2023 Arch Madness Question

[municup14]

The Hill is a great area to dine at.A lot of Italian restaurants.

[dabirds0987]

+ 1 on Tuckers.

[Rollbird5]

Downtown by the arena it's been a few years now, but last I knew food options were pretty limited. There's a TGI Fridays and a couple bars but that was pretty much it. From my pep band days it was often a friendly competition between the bands as to who got their pizza delivered first as there weren't many other options. Downtown STL pretty much shut down at 5:00.

Not sure where you were, but don't think it was St Louis; there's a lot of things to say negatively about St Louis, but bars and restaurants probably isn't one. Not only is Ball park Village walkable from the basketball arena and most of the hotels servicing Valley fans, but you're easily within 10-15 minutes drive of tons of great restaurants and bars. One of my favorite hole in the wall places is O'Connells pub on Kingshighway just south of the I-44 interchange. Best burgers in the city , and of course The Hill has great Italian restaurants dotted thru out. Another name to note if you don't mind getting in the car is "Tuckers" ; there are 3 locations and it's a great place to get a really good steak for less than $25 . St louis has a lot of flaws, but it's still got great restaurants, entertainment venues from night life to family attractions like Forrest Park, which has world class art museums, the zoo, and the science center . Great blues and jazz can be heard at various venues in the evenings. Traffic in St Louis is generally not what you see in other more populated major cities as well.

I think the most annoying part of the weekend, and maybe it is what the first poster was getting at, is in between sessions if you want to grab some food it is challenging to walk anywhere and find a place for a quick bite unless you go all the way back to ballpark village area. Nothing seems to be open downtown too close to the arena, not even subway. I think in 2020 we ended up going to like a papa johns or Dominos because they had like 2 tables you could dine in at. Besides that the weekend is always a lot of fun and no other complaints besides the Redbirds never winning on Sunday

[Birdfan2018]

Maggie O’Brien’s is a good place. It is across the street from Union Station. They run a bus/trolley back and forth to the Enterprise Center. I think it cost $1. Or you can walk to Maggie’s almost as fast as taking the trolley. You can eat there at Maggie’s or walk a couple blocks to The Schlafly Tap Room. As far as getting something fast between games, thirty minutes is not much time no matter how close it is to the Enterprise Center. Lines would be long to get in.
I have stayed at the Curio at Union Station the last five years. They have remodeled Union Station over the past three years. They have a huge aquarium and other attractions inside now. Great for the kiddies. Landry’s Seafood House and a couple other restaurants. Would highly recommend staying there. Five minute walk to the Enterprise Center.
Google Union Station St Louis.

[keane1]

Some food/bar recommendations, either walking or Uber:
Maggie O'Brien's
Hodak's (best fried chicken)
Square One Brewery & Distillery
Twisted Ranch
Anthonino's Tavenera (Hill)
Rigazzi's (Hill)
Charlie Gitto's (Hill)
Rooftop Bar - Hilton at the Ballpark
Carmine's Steak House

[BearsCountry]

Ballpark Village is always a good time. I like Drury Hotels for the free breakfast and supper options. My favorite St. Louis restaurant closed this year.

Caleco's.

[isubird33]

Ballpark Village is always a good time. I like Drury Hotels for the free breakfast and supper options. My favorite St. Louis restaurant closed this year.

Caleco's.

Dang that sucks, we always loved that place.

[isubird33]

Downtown by the arena it's been a few years now, but last I knew food options were pretty limited. There's a TGI Fridays and a couple bars but that was pretty much it. From my pep band days it was often a friendly competition between the bands as to who got their pizza delivered first as there weren't many other options. Downtown STL pretty much shut down at 5:00.

Not sure where you were, but don't think it was St Louis; there's a lot of things to say negatively about St Louis, but bars and restaurants probably isn't one. Not only is Ball park Village walkable from the basketball arena and most of the hotels servicing Valley fans, but you're easily within 10-15 minutes drive of tons of great restaurants and bars. One of my favorite hole in the wall places is O'Connells pub on Kingshighway just south of the I-44 interchange. Best burgers in the city , and of course The Hill has great Italian restaurants dotted thru out. Another name to note if you don't mind getting in the car is "Tuckers" ; there are 3 locations and it's a great place to get a really good steak for less than $25 . St louis has a lot of flaws, but it's still got great restaurants, entertainment venues from night life to family attractions like Forrest Park, which has world class art museums, the zoo, and the science center . Great blues and jazz can be heard at various venues in the evenings. Traffic in St Louis is generally not what you see in other more populated major cities as well.

I think the issue is more that there isn't much to walk to downtown, and everything downtown closes super early.

I'm spoiled because I live in Indy and it's hard to beat downtown Indy for a sporting event, but downtown STL can definitely be weird. All the good coffee shops are closed on the weekends, the only real bars are at Ballpark Village, there are only a handful of restaurants, most of the hotels are just far enough of a walk to be annoying (15-20 minutes), and tons of the restaurants close super early (even cheap delivery options). My wife and I tried to order Jimmy Johns a couple years ago at Arch Madness and all the downtown ones closed at like, 9. Saint Louis downtown on weekends is just a weird ghost town. My wife and I stuck around a couple years back for a Monday and the city was great. All these things that were closed on the weekend were open and there were actually people around.


Downtown Indy is very different in comparison. Within a 5-10 minute walk from Gainbridge Fieldhouse you can probably get to 6-7 hotels, 10 or so bars (that are open until 3), 5 steakhouses, and another 20 random restaurants. In the time it takes to walk from Enterprise Center to any of the Arch-area hotels, you could probably get to 10 hotels and 50+ restaurants/bars in Indy. And on weekends there are a ton of people going out.

Saint Louis is an awesome city, but so many of the options require a drive out of the heart of downtown.

[municup14]

Maggie O’Brien’s is a good place. It is across the street from Union Station. They run a bus/trolley back and forth to the Enterprise Center. I think it cost $1. Or you can walk to Maggie’s almost as fast as taking the trolley. You can eat there at Maggie’s or walk a couple blocks to The Schlafly Tap Room. As far as getting something fast between games, thirty minutes is not much time no matter how close it is to the Enterprise Center. Lines would be long to get in.
I have stayed at the Curio at Union Station the last five years. They have remodeled Union Station over the past three years. They have a huge aquarium and other attractions inside now. Great for the kiddies. Landry’s Seafood House and a couple other restaurants. Would highly recommend staying there. Five minute walk to the Enterprise Center.
Google Union Station St Louis.

Plus anytime you want a wif of pot just walk past the bus station.