Commonwealth restaurant at Angad Arts Hotel has a new chef and menu

Grand Center's Angad Arts Hotel has a new top chef for its flagship restaurant. Commonwealth at 3550 Samuel Shepard Drive in St. Louis' Grand Center Arts District announced it has brought on Lauren Anthony as executive chef for both the restaurant and for the hotel. Previously, she had served as the restaurant's sous chef.

Anthony came to the Angad with experience at Perficient Red Jacket Club, J. Gilbert's Wood-Fired Steaks & Seafood, Gulf Shores Restaurant & Grill and the Culinary Institute of St. Louis at Hickey College. A native to the metro area, she grew up in East St. Louis and Belleville, Illinois, where she developed a love for food, cooking with her family and even purchasing cookbooks to bring something of her own to the table. 

"Food chose me, really," she said in a statement. "I’ve been cooking and in the industry my entire life, so it’s a privilege to get to do something that I love and have the space to connect with the community through food. I find it inspiring to play around with flavors, to examine the core of what makes pairings work together."

With a new chef, naturally comes a new menu. Under Anthony, Commonwealth's menu will include elevated comfort food and tweaked classic dishes. Some examples include truffle fries served with herb aioli, curried mussels in a coconut milk sauce, baked brie, a pistachio-encrusted grilled Grecian lamb T-bone with lemon confit, vegan tikka masala, Creole-style shrimp and grits and more.

Anthony promises that there will be something on the menu for every palate. “I approach food with the mindset that everything should have a flavor component," she said. "I love experimenting with marinades and spices; the new menu explores that style of my cooking. I take pride in having a balance and various levels of flavors in my food. Everything has artistic and thoughtful intent behind it, from matching the plating to colors in the dishes to pairing seasonings and proteins together.”

Commonwealth opened in the Angad in late 2021 with a menu that included dishes inspired by flavors from more than 50 countries. Then-executive chef Scottie Corrigan said that the name came from the restaurant's mission of creating good in the world and it would be supporting different charities.

The restaurant is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Wednesday and 4 to 11 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

This story was originally published by the Riverfront Times.