Photos by Ella Manthey
On Clark Avenue, just steps from Busch Stadium, it would be easy for a new restaurant to become defined by the ballpark.
But when chef Kevin Nashan imagined his newest restaurant, The Clydesdale, he was thinking about something quieter: A random Tuesday night. A team happy hour. A group of friends catching up over oysters and cocktails.
That is the inspiration behind The Clydesdale, Nashan’s new neighborhood tavern at Ballpark Village. The restaurant, which opened Aug. 27, is designed around a simple premise: Give Downtown a neighborhood gathering place, even if that neighborhood happens to sit next to the home of the Best Fans in Baseball.
“The Clydesdale, to me, was an opportunity that we could have an offering that was very different for Downtown and Ballpark Village,” Nashan says. “And to create a really good team and something fun for people, whether you come in all the time or you come once in a while, it’s just one of those places you want to always be at; it’s cozy, and we have a great patio and good vibes.”
The Clydesdale occupies a three-story space at 651 Clark Ave., with indoor and outdoor seating, a central bar, and a patio just steps from the stadium. While Nashan developed the concept, executive chef Matt Duffin leads the kitchen day to day.
A Tavern for Ballpark Village
Nashan knows how to build restaurants that become destinations, not just in their respective neighborhoods, but for diners across the country.
A James Beard award-winning chef, Nashan has operated Sidney Street Cafe in Benton Park since 2003 and the original location of Peacemaker Lobster & Crab since 2014. In 2024, Nashan opened a second Peacemaker location in partnership with 4 Hands Brewing Co. in Kirkwood.
With The Clydesdale, Nashan wants to create something complementary without simply duplicating what was already there. The restaurant features a polished yet comfortable design — one Nashan describes as “rustic elegant” — with the intention to keep the experience approachable.
“You don’t want to go fine dining at the ballpark,” Nashan says. “You want to come in for a nice meal or for some wings and a beer, a burger, and enjoy yourself.”
The result is a menu featuring burgers and pasta, seafood and steak frites, oysters, chowder, and a Niman Ranch pork chop. It both represents Nashan’s range of influences and experiences as a chef while offering an experience apart from his other restaurants.
When asked about his favorite menu items, Nashan points to the smashburger as well as the larger-format burger, the malfatti pasta, baked oysters, and trout. And, he adds, even the fried calamari gets a St. Louis twist.
“It’s a fun St. Louis kind of appetizer with Matt’s spin on it,” Nashan says. “They’re sourcing correctly. You’re thoughtfully cooking and that kind of thing. We wanted to have offerings that were different from our neighbors.”
Photo courtesy of The Clydesdale
A Distinctly St. Louis Name
The name may be the most obvious clue to what Nashan wants The Clydesdale to represent. In St. Louis, where baseball and Budweiser are deeply intertwined with the city’s identity, the Clydesdale horse is about as St. Louis as it gets.
“So, what better name than to have the Clydesdale?” Nashan says. “That is just St. Louis right there in a bow.”
The name also gives the restaurant a personality without requiring it to become overly themed. The idea is less about creating a tourist attraction and more about creating a place that feels like it belongs in the fabric of the community.
That matters to Nashan, who has spent more than two decades building restaurants in St. Louis. His decision to open a spot in Downtown wasn’t always part of some long-planned strategy, yet when the opportunity arose, the timing felt right.
“St. Louis is definitely special and has treated us very well,” Nashan says. “This restaurant just organically happened, and I think it was the right timing. I’m always an advocate for the city, and I think everyone needs to do their part to add more pieces of the puzzle here so that hopefully it gets better and better.”
The Clydesdale is only about a mile and a half from Sydney Street Cafe and the original location of Peacemaker, but Nashan says the experience is completely different. The Clydesdale is surrounded by Busch Stadium, Downtown offices, conventions, residential development, and the constant activity at Ballpark Village.
“It’s a different dynamic and a different energy,” he says.
Beyond the Ballpark
The challenge for The Clydesdale — and one of its biggest opportunities — is convincing people that they don’t need a ticket to anything to walk through the door.
The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner throughout the week, with later hours Friday and Saturday and brunch-friendly Sunday hours. It also offers happy hour Monday through Friday from 2 to 7 p.m. and all day Sunday at the bar.
The happy-hour menu includes oysters, mussels, soft pretzels, hush puppies, and natural-cut fries, along with select martinis and spritzes.
For Nashan, those details are part of a larger idea: As more people live Downtown, a neighborhood tavern becomes something different from a destination restaurant: It becomes part of a routine. Nashan calls it a “customer for life” approach.
“That’s always the hope: You want a customer for life,” he says. “We’re not trying to replace anybody. We just want to be part of the routine and another different, interesting thing.”
Putting St. Louis on the Plate
For Nashan, opening The Clydesdale is also another way to invest in a city that has shaped his career.
He has watched St. Louis change since arriving here as a college student in the early 1990s. And he sees renewed investment across the city and believes restaurants have a role in building that momentum. But investment only matters if people support what gets built.
“You want people to come down and support,” Nashan says. “There’s no better way of showing that you care so much is to constantly reinvest.”
The Clydesdale is positioned to benefit from the visitors already coming to Ballpark Village — Cardinals fans, convention goers, tourists, and people attending Downtown events. But Nashan wants it to work for St. Louisans, too.
And while its location practically guarantees that baseball will be part of its identity, Nashan hopes the restaurant develops a life of its own. He says he and his team will be listening to customer feedback and, if needed, make changes to the offerings to best suit the needs of the community in Downtown St. Louis.
“The menu could look a lot different a year from now,” he says. “You don’t know what’s going to stick. But, you just hope to keep your head down, really listen to the customers, and what the space offers.”
Photo courtesy of The Clydesdale