Pali Grill

Experience at Pali Grill

I went to Pali Grill last night after I dropped my son off at climbing practice up on Olive. I've driven past it dozens of times now taking him there, and Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food in this part of town always appeals to me, especially when it isn't too expensive.

My current go-to is a halal spot maybe a mile away in Creve Coeur. I like it just fine. The fries are excellent, the falafel is good, and the yogurt sauce holds up.

If I could find a better place at the same price, I'd switch. Pali Grill is new, around since 2025, and the reviews were decent. That was exactly the same-price upgrade I'd been hoping for, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

I called my order in ahead of time and they quoted me about 20 minutes. I got there in roughly 15, the food was still cooking, and the whole thing came out to about 10 minutes of waiting. I'd ordered takeout, but I was hungry enough that I decided to eat in the restaurant.

It was about six o'clock on a Thursday, and I was the only person in the building. A couple of DoorDash orders sat out for pickup. I grabbed a table and started working on some other articles, and the food was ready in about five minutes, faster than I expected.

When I went up to grab it, the packaging won me over right away. It came in a nice little Pali Grill bag with a Pali Grill takeout box inside. I was stoked.

Then I opened it up and took a bite.

Food at Pali Grill

I took the first bite and my heart sank a little. The falafel pita is stuffed with yogurt sauce, onions, lettuce, and tomato, which was the order I'd been hoping for. The pita itself was nice, soft with a good bounce, and the falafel had a real crunch.

But the falafel carried a strong anise flavor, that licorice thing, and once I noticed it I couldn't taste anything else in the sandwich. At first I figured I'd hit a raw spot or a piece that got burnt, but no, the anise was just there. I ate about half and put it down because I genuinely couldn't get through the rest.

Roughly a 6.5. I've had better falafel elsewhere in the city, and this one just couldn't get out of its own way.

I kept hoping the sauce would pick up the slack, but it didn't. The yogurt sauce was too thick with almost no flavor, and it was smeared everywhere, so I couldn't get a clean bite without it ending up all over me.

I grew up Greek with a lot of Greek food on the table, and good tzatziki is something I can basically drink. This one made me wipe my hands more than it added anything, which was a real letdown.

The one good surprise inside the pita was the pickles. I didn't even clock them until I was a few bites in, and they were fantastic, easily the standout part of the sandwich. A great pickle can only do so much, though, and it wasn't enough to make up for the falafel and the sauce.

Now the fries. These were crinkle-cut with a Five Guys style seasoning, hot and crisp with the salt sitting right in the ridges. I liked them a lot.

I'll put them at a 7.5, the best part of the meal by a wide margin. People give crinkle-cut a hard time and I don't get it, because those ridges grab way more surface area for the seasoning.

They do have some uncommon items on the menu too, things like catfish, so the menu is more varied than you'd guess walking in. I just couldn't get past the falafel and the yogurt sauce, and that's the part that decides whether I come back.

I was hoping for a win here and I didn't grab it, which stings, because I want to support new local spots like this one. The fries earned their score, but the sandwich is what I'd actually be ordering, and that one keeps it under my 7.0 bar for the rest of St. Louis.

Pali Grill Atmosphere

You park, you walk up, and Pali Grill is a total hole in the wall. The lot's a mess and the building isn't much to look at from the curb.

It sits right across the street from El Guanaco and down the block from Taqueria Durango, so the second I pulled in I knew exactly where I was. The outside is a little sketch, sure, but I trust this strip, so totally safe.

Then you step inside and it flips. The interior is well done, obviously just renovated from when they moved in.

Monitors run along the wall, there's a nice display case up front, and the booths and tables looked brand new. Spotless top to bottom. That's where the beautiful is.

I got there around six on a Thursday and I was literally the only person in the building. They had a couple of DoorDash orders sitting out for pickup. I sat down, started working on some other articles, and waited for my food.

By the time I left at 6:30, it was maybe four or five full tables. Quiet, but picking up.

Parking At Pali Grill

It's a giant lot. Messy, sure, but big enough that I pulled in and grabbed a spot right by the door for my six o'clock takeout. No driving around.