My “broke bestie,” aka my tween, and I love trying new foods, and we also love supporting St. Louis immigrant-owned businesses. Hispanic Heritage Month is very important in our house – my daughter is 50% Mexican (but 100% proud of that, lol).
You probably already have your favorite place to grab Mexican food, but for Hispanic Heritage Month, I encourage you to try something new while directly supporting the local Hispanic community. I wanted to feature some of our FAVORITE Latin restaurants and cafes, and we included places all across STL. ¡Buen Provecho!
Brew and Bites Cafe
- Location: St. Ann, off Ashby Rd
- Perfect for: Breakfast, Brunch, or Lunch
I recently found out about this woman-owned cafe thanks to my friend Angie – she started following them on social media, and I would see her comment on their posts. It’s the definition of a charming “neighborhood” spot. They serve a mix of popular breakfast and lunch items and a variety of Mexican dishes. They have both hot and cold coffee drinks (with oat and almond milk alternatives), plus smoothies and aguas frescas. My daughter had a croissant breakfast sandwich and really enjoyed it. I HAD to order a flight of their signature iced coffee drinks – where have flights of coffee been my whole life?! We can’t wait to go back and try their lunch items, plus indulge in some of their pastries and sweets!
Malinche
- Location: Ellisville, off Manchester Road
- Perfect for: Dinner
I have been here with my entire family to celebrate a birthday, for a girl’s night, and on dates … the food is just so good that we keep going back. I would describe Malinche as elevated, authentic Mexican cuisine. Some of our favorite menu items are: flautas, huaraches, quesabirria, tacos de pescado (fish) and tacos del trompo (pork). They have great margaritas, and I also really like the “Paloma Rabiosa” from their cocktail menu (yes, they have cocktails, too!). You might also see them at STL City Park for games, serving up tacos and totopos.
Havana’s Cuisine Restaurant
- Location: Downtown STL, off Washington Ave
- Perfect for: Brunch, Lunch, or an early dinner on Fridays and Saturdays
My Aunt told me about this mom-owned/woman-owned restaurant – the food sounded delicious and I was excited to introduce my daughter to Cuban food. Of course, we had to try the Cuban Sandwich when we went, and in my opinion, they have the best Cuban Sandwich in STL (they get their bread from an authentic Cuban bakery in Tampa!). We also tried the empanadas and tostones, both perfectly crispy and, as they say in Spanish, “para chuparse los dedos” (finger-lickin’ good). The empanadas and tostones came with a side of garlic aioli that was also really yummy! We also tried the “Maduros” (fried sweet plantains) – they were so flavorful! Havana’s also has a really cool selection of Latin drinks/sodas – my tween had guava soda and I had a pineapple nectar.
Tango Argentina Food
- Location: St. Charles, off W Clay St
- Perfect for: Lunch or Dinner
One thing my tween and I can actually agree on is how delicious empanadas are. I mean, there’s something kinda magical about fried dough full of tasty ingredients. There can be variations on how different countries prepare empanadas – so definitely check this place out if you haven’t tried an Argentinian empanada yet. My favorite empanadas from Tango Argentina Food are the Empanada de Humita (creamy corn) and the Empanada de Carne y Pasas de Uva (beef and raisins). My tween usually gets the Empanada de Cinco Quesos (5 cheese) and the Empanada de Steak.
Oats & Honey Cafe
- Location: Creve Coeur, off N New Ballas Rd
- Perfect for: Breakfast, Brunch, or Lunch
This place is so unique – Oats & Honey Cafe offers a wide variety of traditional American dishes, but then they also offer a Latin fusion version of many of those dishes. And then, on top of that – they have traditional Latin dishes like pan dulce, molletes, and motuleños. They also strive to use more natural, healthier ingredients in their dishes – even organic ingredients when possible! When we sat down at the table, there was a basket of pan dulce (like breakfast bread or a type of pastry) waiting for us – which brought out the biggest smile on my Mexican tween’s face as she said, “They have conchas, mom.” I got a vanilla iced coffee, and she got a papaya club smoothie to start – I needed the caffeine, but her smoothie was delicious and so refreshing! She chose the Avocado Toast – she said it was so flavorful that she didn’t even notice that she was eating spinach leaves, too (she has bougie taste, but I’ll support it when it’s healthy, lol). I got the Lemon Ricotta Blueberry Crepes, and honestly, I would eat those every week for the rest of my life if I could. The crepes were light and airy and had the perfect balance of sweetness and citrus.
