Ballpark Village is betting that a beloved hometown chef will provide its next culinary chapter: James Beard Award-winning chef Kevin Nashan has partnered with Live! Hospitality & Entertainment to open The Clydesdale (601 Clark), which partially occupies the ground floor of the Budweiser Brew House building along Clark Avenue, across from Busch Stadium.
On August 27, the restaurant will host a private cocktail reception—complete with its first beer delivery at 5:30 p.m. via a beer wagon pulled by Anheuser-Busch’s iconic eight-pony Clydesdale hitch—before opening to the public at 8 p.m.
For Nashan, the project came together fast. “The Live! team at Ballpark Village wanted to make a change—to bring in someone local offering something different than what was already there,” he tells SLM. “Once we started talking about the modern tavern concept, it all came together organically—and quickly, literally in a couple of months.”
Here’s what to know before you go.
The Concept & Atmosphere
As the name conveys, Nashan and the Live! team wanted to embrace the building’s Anheuser-Busch heritage rather than compete with it. “The idea was to piggyback on the existing A-B presence and add to it with a name like The Clydesdale,” he says. “I hope the restaurant becomes as iconic as they are.”
Rather than creating another sports bar, Nashan is aiming for something with broader appeal: a polished but approachable restaurant where guests can grab a burger before Cardinals games, linger over a grilled trout after a concert, or enjoy a date night when Busch stadium is idle.
“The modern tavern idea is perceived as being more upscale, yet affordable and approachable,” he says. Think of it as bar-and-grill fare elevated with better ingredients, sharper execution, and more restaurant-worthy entrées.
The restaurant seats about 100 indoors, with another 40–50 seats on a stadium-facing patio equipped with an indoor-outdoor bar that’s expected to become one of the space’s biggest draws. Inside, the existing dark wood finishes and the upholstered surfaces have been upgraded. The resulting vibe feels “way more warm and restaurant-y and less sports bar,” Nashan says.
The restaurant occupies the first floor of the three-story, 25,000-square-foot building. The upper two floors include the existing Crown Room event space and Rooftop Bud Deck, where executive chef Matt Duffin plans to offer house-made brats and sausages for the 2027 baseball season. Both upper floors have their own outdoor components and are slated to be reactivated as private event spaces by next spring. Nashan’s team will ultimately operate all three levels.
The Food
While The Clydesdale marks Nashan’s first Ballpark Village project, regulars at Peacemaker Lobster & Crab Co. will immediately recognize a few signature items. A seafood program anchors the menu, featuring oysters, smoked trout, caviar, and a jumbo shrimp cocktail made with fresh shrimp, which is still a rarity in St. Louis. Those items also come together in the Crown Tower, a grand seafood presentation that combines all of the above.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Soft Pretzel Sticks: with housemade sausages, pickled vegetables, and beer mustard
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
One tier of the Crown Tower: oysters, shrimp cocktail, caviar, smoked trout dip, fried saltines
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Hush Puppies served with green goddess dressing
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Little Gem Caesar: parmesan, egg yolk, herbed breadcrumbs
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Soft Pretzel Sticks: with housemade sausages, pickled vegetables, and beer mustard
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
One tier of the Crown Tower: oysters, shrimp cocktail, caviar, smoked trout dip, fried saltines
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Hush Puppies served with green goddess dressing
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Little Gem Caesar: parmesan, egg yolk, herbed breadcrumbs
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Beyond the raw bar, appetizers include house-made sausages and pickles with soft pretzel sticks, hush puppies, chicken wings tossed in brown sugar Buffalo sauce, P.E.I. mussels in coconut-green curry broth, crispy calamari, lobster bisque, and house-made potato chips topped with caviar and crème fraîche.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Crispy Chicken Sandwich: Buffalo sauce, chow chow, maytag blue cheese, and French fries (also available grilled)
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Clyde’s Burger: 8 oz Waygu beef blend, bibb lettuce, tomato, sesame roll, housemade thousand island
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Crispy Chicken Sandwich: Buffalo sauce, chow chow, maytag blue cheese, and French fries (also available grilled)
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Clyde’s Burger: 8 oz Waygu beef blend, bibb lettuce, tomato, sesame roll, housemade thousand island
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Not wanting to spark “burger wars,” Nashan created two distinct options: Clyde’s Burger, an 8-ounce Wagyu blend thick burger, and the Village Burger, a double-patty Wagyu smashburger with its own bun and sauce. Other sandwich options include crispy (or grilled) hot chicken and an Italian beef on a hoagie roll. Burgers and sandwiches will run $17–$19.
Fresh pastas include mezze rigatoni, mafaldine with spicy Italian sausage, and squid ink bucatini loaded with shrimp, calamari, mussels, and lump crab.
Photography by Kevin A. RobertsPhotography by Kevin A. Roberts
Mezze Rigatoni: Calabrian chili, vodka sauce
“We didn’t want to delve too deeply into sandwiches, pastas, and barbecue,” Nashan says. “We have neighbors that we respect that are doing a fine job with those.”
