Robust at The MX

Overpriced, strange overpowering flavors, and long wait time for food. I am giving this place 2.5 stars just because they have potential, and a lengthy wine list/​flights.
The spinach artichoke dip is purely gross. There must have been tons of mustard in it because I couldn’t even stand the smell of it on the table. The description (which listed only obvious and common artichoke dip ingredients) actually made the dip sound good. However, first bite, I could tell there was an overpowering ingredient in there not listed — it just ruined the whole dip. Crustini’s were fine and crispy.
My chowder soup was very tasty, however, it was extremely runny for a creamed chowder. Also, it was mostly liquid and had hardly any discoverable or noteworthy veggies/​protein/​seafood.
My husbands tomato bisque soup was delicious and creamy. Unfortunately, it was only tonight’s special.
I ordered the half chicken entrée. Oh my goodness, what a dreadful dish. I have never seen cumin used so heavily before in my entire life, not even in chili or BBQ rub. I will say, the chicken (two dark meat pieces) were cooked just lovely. Crispy skin, moist and plump juicy center. HOWEVER, it was drenched with a cumin sauce (I’m telling you it had the consistency of chicken broth with loads of cumin and salt) AND THEN the sauce covered half of the plate with a bunch of sweet corn kernels. YUCK!
There were only a few veggies on the plate, and slightly undercooked. The mashed potatoes were pretty goopy and runny.
My husbands entrée special (seafood mac n cheese) was not cheesy and very salty. It just looked like seafood pasta with breadcrumbs on top. He said it was ok and took the rest home, but I tasted it and thought that «ok» was too kind.
The portion was very generous though.
For the price of these entrees I excepted much more attention to detail and better technique in the kitchen. I am sure if that chicken sauce was thickened, had less cumin and paired it with cinnamon (for example) it would have been much better! Corn kernels in that mess though, like really? It had no business being on that plate!
Lastly, I understand the place is called «ROBUST» but sometimes poor overpowering ingredient choices ruin dishes! This happened consistently at this restaurant. Very disappointed.
Wine was great though!!! Atmosphere was elegant. Chairs are super comfy. Server was nice, but had to warm up a little. Host was awkward. Nice clean bathrooms.

Great service, great atmosphere, great food. I have been in St. Louis for work the past few weeks and have been trying the different restaurants near the Marriott and this one was up on my list. Great selection of wines and a good selection of cocktails and beers as well. They also offer some healthy options for people like myself that have to eat out each night due to work travel. This was my last week in St. Louis, but I will definitely be back next time I visit

Food was very good, prices seemed slightly more upscale than needed to be. The atmosphere of the place was very nice and if you are a wine drinker you will love this place!

Delicious. I was visiting STL for biz and I went here with a bunch of colleagues one night. The south-​western soup… was AMAZING!!! I also had some reisling and artichoke dip. Very good. Would definitely go back.

Had the scallops and a fish dish that was suggested by our server mark. He suggested a French white which was very good He and the food were awesome For dessert we had the apple crisp and a dessert wine. We are coming back in August and will be back.

This restaurant is very fancy. Not in the sense of formal clothes, but of food. This restaurant has many different pages of a confusing menu and a lot of wine choices. It is good for an occasion. The décor is nice.
It takes a while to order, even when the restaurant doesn’t appear to be very busy.
The meatballs are served with cream and different spices and are very good. There are about 5 meatballs.
The hummus and pita bread are also very good. The pita is warm and slightly grilled but not very much. This assortment isn’t very formal. There are several pita slices.
The soup of the day was tomato basil. It is very creamy.
The ham sandwich on baguette bread has a LOT of ham. About six slices. And it is very hot initially. You can taste the cheese on the bottom but the ham is kind of overwhelming.
The bread is lightly grilled and very good. It has an apple purée kind of thing on the inside. It tastes like cinnamon. The bread is very good with the soup.
There are several TVs in the place.
The chairs are very comfortable.
The server will explain the menu to you and they are very friendly.
This is not a formal restaurant necessarily, it just happens to have fancy food.

Worst Fn place I ever eat at… the vibe was to uptight the service suck ass… and I feel discriminated the moment we walk in… I was not asking for a job… why would they ask if I need something .like yes a table and to eat like fuck … Really? Maybe I needed to look a little bit more Coaction for them or just a little bit more uptight.

Awesome wine bar and café
Justin was our amazing server and Evelyn the hostess a gem. Wine flight was great and our service was off the chain. Even met Jenn the manager who cares about it all. Food and wine fantastic!

