Accomplished chefs Tony and Jessica Nguyen will serve modern Asian cuisine and dim sum at the much-anticipated restaurant.
In an area known for its excellence in Asian cuisine, Tower Grove South will soon gain a new elevated alternative: snō (3611 Juniata), a modern concept from two accomplished chefs, the husband-and-wife team of Tony and Jessica Nguyen, opens to the public on August 19.
The restaurant will specialize in modern Asian cuisine, a contemporary concept that applies French and European cooking techniques to Asian dishes. “Expect the plating to be a little more composed,” says Tony. “We kind of play on classics and add an Asian twist.”
On the dim sum cart at snō are Shrimp Toast "Tacos," with nuoc cham and cabbage salsa rojo, avocado, fresno chilies, cilantro, and fried shallots
Chicken & Truffle Shumai, with quail egg, kaffir lime, and soy
The Chicken or the Egg - soft boiled egg, cabbage flower puree, Chinese sausage gravy, Taiwanese popcorn chicken, Chinese doughnut
Courtesy of Izaiah Johnson Photography
The menu is broken into categories including dim sum, raw and chilled seafood (for instance, sashimi), salads and soups, noodle and rice dishes, entrées, and desserts. Dinner service begins with dim sum (the carts cleverly repurposed from old, wooden library book trolleys), with cold offerings upon arrival and hot items arriving later.
The restaurant will place special emphasis on sustainability, as it sources produce locally from Tower Grove Farmers' Market vendors based on availability. “The menu is going to change quite often," says Tony. "You just have to be flexible.”
Photo by Isaiah Johnson Photography
The whimsical "Porcelain hand roll," this one made with Spanish bluefin tuna
Photo by Isaiah Johnson Photography
Photo by Isaiah Johnson Photography
Photo by Isaiah Johnson Photography
This focus on sustainability includes the seafood. During the pandemic, Jessica continued her education in marine biology, giving the team insight into how to source in viable ways. The Nguyens will also switch out seasonal varieties of fish for menu items. “If there’s one dish I cannot change, it’s the tuna cigars, which everyone always comes back for,” says Tony of the dish he presents in a closed, smoke-filled cigar box, a signature item he introduced in Los Angeles. “We use a really nice tombo [albacore] tuna, which is sustainable and just great.” Expect to see cigars on every table.
The modern Asian concept extends to the cocktails, which incorporate Asian elements and flavors. The French 75, for instance, includes a small amount of yuzu. A fresh juice Watermelon Aperol Spritz includes Blue Phoenix rice wine and slices of dried kumquat. A "seaweed martini" is made with Sheringham’s kelp-infused Seaside Gin, sake vermouth, a flag of nori flying from the side of the glass. “Just like with the food, guests can expect little touches of Asian ingredients,” says Tony.
After scouting locations for two years, snō will open in the 4,000-square-foot, two-story building previously occupied by VP Square, which closed late last year. Tony already had a close connection to the area, having grown up five minutes away.
“I just love the area, and I love that all of the restaurants are immigrant-owned,” says Tony. “It’s kind of in the middle of everywhere, and I love being right next to [Tower Grove Park].”
The entrance leads into a parlor space with a 10-seat dining bar that offers a glimpse into the kitchen. A small adjoining dining room can be used for general seating or private events. The main dining area is up a flight of stairs, which breaks up the 80-seat room.
On one side, Mixologist Justin Gobelman can be found designing and building house cocktails at the second-story bar. Along the white-bricked walls on the street side of the building is a lounge area with orange armchairs, coffee tables, and a shelf full of books by the likes of David Chang and Marco Pierre White, the latter prominently displayed in a giant black-and-white print depicting the famed chef in action. “I just like that picture because it shows how hard a chef works,” says Tony.
Jessica adds that the theme and decor was "family-inspired and homey by design." The restaurant is named after Tony's mother, Tuyet, whose name translates to “snow” in Vietnamese. Design details include photos of the Nguyens (and the celebrities they cooked for); an IG-photo-ready white blossomed cheery tree (Tony's mom's favorite) with pink chairs beneath; and judicious use of lamps instead of harsh down lighting.
Tony's father helped assemble furniture and painted the entire space (both inside and out) and the person manning one of the dim sum carts is likely to be Tony's mother, Tuyet, whose name translates to “snow” in Vietnamese. "This restaurant is a tribute to my mom and dad," Tony says.
For eight years prior to the opening of snō, Tony was the executive chef at Crustacean, a fine dining restaurant in Beverly Hills. Returning to St. Louis wasn't on Nguyen’s radar until the pandemic hit. At the time, the Crustacean team was in the final stages of opening a new restaurant, with the intention of pursuing a Michelin star. “We had everything on the books... Because of the pandemic, we never continued with the restaurant,” says Tony. “That’s tough, but these things happen... Now we’re just trying to rebuild.”
And when one kitchen door closed, another opened. “I’m 35, and I’ve wanted to open my own restaurant since I was 21, when I thought I knew everything," says Tony. "This is my first restaurant as a sole proprietor with my wife and family, but we have a lot more planned, for St. Louis and elsewhere.”
P.O. BOX 191606 St. Louis, MO 63119 314-918-3000
Copyright 2022 SLM Media Group. All rights reserved.