Entrées include prime sirloin steak frites with house-made, double-cooked beef tallow fries, a grilled Newman Farms pork chop, seared sea scallops, and whole roasted trout.
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Steak Frites (GF): Prime sirloin, bone marrow butter, red wine jus
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Seared sea scallops: house bacon, green tomato, local mushroom
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Grilled Trout: with cotija cheese, smashed potatoes, chimichurri
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Steak Frites (GF): Prime sirloin, bone marrow butter, red wine jus
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Seared sea scallops: house bacon, green tomato, local mushroom
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Grilled Trout: with cotija cheese, smashed potatoes, chimichurri
Photography by Kevin A. Roberts
Desserts range from a tasting of local ice cream to peach cobbler and a gooey butter cake gussied up with pretzel cream, bacon, and chocolate sauce.
Photography by Kevin A. RobertsPhotography by Kevin A. Roberts
Peach cobbler with crème fraîche
The beverage program remains beer-forward, in keeping with the building’s heritage, but with a greater emphasis on craft selections than previous concepts. Cocktails, Nashan says, will be “straight ahead but very fun.”
Photography by Kevin A. RobertsPhotography by Kevin A. Roberts
Nashan and executive chef Matt Duffin (formerly of Cardwell’s, Bolyard’s Meat & Provisions, and pop-up dinner events, including the Friends with Benefits Supper Club) developed the drink menu. Joe Shirley, corporate chef for Live! Hospitality & Entertainment, and Phil Dikeman, ballpark chef for Live!, are also playing major roles.
“Phil has been at Ballpark Village since Day 1,” Nashan says, “so he knows the BPV customer better than anyone.
“I’ve been a sponge” he adds. “I’ve been playing follow-the-leader behind these guys. I’ve long believed in the ‘it takes a village’ mentality. This project is a perfect example.”
The Backstory
For Nashan, The Clydesdale adds another chapter to a career that began far from St. Louis. He grew up working at his family’s restaurant, La Tertulia, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. After graduating from Saint Louis University and the Culinary Institute of America, he trained at some of the world’s most celebrated restaurants, including Daniel in New York City, Le Francais in Chicago, Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, and El Bulli in Spain before purchasing Sidney Street Cafe with his wife, Mina, and his brother, Chris, in 2003.
Today, Nashan oversees restaurants in both St. Louis and Tulsa, including three locations of Peacemaker Lobster & Crab and La Tertulia, respectively. He earned a James Beard Award for “Best Chef: Midwest” in 2017, after being a finalist in the category twice and a semifinalist five times.
Despite the accolades, Nashan says his philosophy has never changed. “It’s not about what you know—it’s about how you make people feel,” he has said many times. True to the adage, you’ll see Nashan offering as many hugs as handshakes.
He hopes that sense of hospitality will define The Clydesdale, becoming another reason for locals—not just baseball fans—to spend time on Clark Avenue.
“Ballpark Village has really evolved over the past 13 years,” he says. “It’s incredible to walk from Live! by Loews and The Bullock, past Katie’s, the Brew House, the AVA Garden Bar, and end up at Salt + Smoke. There’s a lot going on up and down that block, and not just during baseball season. We’re really excited to become a part of it.”
Photography by Kevin A. RobertsPhotography by Kevin A. Roberts
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday afternoon, Ballpark Village general manager Lindsay Wentzel called BPV a “vibrant year-round destination for residents, visitors, and Cardinals fans alike,” and Clark Street “one of the most dynamic streets in Major League Baseball.”
St. Louis Development Corporation president Stephen Westbrooks added, “The Clydesdale activates a highly visible space in one of downtown’s most recognizable locations, creating a new experience designed for everyday occasions and milestone moments. That is exactly the type of momentum that we want to see.”
St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer applauded the restaurant’s acclaimed chef: “Kevin Nashan is a world-renowned chef that has decided, thankfully, to expand his culinary expertise to downtown St. Louis here at Ballpark Village. The whole city should be excited.”
Photography by Kevin A. RobertsPhotography by Kevin A. Roberts
Explore St. Louis CEO/president Brad Dean compared Nashan to St. Louis Cardinals star Jordan Walker. “Nashan’s a culinary all-star who also hits home runs, and to me, this one feels like it’s going to be a grand slam.”
Finally, St. Louis Cardinals CEO Bill DeWitt III noted, “Ballpark Village has been around for a while, since 2013, and the people at Cordish know what’s worked and what is needed. They felt the time was right to tempt people with something big. That’s why Kevin’s name and reputation was perfect to reboot this space.”
DeWitt added, “We all agreed on creating an elevated bistro-tavern experience that matches the look and feel of the space, while still being able to pivot for game-day families or an after-work young professional crowd. All the restaurants at Ballpark Village have to be able to morph into slightly versions of themselves, and this one will be no exception.”
The Clydesdale
📍651 Clark, Downtown
⏰11 a.m. – 11 p.m. Mon-Thu.; 11 a.m. – 12 a.m. Fri-Sat; 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Sun. Bar open until 2 a.m. Thu-Sat. Happy Hour: Mon-Fri: 2 p.m. – 7 p.m., all day Sunday.
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