Three Kings Public House in The Loop experienced a kitchen fire on Monday, forcing the restaurant to close temporarily, as reported yesterday by the Riverfront Times’ Ian Froeb.

According to co-owner Ryan Pinkston, a small fire in the kitchen occurred around 12:30 p.m. on Monday. No one was injured but some cooking equipment was damaged, forcing the owners to close the restaurant as they awaited the arrival of the necessary part. According to Pinkston, the restaurant should reopen today at 5 p.m. The kitchen fire comes on the heels of a temporary power outage at Three Kings after a storm rolled through the area last Saturday. “It’s been a crazy last few days,” said Pinkston. Here’s to hoping for a smooth reopening.

We got a sneak peek at Three Kings Public House, the restaurant that recently opened at 6307 Delmar Blvd., in The Loop. As first reported by St. Louis Magazine’s George Mahe, the space was formerly occupied by Riddles Penultimate Cafe and Wine Bar.

Three Kings’ owners Derek Deaver, Derek Flieg and Ryan Pinkston would like to see Three Kings as an everyday neighborhood spot, not “an occasions place” as Riddles was thought of by some patrons, explained Pinkston. The evidence of this casual bent is visible on the menu and behind the bar.

While the seasonal menu is straightforward in its offering of starters, soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches and entrées, quite a few components, presentations and entire dishes keep things fresh and interesting. You’ll find prosciutto-wrapped hand-cut fries (pictured) in place of the classic french fry – little bundles of thin-cut russet potatoes, tossed in rosemary-infused olive oil then wrapped in sliced prosciutto and sprinkled with Parmesan and Italian parsley. The selection of “soups of the moment” is hardly ho-hum, too. Yesterday, customers could have chosen between potato-leek, chilled carrot-ginger with crème fraiche and mint or a vegetarian lentil. And as for the sandwiches, you’ll find a pretzel melt of provolone and caramelized onions served on house-made pretzel bread and a thick muffuletta piled high with Volpi meats, mozzarella and provolone, spread with one knockout house-made olive salad and sandwiched between bread from Vitale’s Bakery. Among the sweet endings, Jilly’s Cupcake Bar and Cafe is custom-making cupcakes for the restaurant. Currently on the menu is the Citrus Blue Moon cupcake – made with Blue Moon beer – and the Irish Car Bomb, a chocolate-Guinness cupcake with Jameson whiskey ganache and buttercream icing made with Baileys Irish Cream and Jamieson.

As for the bar, managed by partner Derek Fleig, Three Kings has 20 beers on tap. Flieg said they plan on focusing on domestic microbrews with a bent toward locally-produced craft brews. Wine drinkers shouldn’t expect the list to be as extensive as Riddles’ – after all, that was a wine bar – but they will find something to keep them content.

Check out photos of Three Kings’ food, beer and interior on our Facebook page.