Wheelhouse
Sports bar by day and club by night, Wheelhouse is perfect for when you’re looking for the quick and dirty St. Louis version of a Chicago club. There’s no cover and drinks are cheap, but it’s still high-end enough to boast a few VIP sections/booths and many, many 25-30-year-old men wearing sport coats. Don’t plan to show up until after midnight, but at that point you can expect a lot of rap, a little old school and probably a bit of Blink 182 on a dance floor just crowded enough to obscure your terrible dance moves, but not enough to exacerbate your terrible sweating problem. Wheelhouse is also conveniently located just down the street from Ballpark Village, so it’s a great place to end your night. If you just can’t get enough, Wheelhouse also offers an amazing bottomless mimosa brunch for TEN DOLLARS. Highly recommend that everyone move to St. Louis just to see that even poor medical students are, in fact, rich enough for alcoholic brunches every weekend.
— Trisha B., M1
Talayna’s
Talayna’s formal name is Mike Talayna’s Juke Box Restaurant, but nobody calls it that. Don’t try to ascribe any refinement or wholesomeness to the place — just refer to it as Talayna’s. The building itself isn’t that nice. The drinks are nothing special, and I would assume that the same is true for the food. But that’s not why you go. Talayna’s true beauty lies in its ambiance. It 100 percent used to be a strip club, and nowhere else can you can revel in neon purple lights under such an unnecessarily high concentration of disco balls. It’s where you head when your night is going down in a final blaze of glory, when you feel the urge to dance to a *fire emoji* playlist and you don’t care that 85 percent of the surfaces around you (including the ceiling) are covered in mirrors. You’ll get your feet stepped on, you’ll probably sweat more than you want to, and you’ll bump up against a very random assortment of St. Louisans. Yet, without a doubt, you’ll have a solid time and you won’t regret a thing.
— Alex Y., M1
Library Annex
Oh, Library Annex (or more endearingly referred to as “Lannex”), how do I even begin to describe you? Lannex is a bar located near Saint Louis University’s undergraduate campus that specializes in late (and I mean late) night fun. Did you spend too much time pre-gaming and it’s suddenly 12:30 a.m.? Go to Lannex! Did you start out at a bar that ended up being a dud that night? Head to Lannex! Are you trying to really let loose and want to close out a bar at 3 a.m.? Well, you know the drill by now. Lannex has pong tables, strong drinks, a fog-filled dance floor and enormous fish bowl drinks that will ignite any boring or previously low-key night. Do yourself a favor and (I think you know what’s coming), head to Lannex. One last thing, Lannex doesn’t start to get busy until 12:30 a.m., so don’t head there any earlier.
— Luke F., M1
iTap
iTap is a great place to grab a quick brew after a long day in class and a chill spot to hang out at on any given night. They have a large and very reasonably priced (~$4) selection of beers, many of them from local breweries. The bar also has some sort of event going on pretty much every day, ranging from trivia games to live music to sports watch parties. There is something for everyone at this fine establishment, and its location right in the CWE near the medical school makes it a prime hangout spot.
— William T., M1
Urban Chestnut Brewery
Once you see the Urban Chestnut Brewery label in grocery stores, restaurants and bars everywhere in St. Louis, you’ll probably realize that Urban Chestnut is kind of a big deal here. What’s so great about it? Okay, honestly, I am not a beer connoisseur, and I haven’t tried all of the beers yet, so I’ll leave it to you to decide for yourself whether you like the beers. I personally like everything that I’ve tried so far (I usually go for stouts and ciders), and so have most of my classmates. However, what I, and the rest of the med school, love most about Urban Chestnut is that it’s got these two giant beer halls where you can sit down and order their beers on tap. The halls are so big that you can go with the biggest group imaginable — say, your entire med class — and the place won’t seem overly loud and crowded. In addition, the brewery holds fun community events throughout the year such as beer festivals and a winter market during the holidays. On the other hand, the place is also great for small groups on any random weeknight, where you can talk over great beer and a plateful of fries. Speaking of fries, they’ve also got great food (HELLO, POUTINE), which is important. I also hear you can casually order up a half-rotisserie if you so desire.
— Felicia Z., M1
Schlafly and Other Local Breweries
St. Louis has an incredible craft beer scene, and tons of breweries have been opening all over the city and county during the past few years. Schlafly is probably the most popular, and has two locations relatively close to campus: Schlafly Bottleworks in Maplewood (about a 10-minute drive from campus) and the Schlafly Tap Room in downtown St. Louis. Both locations always have new limited-edition beers on tap along with classic Schlafly brews such as the fantastic IPA, Hefeweizen and (my personal favorite) Coffee Stout. A good way to discover lesser-known craft breweries is to keep an eye on reviews in The Riverfront Times (a weekly St. Louis newspaper). You can also attend Beer School at Cicero’s (a bar/restaurant on Delmar Blvd. near the Danforth Campus) on Wednesday nights for a free hour-long lecture and tasting that’s sponsored by a different brewery every week.
— Christine H., M2