When Craig and Mowgli Rivard moved from Brooklyn, New York, to Craig's hometown of St. Louis in 2019, they imagined themselves opening a modern interpretation of the quintessential neighborhood restaurant. They found the perfect space in Fox Park, partnered with a prominent architecture and design firm, and put together a vibrant menu, exciting beverage program and a hospitality ethos that would become the lovely Little Fox (2800 Shenandoah Avenue, 314-553-9456). The pandemic blew up their ideas about what the place could be, but the husband-and-wife team clawed their way back up the cliff through innovation, adaptation and a refusal to cede their dream.

Little Fox is a restaurant first and foremost, one with a tight natural and small producer wine list — the best I’ve seen in town besides at The Gin Room and their natural wine shop/bar Grand Spirits Bottle Company. Here I tasted some of the best dishes in STL after visiting roughly 40 spots. Whether delicately spicy-meaty ‘nduja croquetas or blissfully funky-spicy Calabrian chili and Italian fish sauce short ribs and grilled cabbage, chef Craig Rivard (who runs the restaurant with wife Mowgli) nails elevated comfort food.

Little Fox is known for its top-notch beverage program, which now includes brunch cocktails. Cold brew cocktails like the Top Hat with chocolate-peanut butter whiskey, Montenegro and coffee liqueur and the Good Morning Manhattan with mezcal, reposado tequila, Averna and bitters elevate morning coffee to boozy heights. Sip on that while you wait for a waffle and lox served with a vibrant red beet-cured salmon, poppy seed crème fraiche, crispy capers and a frisee-arugula salad flecked with parsley, dill and chives.

Little Fox is a deceptively modest name for the restaurant Mowgli and Craig Rivard have built in the city’s Fox Park neighborhood. Over the past 2½ years, in addition to copious local praise, Little Fox has received national attention from the New York Times (one of the 50 restaurants nationwide the paper was “most excited” about in 2021) and the James Beard Awards (Craig was a 2022 semifinalist for “Best Chef: Midwest”). But Little Fox doesn’t loom over you with the enormity of its buzz and accolades.

In case you haven't hit up Fox Park fave Little Fox for brunch yet, consider ordering the Brooklyn Botanist instead of your usual Mimosa or Bloody Mary. It's made with gin, blushing tea from St. Louis-based company Big Heart Tea, elderflower, grapefruit, lemon and Cava (Spanish sparkling wine). When building a gin drink at home, Little Fox bar manager Dakota Cortez recommends throwing your own spin on a classic.

Over in Fox Park, this modern bistro is intimate and approachable. Dishes here are upscale with light seasonal small plates, like short ribs, Cavatelli Trapanese, and sea scallops, and heartier entrées, like pork chops and pan-roasted Arctic char. Come around for weekend brunch, or to grab a drink from the inventive cocktail menu or the extensive wine selection.

In December 2019, they opened Little Fox, serving modern American fare in a hip, fun space. In 2020, the restaurant offered some of the most creative pandemic dining in town, from an outdoor concept in the parking lot across the street to walkup windows for food and wine orders. Now, with the outdoor space closed, the Rivards are focused on walkup service.

There is a wide variety of dishes to satisfy everyone’s taste. Potato fritters, herb spaghetti, beef short ribs, and white herbs meatloaf are some of the signatures of this restaurant. The cocktails are also delicious and add flavour to the dishes.

Little Fox is excellent for a date night dinner, or a fun patio brunch with friends when the weather gets warm. The seasonal menu and the cocktail list are creative. The intimate neighborhood experience really elevates the meal.

Located in Fox Park, Little Fox is inspired by neighborhood Brooklyn bistros. Open for brunch and dinner, it’s the perfect restaurant in St. Louis for a date night, weekday meal or a special occasion.

Little Fox is an amazing upscale spot that really gets gluten free. Their brunch is to die for but it is on the pricer side. One of the owners is gluten free too!