The Benevolent King, St. Louis MO

We stumbled upon The Benevolent King the day they opened the doors, years ago, and have found ourselves coming back over and over. For many restaurants, especially since covid, the quality tends to go down, over time. At The Benevolent King, it has only gotten better every time we’ve been. While we tend to prefer variety and interest over routine, I will admit, we’re finding ourselves to be semi-regulars here. It’s become a favorite for date nights and special occasions. And the menu always has new, interesting and creative additions — it’s never boring!

The last time we went, we were celebrating with friends and the staff went out of their way to make the evening memorable. The entire staff is friendly, personable and welcoming. We look forward to seeing them, each time we go.

The lamb meatballs are a must. The last time we had hamachi collar there, it was the best any of us had ever had. The hamachi crudo was also extraordinarily on point. We absolutely love the escargot and the fresh bread they serve with it (which is worth breaking my no-gluten rule for!). The oysters here, are the best we’ve had in town — immaculately cleaned, beautiful, briny, plump and fresh.

It’s obvious that Chef Elliot enjoys his craft and is very good at it! The bar tender, Zachary, deserves an award for his artfully crafted cocktails — always different, interesting, balanced, and delicious.

We have plans to visit the rest of the Ben Poremba group restaurants soon, but often find ourselves returning to this one. Overall, it’s an experience to satisfy the senses and every time we leave here, we are already planning our next visit.

Amazing food. Small plates to share with a variety of creative recipes and presentations. Highly recommend.

Great dining experience. Reservations are needed I think but definitely worth it. Can seem pricey but it really isn't that expensive for the quality of the food. It is a small space though. I had the scallops and they were amazing.

Truly delicious food when you are brought what you order. However, we were brought a different main dish than requested and nobody ever came back to our our table to make sure everything was correct. When there is a discrepancy between expectations and what is served, the end result is disappointment. There was then no attempt to rectify the situation.:/

Was lucky enough to experience “The King Visits Japan” over Valentine’s Day week. The food was some of the best I’ve ever had in Saint Louis and the interior of the restaurant is beautiful. I have to dock a star because we felt extremely rushed throughout the meal. To ask $14 for a cocktail and then whisk it off my table while it’s still half full… we got the hint they wanted us to move on with our night. Sushi is meant to be enjoyed slowly, or so I thought.

I threw a larger party here last week and the food/servers were incredible. Thank you so much!

Enjoyed everything I put in my mouth. Particularly enjoyed Lamb meatballs with ras el hanout.
Too dark to read menu or tell what was on plate.

Came during the sushi popup - really wanted to love it but the food was just ok and the prices were highway robbery-esque. The best thing on the menu is their zero proof jasmine spritz (which they charge $12 for) and a warm mushroom salad (which consists of 4 thin slices of mushroom and costs $18). The rolls themselves were 90% rice - the total amount of hamachi I got in my roll ($25) could constitute 1 thin slice of sashimi. Kumamoto oysters were dressed nicely but clearly not fresh (idk why I expected fresh in st louis). In total, I spent nearly $90 on a completely underwhelming meal - look elsewhere.

Great food, everything comes out of the kitchen very quickly. There was a bit too much time between 'check ins' from our waiter, but it would not stop me from coming back.

Tiny little spot in Maplewood that was perfect for a date night. We sat at the bar and had perfectly executed cocktails, a caprihina and a house old fashioned. We ordered two snacks, both were superb, one pictured here. The flavor and textures were so good, and the atmosphere is modern and spare, but cosy. Highly recommend.

Another fantastic restaurant in the Ben Poremba universe. The food is delicious, the specialty cocktails are fantastic, the service is excellent, and the atmosphere is perfect.

Chef Eliott and his crew nail it. Perfect marriage of Moroccan/SW Mediterranean cuisine with just the right amount Asian influences. Service is friendly and unobtrusive. They get it.

The food, drinks, atmosphere, and service were all amazing! We're definitely going to be back.

Top quality service, our server was very attentive and knowledgeable.small plates great for sampling and sharing. A perfect location for a special occasion date!

Best restaurant in STL. Period.
The head chef is a magician and incredibly talented. I typically do not like mussels, but loved theirs. Got split pea falafel, hamachi crudo, mussels with house made focaccia in bouisbaise style broth, and octopus and scallops. Dessert was crème puff with salted caramel.

Wonderful meal and service. If you haven’t visited, you’re missing out. Looking forward to coming back!

Delicious Mediterranean cuisine and some of the best cocktails I've had. Zac the bartender is an amazing mixologist. The drinks he made complimented the food very well.

Had been wanting to check this place out for a while and finally decided to make it our spot for a double date night with friends. Food was generally underwhelming, outside of the tuna tartare and lamb meatball, which were the highlights by far. The service was odd, when we sat down it was explained everything was meant to be shared and we could order at any rate and they would pace it out for us so we started with 4 apps and within 5 minutes all were on the table. Before we were done with the food the waitress asked if we wanted more and it all felt very rushed. Drinks were enjoyable but nothing to gush over.

Absolutely outstanding service and food. Very unique dishes, a little off every type. Had the Artic Char. Fantastic fresh fish over cauliflower rice. Very tasty. Started with the beet & goat cheese salad. So so tasty.
Nicely guys