If you take a bird's eye view of the last few years, St. Louis' food scene has been all about perfecting various culinary genres. There was barbecue, fried chicken and Neapolitan pizza — and 2016 was no different with its emphatic embrace of ramen.

But the biggest trend in 2016 had nothing to do with noodle bowls per se. Instead, the common thread that unified the city's dining environment was subtler, and much less easily quantifiable: It was the year that chefs and restaurateurs followed their hearts and took the leaps they'd been waiting to take. From a a Southampton cafe to a CSA-inspired restaurant to amazing barbecue, St. Louis' tastemakers gave us the places they want to eat — and as it turns out, that's where we want to eat, too.

Check out RFT restaurant critic Cheryl Baehr's picks for the 10 best new St. Louis restaurants of 2016, as well as three honorable mentions.

- Text by Cheryl Baehr. Photos by Mabel Suen.