All We Want for Christmas is a Seat at Demitasse665's Table

Courtesy of Demitasse

​St. Louis finally has its own homegrown pop-up restaurant. In late November, architect-turned-chef Sandy Talley will pop open Demitasse665 for twelve nights of wining and dining.

Pop-up restaurants are a hot trend in the food world: intimate dining experiences with extremely limited seating. The eateries "pop-up" out of nowhere in unused spaces -- and then disappear almost as fast as they appeared.

Talley says Demitasse is the perfect way to flex his food muscles.

"We've always kind of wanted to do a restaurant, but understand that we don't want to be in the restaurant business," he says. "This gives us the perfect outlet to look and feel like a restaurant with a home quality of intimacy, but not be in the business. We love the food part and the entertaining part."

Talley is no stranger to pop-ups. Though this is his first "restaurant," he used to host dinners in his home.

Just in time for the holidays, Demitasse665 will pop up at 665 North Skinker Boulevard (formerly John's Town Hall and, briefly, Caitlin's Green-Eyed Grill). Talley says the space will be transformed from a dim, Cheers-like bar into a modern, open space decorated with contemporary art and classic antique furniture.

But what about the food? Demitasse665 will be open for three weeks, serving a different fixed menu (meaning the dishes cannot be substituted) each week: Wednesday, November 30, through Saturday, December 3; Wednesday, December 7, through Saturday, December 10; and Wednesday, December 14, through Saturday, December 17.

Seating is capped at twenty per meal, at $85 a head.  Each meal consists of seven courses prepared by Talley, and paired with wine.

Talley describes the menus as "modern mix," taking classic dishes and giving them a contemporary twist. Like the lump crab napoleon served during week two, a modern take on the crab cake served with fresh sauces and a cranberry slaw. Other dishes include wild mushroom soup with toasted pistachios and truffle crème fraîche; beef Wellington with a cognac-caper sauce, potatoes and spinach purée; and a pumpkin sticky toffee pudding.

Dinner is served at 6:30 p.m. all nights. Reservations are required and restricted to parties of ten or twenty, except on December 16 and 17 when smaller party reservations can be made. So wrangle up your family, friends, hell, even a bunch of strangers so you can score a seat at Demitasse's table. Make reservations at demitasseunderground@gmail.com