Headed to Robust Downtown to celebrate our 22^nd Anniversary! This was our first time eating here but we’ve been to the other location.
We did make reservations and the valet was 7.00 (really no street parking that we saw but there are nearby lots)
We were seated at the window which is nice since you can watch the Downtown life walk by. Our waiter was Mark and he was very attentive and informative since the menu is really big with all the wine choices. We ended up getting the Cabernet Flight which is 3 choices and 3 oz pours for 26.00
We loved them all so glad we picked that. We even bought one of the wines to take home. :)
We started off with the Artichoke Dip which is normally served with crostini but I wanted pita instead and it was no problem.
For our entrees we got the Salmon which has a carmelized onion and mustard glaze and is served over a bed of red beans and rice. This was our favorite!!!
We also ordered the seafood special which was Red Snapper with snow peas served over a bed or cheesy lobster risotto. Sooo good as well.
I have photos of all of this so you can see portion sizes as well.
Everything was very nice and it’s a great place to stop in before heading to the movies across the street!

There was a Groupon for 2 $ 50 giftcards, so I wanted to check out this place on my St. Louis Trip.
Our server greeted us when we first came through the door and seated us right after. She was very knowledgeable of the menu and checked up on us often. She did inform us that the pancake batter was not holding up properly and they’re no longer going to serve pancakes for the day. (totally understandable, it happens)
We went here for brunch and ordered Champagne Flight, Crabby Bennie, Bacon/​eggs, and Cesar salad. The Champage flight came with 3 different champagnes throughout the world in 3 oz. The Crabby Bennie was cooked perfectly and very delicious. The crab was very tasty and had tons of flavor. The Caesar was made perfectly as well. They also offer fresh ground pepper when they place the salad on your table.
We then came back here for dinner because we had to use the remaining balance on the giftcard since we were leaving that day.
We ordered the Old Fashioned drink, Roll out the red carpet, strip steak (11 oz), Caesar salad, and beef/​vegetable soup. Everything was delicious and amazing. The steak was cooked perfectly and it was an awesome experience.
I would recommend this place to family/​friends if they visit St. Louis. Also thanks to Groupon/​Robust for the awesome deal!

Robust was a super cute café with an impressive wine list, and amazing flight options, and a small but diversified menu.
I went in on a Wednesday night and sat at the bar. The bartender was attentive made some small talk but didn’t hover. I ordered the Italian wine flight to start which was amazing. I love Italian reds and this was a wonderfully put together collection. I then ordered the charcuterie tray which was also very good. For 17 $ it was plenty of meat to feed 2 – 4 people. And had great flavors and variety.
For my entrée I ordered the scallops which while on the small side were cooked perfectly with lots of flavor.
Great date night spot or a quick wine flight and appetizer before a night out. I would return.

Here is how 1 waiter can ruin good appetizers, great atmosphere and happy hour with a friend… When it’s not busy, don’t ask your customer if they are ready for a 2^nd cocktail. Just bring them their check and leave the empty plates of hummus and prosciutto in front of them. Wow. Dear waiter, that is why you received $ 2.50 on a $ 30 check, I was tempted to leave nothing but took the higher road. I would have preferred to leave you $ 10 on a $ 50 tab after a couple of more drinks at a clean table. We walked 2 blocks and finished happy hour at our hotel bar.

We went here on a recent trip to St. louis– it was attached to our hotel (Embassy Suites Downtown) and we were pleasantly surprised. This was a great wine bar with a large menu and an even larger supply of good wines. They did not have one wine or beer I’ve ever heard of before — we had so much fun exploring and trying new things.
I highly recommend trying out the wine flights — a sampler of three different wines — if you want to try different things.
The beet salad was also fantastic — a light mix of golden beets and greens with a tart dressing.
The charcuterie was also divine — we had the big sampler and then asked for a recommendation of a cheese to go with it. Our group also had four different desserts that were on the menu and Each of us was delighted.
Our waiter, Mark, was excellent and gave is some great recommendations on what to order. He was very good and we had great service with a party of seven.

Beautiful environment, exquisite food, wonderful wines, and the most knowledgeable certified bartenders!!!
I lived in Saint Louis for almost 2 years, directly above this restaurant might I add. I’ve probably eaten here more than 75 times. I’ve been to Over 100 places in Saint Louis, but Robust was always my favorite. I live in San Diego now and still haven’t found a replacement.
My favorites were always the Rapido (Pinot Grigio) and the Spinach and Artichoke Dip. But the cheese plates are to die for, also! I’ve recommended to people who were traveling to Saint Louis over and over again. There have been zero disappointments. If I came back to visit Saint Louis, this is the first place I will go. Love and miss all of you great people!

