– BJC HealthCare“Probiotics are live microorganisms, typically bacteria or yeast, that, when consumed in adequate amounts, enhance the balance of gut flora.”
Probiotics are a hot topic in the current social media foodiesphere: Everybody is talking about the health benefits of eating fermented foods. But this is a food magazine, not a clinic. If you want medical dietary advice, you’ll have to call your doctor or dietician. All we can offer you is a list of places to find probiotic-rich foods on restaurant menus across the city.
St. Louis’ food scene provides ample opportunities to eat fermented foods like kombucha, yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, miso and more. Even breads like sourdough and dosa have a probiotic benefit, according to Katie Belakhoua.
Who is Katie Belakhoua? She is St. Louis’ fermentation queen and created Katie’s Cultured Kitchen. She began making recipes using fermentation to try to heal her daughter’s gut after she was suffering from digestive problems as a young child. “I became so passionate about probiotics because I saw a huge transformation with my daughter.” This passion led to her teaching fermentation classes and selling curtido, a Salvadorian fermented condiment that is similar to sauerkraut but with a kick. “It’s so flavorful,” she says.
Since her start, Katie has expanded into producing different varieties of naturally fermented sauerkraut, pickles and kombucha. Her products are incorporated into menus at The Crack Fox and Bricklayer Cafe and sold in bottles at Odditeas Cafe. Right now The Crack Fox has an apple-cinnamon mule using Katie’s apple kombucha as the base with ginger beer and lime or flavored vodka. They also have a gorgeous gin cocktail with kombucha and their house-made blueberry puree.
The other member of the Lou’s fermentation royalty is William Esslinger with Confluence Kombucha. He runs St. Louis’ own fermentory and ping pong club at The Fox Den. They have 12 rotating flavors of kombucha on tap, and they bottle and distribute to bars, restaurants, yoga studios, coffee shops, offices and grocers around the city. They also make foodstuffs like coconut yogurt, kimchi and tempeh. He ferments Neon Greens’ daikon radish kimchi after owner Josh Smith and his team process the radishes in-house for their Umami Crunch bowl.
While Balkhoua and Esslinger steal the probiotic spotlight, there are plenty of other places that offer fermented foods on their menus. Hendel’s has a chicken-bacon flatbread with a buttermilk Parmesan sauce. At Songbird, you can buy KK Fermented Hot Sauce, which is fermented for four months. Revel Kitchen has two probiotic options: miso-based sauces and smoothies prepared with real Greek yogurt. Popular Indian restaurant Turmeric offers entrees made with dosa and uthappam, two types of South Indian breads made from a fermented batter. On their menu, they also have raitha, an herbed yogurt sauce, and lassis, sweet yogurt drinks.
Sauerkraut is a probiotic powerhouse that is popular all over the Lou. The Pitch serves it with their classic Reuben, and Blues City Deli has both a classic Reuben and a vegetarian version with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, tomato, pickle, and Thousand Island dressing on your choice of rye or sourdough. Frida’s also has a vegetarian version featuring crimini mushrooms and avocado. Das Bevo has an entree called German Board that includes a G&W original bratwurst and a spicy beef polish sausage served with a soft pretzel, sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, warm craft beer cheese and mustard sauce.
Tempeh is another fermented product that you can find at both Tree House and Seedz Cafe. Tree House has sweet corn hushpuppies made with tempeh bacon and jalapeno and served with an herb ranch. Seedz makes a BBQ tempeh pizza with a house-made barbecue sauce created with roasted pineapples. They also offer kombucha and a reuben with sauerkraut.
Korean food is always a sure bet for fermented foods because of kimchi. St. Louis is lucky to have many Korean restaurants: K-Bop, Kimchi Guys, Wudon, Joojoo, Sides of Seoul and Seoul Garden. All these places serve naturally-fermented cabbage- or radish-based kimchi, and some offer doenjang jjigae, a soup made with fermented soybean paste that is a richer version of miso soup.
Speaking of miso soup, Asian Arch claims to serve the best version of this Japanese classic in the city, and they also have miso-glazed salmon and miso ramen on the menu.
You can virtually guarantee a meal with probiotic goodness at Balkan restaurants. At Taste of Bosnia, owner Elvira Ahmetspahic creates Sarme with naturally fermented pickled cabbage leaves she stuffs with ground beef and rice. Michael’s Bar and Grill, a favorite Greek spot, serves tzatziki, a savory, herbed yogurt dip, with warm pita. Sheesh offers labneh, a Turkish staple that is a thick yogurt-cheese served with bread and olive oil.
If you like your yogurt the American way (sweet and for breakfast) head to Hatch’d or Benton Park Cafe for a yogurt parfait with fruit and granola.
You can get both savory and sweet yogurt dishes at Great Heart Brewing with the added benefit of sourdough. They serve a fresh-baked sourdough bread with tzatziki and a vanilla yogurt parfait with house-made pear chutney that is topped with fruit and granola.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of the probiotic menu offerings around the city. Share your favorites with us by tagging us on Instagram @saucemag and enjoy all the fermented foods throughout 2026.
This article appears in January 2026.