Blood & Sand

Blood & Sand, St Louis: Quick Verdict

Seats at Blood & Sand move faster than you might expect for a cocktail-forward venue in St Louis's midtown corridor, so if you have a specific date in mind, don't wait more than a week or two to lock it in. At 1500 St Charles St, this is one of the more talked-about spots in the city's drinking and dining scene, and the booking window for weekend evenings is noticeably tighter than for weekday or lunch slots.

What to Expect on Your First Visit

Blood & Sand draws its name from a classic cocktail, which tells you something about its priorities: drinks come first, and the food program exists to complement them rather than the other way around. If you're arriving expecting a restaurant that happens to have a bar, recalibrate. This is a bar that takes food seriously, and the experience lands differently depending on when you show up.

For a first-timer, the evening visit is the more complete experience. The room has a different energy after dark, and the cocktail menu is where the kitchen's counterpart earns its keep. If you're considering lunch, the bar format still holds but the crowd is smaller and the atmosphere is less charged. Lunch works well if your goal is a quieter conversation over drinks and a focused meal without the evening pace. It's a practical option if you're based downtown or visiting nearby attractions before dinner commitments elsewhere. See our full St Louis restaurants guide for context on how Blood & Sand sits within the city's wider dining picture.

Lunch vs Dinner: Which Is Worth Your Time?

The dinner experience is the reason most people make the trip. The room operates at a rhythm that suits the cocktail-first format, and if you're treating this as a special occasion stop, evening is the right call. Lunch is easier to walk into and offers a lower-stakes introduction to the venue, but it doesn't show Blood & Sand at its most purposeful. First-timers who can only visit once should go at dinner. Those returning, or those who want a more relaxed pace, will find lunch a solid option without the competition for seats.

For context on how St Louis's bar-forward dining scene compares to the wider American picture, venues like Lazy Bear in San Francisco and Smyth in Chicago represent what the format looks like at its most ambitious. Blood & Sand operates in a different register, more accessible and less ceremonial, which is part of the appeal if you want craft without the performance.

Booking & Logistics

Booking difficulty is rated easy, meaning you don't need to plan weeks in advance in most cases. That said, Friday and Saturday evenings fill up faster than the week's other slots. If your visit is tied to a specific date, book 7-10 days out to be comfortable. Weekday evenings and lunch windows are easier to secure with shorter notice. The address at 1500 St Charles St puts it in St Louis's midtown district, walkable from several downtown hotels. For accommodation options nearby, check our full St Louis hotels guide.

How Blood & Sand Fits Into a St Louis Trip

If you're building an itinerary around St Louis's food and drink scene, Blood & Sand belongs on the drinks-and-small-plates side of the ledger rather than as your primary dinner destination. Pair it with a full dinner at Annie Gunn's or Al's Restaurant if you want a complete evening. Use it as a pre-dinner or post-dinner stop, or as the main event on a night when drinks matter more than a multi-course meal. For a broader look at what to do in the city, our full St Louis experiences guide covers more ground. You can also explore our full St Louis bars guide to see how Blood & Sand compares against the city's full bar roster.

Other St Louis options worth knowing: Anthonino's Taverna if you want something more neighbourhood-casual, and Atomic Cowboy if you're after a livelier, more informal setting. For sushi, BaiKu Sushi Lounge covers that side of the city's dining map. If you're exploring the region's wine side, our full St Louis wineries guide is a useful starting point.

Quick reference: Easy to book, midtown St Louis location, cocktail-forward with food, dinner preferred over lunch for first-timers, 7-10 days advance booking recommended for weekends.