A while back, my associates at St. Louis Magazine chose Bristol Seafood Grill as having the best buffet-style restaurant brunch. While there were plenty of categories (you can read the whole story here), it did remind me that it had been years since I’d been there.
The interior is dark, perfect for nursing any headaches or malaise from previous indulging, and lush-feeling, a sort of luxury that’s reminiscent of Reagan-era fur coats and Gordon Gekko wannabes. The heavy carpeting, plus alcoves and semipartitions, keep the noise level down. The crowd is varied; next to me, a couple told the waiter it was their 51st anniversary, and across the room, a middle-schooler in a wheelchair had both a leg and an arm in casts from a skateboarding accident.
The food is in a sunken area mid-restaurant, and I am sorry to report that the middle-schooler couldn’t get to it for lack of accessibility to that part of the restaurant. (There certainly wasn’t any room for a temporary ramp, but in this day and age of increased awareness, it would appear some re-thinking is called for.) This evoked some pleasant and uncondescending attention from a manager type, but service overall was pleasant but distant. This is a brunch buffet; I don’t expect to be fawned over but it took a while for an initial server’s visit. I got no water, no one offered a cocktail, and coffee refills had to be sought out. But the warm cinnamon biscuits brought around were offered more than once, which was nice and a happy temptation; it would be easy to fill up on them.
On the cold seafood table, it was nice to be greeted by some smoked mackerel, salty and clean-tasting without marked oiliness. And seared, blackened tuna was also a winner, the coldness calming the spicy exterior. Even the spiced peel-and-eat shrimp were better than average, good-sized guys not overcooked, the seasoning noticeable but not off-putting to the reluctant taster. (Plenty of horseradish was right at hand for others.) Lots of oysters sitting on ice and carefully arranged, but at a slant, like a raked stage – and thus none of their juice, or oyster liquor, was retained. They hadn’t dried out, but they were mildly disappointing, with their very mild flavor, lacking the oh-wow feeling that oyster indulgence should provide.
The same biscuit dough, minus the cinnamon and sugar, provided the drop-style biscuits for the biscuits and gravy that led the hot food line. Crumbly and rich, they’re an easy base for a tasty gravy with plenty of sausage in it, a far cry from the wallpaper-paste stuff that sometimes is found. Link sausage was finely ground, the soft, tender interior a contrast to the firm casing. Bacon, whose smell greeted me when I emerged from my car, was first rate, thick and smoky, not burnt but tender-chewy, and a nice surprise in this house of seafood. Skip the overcooked scrambled eggs, generally a good idea on any buffet and still true here. Potatoes are lightly fried cubes with good seasoning, a little onion and pepper scatted among them.
Lobster macaroni and cheese didn’t give a lot of visual proof of its headlining ingredient, but it was abundantly clear in the flavor. Beef tenderloin resides at the far end of the table, and chicken piccata waits in a carving dish, but it was fish I was after. Mesquite-grilled salmon turned out to be much better than chafing-dish life usually creates, full-flavored and moist, not dried out. Chipotle-grilled shrimp enchiladas did pretty well in that same environment, staying moist, a light smokiness, plenty of cumin and just a little heat to the spiciness making for a good time and a gustatory change of pace. And speaking of change of pace, Thai chicken wings, small drumettes and flaps crisply deep-fried after being seasoned with garlic, ginger and probably some lemongrass, were a bonus. I’m surprised they’re not on the bar menu.
Carrot cake, lots of cookies that don’t look like everyone else’s (hey, I can’t try everything), several kinds of tea breads and mini-tarts, including a fine lemon version are around the centerpiece of the dessert corner, which is a double chafing dish. In that were doughnut holes, crunchy and warm, but a little oily, and a simple bread pudding with a crunchy top. Warm, thick chocolate sauce for the doughnut holes and a rum-laced custard sauce for the bread pudding sit nearby, with higher marks for the bread pudding and its sauce.
When I went to the Bristol website, they say there’s an omelet station and Belgian waffles. If there were, no one mentioned them and they were not in sight, so be prepared. But basically, aside from the clunky service, this was pretty good value for $22 per adult.
Bristol Seafood Grill
11801 Olive Blvd., Creve Coeur
314-567-0272
Brunch Sunday
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Yes, but see above
Smoking: No
Brunch: $22 for adults
