 course menu. I wish they would have put more thought and attention into the menu. For an over $600 meal I expected everything to be exceptional, but it was just a good meal. My recommendation would be to stick with the 4 course Prix Fixe. It is a great meal, but I don’t think they have the full tasting...

Elaia is definitely one of the best new restaurants I've been to in town. We had the four course tasting menu, from which I got a carrot soup with foie gras, a delicious scallop, filet of beef, and a delicious lemon tarte for dessert.

The soup was sweet and tangy, while the foie gras added some savory to match the sweet. The scallop was prepared wonderfully, to the point where I didn't mind there was only one scallop. The filet was delicious as well, although I would probably have preferred it a little bit rarer.

The space is quite small, so you will most definitely get a lot of personal attention from your server.

I also absolutely adore the attached Olio wine bar. The atmosphere is nice, and the cocktail menu is creative - great spot to grab a drink before or after...