The Love Shack Atmosphere

As the name suggests, the bar was pumping with the B-52s hit from the second we arrived. A bartender said they play it every hour at least. Sometimes more. We heard it twice within the first 30 minutes, and then probably only once or twice after that. You’ll hear plenty of other love song ballad favorites while you’re here.

Let’s talk decor. The interior of the Public School House, who hosts this Valentine’s Day pop-up bar, is gorgeous. Typically, this building serves as an event space for weddings, and they clearly know what they’re doing. There is something adorable waiting to be discovered everywhere you look.

Love Shack Snacks

Everyone who makes a free reservation receives a small plate of cookies and yogurt dipped pretzels on the house. The iced cookies are made by a local baker, Baked By Steph, and are the best part of this whole plate. They’ll also provide you with a heart-shaped bowl of pub mix for snacking. Love a bar that takes care of us!

The Cocktail Menu

I tend to get carried away when it comes to pop-up bars. This Valentine’s day Pop-up bar was no exception. I insisted on trying five different cocktails while we were here, and loved every single one of them. We tried the “His” Mule (a honey lavender mule made with whiskey; the “hers” version is made with vodka), the Love Boat Float (pictured below), a Chocolate Covered Strawberry Martini, a Galentine, and the Love Shack Old Fashioned.

There was not a single drink in the bunch that wasn’t delicious, but if I were to order another one, I’d probably grab another “His” Mule because the Honey Lavender Syrup was such a welcomed addition to the typical Kentucky Mule.

Looking for more places to grab a St Louis cocktail? Check out my post about the best places in St Louis to grab a drink!

Your Guide to the Best Cocktails in St Louis

The post St Louis Valentine’s Day Pop-Up Bar: Love Shack first appeared on Greetings From Kelly.

The one thing I love most about Maplewood is that it is a city in transition. You can see pieces of the old speckled with the new, both living in harmony. At one point, this neighborhood was home to a patch of Route 66. While the Mother Road has since been retired, Maplewood still holds intersections of many major roads through St Louis.

When you visit St Louis, be sure to pay Maplewood a visit! It’s the perfect place for a casual night out with friends (which is the only kind of night out I’m interested in any more), a great spot for an easy date night, or an awesome spot to explore solo. To make visiting Maplewood even easier for you, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite places to see in Maplewood.

Best Maplewood Coffee Shops

La Cosecha

Maplewood is full of coffee shops, and picking the best one wasn’t easy. But my absolute favorite, both for quality of coffee and friendliness of employees, is located inside another storefront! Great Harvest Bread Co splits their space with my favorite Maplewood coffee shop: La Cosecha.

Each year, Maplewood hosts a coffee crawl (always the last Saturday in March or first Saturday in April) where visitors can buy a ticket and sample all the coffee our neighborhood has to offer. If you’re a coffee affecionado, check out these other Maplewood Coffee Shops, too.

1. La Cosecha (pictured above)
2. Stone Spiral Coffee (another favorite of mine!)
3. The Living Room
4. Mystic Valley
5. Mauhaus Cat Cafe
6. Foundation Grounds
7. C. Oliver Coffee & Flower Bar (they serve pink lattes!)

Maplewood LOVES coffee!

Best Donuts in Maplewood

Strange Donuts

I almost added this stop to the coffee list, because not only does Strange Donuts serve donuts, but they also brew a mean cup of coffee to go with them! The Strange Donuts in Maplewood is the flagship store, but there are now three other St Louis locations where you can find Strange Donuts.

The “strange” in Strange Donuts comes from it’s obscure donut creations. They love to play with locally sourced ingredients to bring you unique donuts you’ve never tried before. And we’re not talking about those donuts where they toss some Fruit Loops on top and call it a day…nope! They use ingredients like apple butter, fried chicken or cookie dough. A favorite Stranger of mine is called the “Grilled Cheesus” which is a grilled cheese donut!

Best Maplewood Bars

Much like their love for coffee, Maplewood also has a love for beer. There are even more bars in Maplewood than there are coffee shops. Here two you do not want to miss!

Tapped

This pour-your-own taproom lets you pour your own beers! Think Fro-Yo but for beer. When you walk in the front doors, you immediately check in with your ID and a credit card. In return, you’re given a wrist band that you use to serve up your beer. Pour a drop or a full pint, anything goes. They carry a selection of over 40 craft beers, most of them are local brews. There are always a few taps that have Ciders, a few that have wines, and one that always serves nitro coffee for when you’ve had too much to drink.

While you’re here, be sure to order some food, too! They have a wood-fired pizza oven, and can cook up the most delicious pretzels or onion rings. You will not leave Tapped disappointed.

The Post Sports Bar & Grill

If you’re looking for best happy hour specials (and day-of-the-week specials) in town, look no further than The Post! If you stop in on a weekday between 2pm and 3pm, you can snag yourself a $1 wells drink! The price goes up by $0.50 every hour all the way until 7pm. And they do not go light on the alcohol, my friends. They always have a featured cocktail and shot of the month, and they run plenty of other specials during Cardinals or Blues games.

If you’re looking for some good bar food, this is your place. They’ve got delicious burgers, greasy fries, and their signature item, Post-Its, which are like a quesadilla-mozzarella stick hybrid (you’ve gotta try them!)

Best Brewery in Maplewood

Schlafly Bottleworks

We’ve got to give Schlafly a lot of credit for the role they played in turning Maplewood into the place it is today. When Schlafly (“sh-laaf-lee”) moved into this building in 2003, it was an abandoned grocery store. Since then, they’ve been a huge member of this small community by supporting local Chamber of Commerce events (like the above mentioned coffee crawl!)

Any company that gives back to their community like Schlafly does is great in my book, but Schlafly also crafts some of the best beers in all of St Louis. I go into much more depth on my love for Schlafly and the rest of St Louis’ beer scene in my post A Beer Lover’s Guide to a Weekend in St. Louis.

Best Places to Shop

If shopping is more your game…well, then you’re probably disappointed by my post’s heavy focus on drinking in Maplewood and St Louis. If you’re looking for places to visit between bar stops, there are more than a few places in Maplewood that are worth checking out! These are two of my favorites:

Airedale Antics

Speaking of souvenirs…if you left your furry friend at home while you’re visiting St Louis, Airedale Antics is a great place to find something special to bring home for them. This is a locally-owned pet supply store that carries all kinds of treats. My favorite find? Sugar cookies for your dog! These bite-sized treats even come in a baseball themed pack to celebrate our city’s love for the Cardinals!

Mystic Valley

If you’re looking for something you truly can’t find anywhere else, check out Mystic Valley. As you may have noticed, Mystic Valley was also on my list of coffee shops. That’s because this “New Age Gift” store also has a full coffee shop inside.

This shop can be best described as a “hippie shop.” There are lots of crystals, incense, oils, meditation gear and more. I am always enticed by the healing supplies they offer and love discovering new things here. If that isn’t your thing, it is still worth stopping by for the coffee shop. Mystic Valley serves up some delicious cannolis!

Explore Maplewood on the Map!

Explore More of St Louis

You could fill an entire day with all the things there are to do in Maplewood, but that’s only one small section of St Louis! There are so many things to see and do in this city, that’s why it is and will always be my favorite city! To learn more about things to do in St Louis, check out my other posts:

A Beer Lover’s Guide to a Weekend in St Louis

17 Completely Free Things for Adults to do in St Louis

How to have the best 48 hours in St Louis

A Guide to the National Parks of St Louis

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The post St Louis Neighborhood Guide: Maplewood first appeared on Greetings From Kelly.