It was fun, the waiter was nice and awesome. The food was delicious! Love Robust downtown!!!

You have to come here with a lot of people so you get to order more! I came here with a group of 8 and I, of course, placed the order.
Golden beet carpaccio, Sundried tomato hummus, Baked camembert, Spinach and artichoke dip (they forgot to give me this), Glazed Brussels sprouts, Mushroom ragu over polenta, Roasted mushroom flatbread, Figgy piggy Apple, Spiced Apple crisp, Goat cheese cheesecake, Toffee pretzel crunch, Salted caramel pot de crème, Dreamsicle bread pudding. Everything was amazing; I only remembered what I didn’t like. The waiter forgot a lot of what I ordered so I had to reorder it. The spiced apple crisp was lame, you can see from the pictures. Everyone loved their large entrée dishes, and wow were they large.

Our first time. Great evening! Well thought through menu, smart pairings. Nice tour from manager Koji.
I highly recommend the pretzel dessert!

I came here for an early dinner this past Saturday. Since it was pretty early (5pm) it wasn’t that crowded, but started to fill up by the time we left.
Overall I had a great experience from the wine to food to service.
For starters, I would recommend a cheese plate, we had the 4 cheese sampler which was oh so tasty and perfect to share.
This is a wine bar so they have quite a few wines to choose from and it might take a while for you to read through all of them on the wine list once you arrive! We asked for recommendations from our server and she was able to guide us easily into a great wine selection (and even dinner selections).
For the main course I had the strip steak and frites — the steak was huge and very chewy. I anticipated it not being as thick of a cut since it was a strip steak, but it was still good. My friend had the dinner special, halibut, which was served in a delicious sauce, and if they have it again, I would recommend that!
For dessert, we tried the goat milk cheesecake which was nice and tastier than regular cheesecake. I’m not a huge dessert fan, but my friend really loved it!
Overall, it was a great meal. I really enjoyed the restaurant and ambiance too. They offer wine flights and other cocktails as well in case you bring someone there who isn’t a wine fan (what a crazy thought).

I don’t think I have a bad thing to say about any of the Robust locations, but this one might just be my favorite. It’s so beautiful inside, and during the week the crowd is more manageable compared to the others. I’ve never had a wait (unless it was a weekend) and the staff is always so wonderful and knowledgeable.
Wine flights. Two pages of them! In the words of Phoebe Buffay, «holy crap.» I’m a huge fan of the «take me to bed reds» and the «roll out the red carpet.» You truly can’t go wrong with any of them, and the servers here always are ready to answer any wine questions you can throw at them. That’s one of my favorite parts about this place… it makes choosing a wine so easy because the staff is so great with recommendations. You can’t go wrong. The cocktail and nightcap lists are also not to be missed.
Always ask what the special is — just take my word. The last time I was in they had a snapper special with a butternut squash purée and brussels sprouts, and it was one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. The sirloin steak is also incredible — it’s seared sirloin steak with a caramelized onion glacé, roasted fingerling potatoes, and frisee with sherry vinaigrette. You simply cannot lose here.
Don’t let the lack of parking intimidate you… there are paid lots all around. This place is worth the trip, always.

Robust was recommended by a few people that I ran into during my stay in St. Louis — security guards at the America Center, hotel staff, other conference members — and was probably the best meal I had during my short stay there.
I came here right after a good session at the hotel gym. beast mode, then feast mode!
soup of the day was an amazing carrot/​ginger purée. perfect on a cool, drizzly night. as for entrée, I went with something from the smaller-​sized menu — pork belly, red cabbage, and home fries. kind of an upscale early Oktoberfest offering; it was fantastic. crispy pork belly, perfectly pickled red cabbage, and hearty home fries.
dessert? yes please. Brannon, my waiter, said that his favorite was the toffee pretzel crunch, and he had been especially helpful during dinner so I took his word for it. I think it lasted about ten seconds in front of me, as the crunchy, salty, caramel combination disappeared into my stomach.
all of which was washed down with some excellent red wines. flights are available, and the menu indicates which wines pair with which food offerings.
fair pricing, friendly service, great quality food in both taste and presentation make Robust a sure choice if you’re in downtown STL.