The Lobby Lounge - Ritz Carlton Clayton Sushi Takeaway. Surprisingly stellar hotel lobby sushi. An 8.8/10 on my sushi scale was St. Louis pricey at $22 for a gourmet spicy tuna roll. The sushi melts in your mouth, which is a different sushi experience. The fries were standard hotel fair, and my wife's rainbow roll goes head to head with others in the area.
The best part of eating sushi in the Ritz Lobby is people-watching. Get there early on the weekends before it fills up to see all kinds of people. Service was spotty, as the server seemed overworked, but it didn't detract from the evening. Valet parking is available at the front, or street parking is three to five minutes away for plebes like me.
The Lobby Lounge - Ritz Carlton Clayton Experience Summary
My quest to find great sushi in St. Louis brought me to an unexpected location for a Saturday night date night with my life.
The Lobby Lounge in the Ritz Carlton in Clayton.
I don't usually associate sushi with one of the fanciest hotel chains, never mind exotic food. I typically think of expensive steak, burgers, and bad flatbread pizza, but several people have recommended sushi at our restaurant.
So, the lobby lounge it is.
They recently renovated and are still finding their footing in terms of service. There wasn't a maitre de for sitting, so we wandered around until a server told us to sit ourselves. We set up shop in a corner seat with an excellent people-watching angle.
After looking over the menu, I was pleasantly surprised. The sushi prices seemed reasonable. Definitely on the upper end of the area's price range, but not like $40 for spicy tuna - "only" $22. Compare that to $22 for my fancier Tiger Cry Maki at Sado.
A rule to live by -- when in a hotel lobby, you pair everything with French Fries.
While we waited for food, we got in some good people-watching. You'll see everything from tuxedos to basketball jerseys. One of our friends was at the bar waiting for a wedding to start. And sure enough, the bride appeared, running through the lobby shortly after.
That's when the big moment came: the food.
Still slightly skeptical of hotel lobby sushi, I took a bite, and it shook me to the core.
Not really, but it was genuinely fantastic sushi. It was the creamiest spicy tuna I've ever had. It melted in your mouth, which is not something I've ever said in my sushi travels.
The whole thing tasted like fish butter, more like a filet mignon than sushi.
It's not quite Sado levels of awesome, but it hit the spot.
I'd give it an 8.8 / 10 on the Sushi scale.
Add me to the list of people who recommend sushi at The Lobby Lounge in the Ritz Carlton in Clayton, even if it is on the more expensive side.
It was a memorable date night as my quest for St. Louis sushi continues.
The Food At The Lobby Lounge
I already went through the unexpected creaminess of my spicy tuna, but it also had a solid kick on the spicy side. At a more American level of 1.5 / 5 on the spicy scale, you'll taste the heat but won't feel it.
It is topped with roe for an extra bit of salt and paired with ginger and soy sauce, which hits every umami signal in your brain.
That brain-pleasing experience will set you back $22.
My wife got her staple rainbow roll. While better than Top Sushi, it costs $23 instead of $14. She let me nab a piece. It had the same creamy mouth feel to accompany the exceptional sushi flavor.
To round out the hotel lobby experience, we shared an order of fries for $9. They were a solid 7.5/10, better than McDonald's, but not worth the 3x premium.
When it came time for dessert, we struck out, literally. After waiting for ~20 minutes, we decided to eat the $12 cost of the root beer float and head home. Luckily, our waitress credited the drink on the way out, but that was the only slight downside to a delightful dinner in the corner of the Ritz Lobby.
The total for the two of us came to about $100 with tax and tip.
The Lobby Lounge Atmosphere And Miscellaneous
Finding the Lounge was a bit of a chore. We walked into the side doors of the Ritz, through the hotel, and into the dining area. As I mentioned, there's no one there to seat you, so plant your flag at a table.
They recently renovated the whole space, which very much resembles what a normal person would think a fancy place should look like. Slightly dark with rich mahogany walls, the carpet reminds you that you're still in a hotel.
We sat in a corner and enjoyed some fantastic people-watching.
Because it's the Ritz lobby, you get a fascinating glimpse into the higher social stratosphere. We saw people wearing everything from T-shirts and sweatpants to black-tie outfits, along with women who clearly had plastic surgery--and everything in between.
I thought I saw a buddy at the bar without his wife talking to strangers, so I texted him to confirm. It turned out to be drama-free--he was there for a wedding, and his wife was the maid of honor.
It was great entertainment for two hours.
You don't have to be a hotel patron to grab a seat, which is nice.
The server was just incredibly busy. We arrived around 5:30 on a Saturday night, and every seat, including the bar was occupied by six. From the beginning, you could see her running around basically nonstop, so it was understandable that it took time between each phase of the ordering process.
We never did get our root beer float at the end, but we did get a credit, so no complaints. It's not like this is some amazing insight, but they need to increase the service staff.
Parking At The Lobby Lounge
They offer valet for parking, but we parked down the street, about a three-minute walk across the grassy knoll.
Running through the grass was a bit cold in the winter, but we managed with our fancy coats.
The Lobby Lounge - Ritz Carlton Clayton Receipt
