Bar Italia Ristorante

The valet staff are absolutely terrible. Parked in an open spot marked valet parking only 5pm-​3am on Thursday Friday & Saturday only. I was here on a Wednesday. They still wanted to charge me 6 dollars to park in front of the restaurant. Scam!

had house salad and an eggplant dish for lunch. i love that they use un-​pitted olives in their salad… so good! i have only been once but plan to repeat. friendly employees, upscale casual environment (my favorite), and a beautiful outdoor patio. visit this little gem!

Bar Italia is fabulous. Make sure to ask for Justin. You can trust him to provide you with a beautiful and truly delicious dining experience.

If you haven’t been to Bar Italia Ristorante, you have to give it a try. It’s a wonderful place with a great outdoor patio. Since it was a little chilly, we decided to eat indoors at the bar. Brenden took excellent care of us again and we both order the cucumber garden mojito. These are delicious and in the warm months ahead,
After looking over the menu, we decided to split the salume plate for an appetizer. Olives, artichoke hearts and different types of salami with bread. We both enjoyed this immensely. For dinner Majordomo chose the pollo arrosto and I picked the New Zealand lamb chops. The chicken came with mashed potatoes and a vegetable medley. His food was delicious and he raved about the vegetable medley. My lamb chops were cooked perfectly and came with mashed potatoes, rosemary beans and vegetable. Is there any thing better than picking up a bone and biting the meat off of it? I think not.
For dessert we got the classic tiramisu. I think we were actually fighting over this one.

Bread was good but the the Risotto & swordfish were both very BLAND! I don’t recommend this place!

Nice ambiance inside, nice sidewalk seating curbside, and beautiful food. Service was unremarkable but ok. All things considered, for the prices though? Not great.
Lots of choice beer, a good selection of wine, and a full bar. (My better half’s Malbec had three flecks of cork in it!)
It took forever to have bread brought to the table and oil for the bread didn’t come as promised initially until the entrees were served.
Arugula that came with our beet salad was not as fresh as it should’ve been, but still tasted good, and the dressing was mild and good (sometimes restaurants go crazy with ‘their’ brand of flavor – on everything, but this place does a good job here).
Our main meal, the cheese-​stuffed eggplant slices with house tomato sauce was truly delicious but came lukewarm not hot. The coffee and mocha was good too. Chicken salad also had greens that were probably fresh Friday – we came on a Sunday. Edible, yes, certainly, but not 4 star fresh/​quality.
For the prices charged, next time we’re in St. Louis we’ll try other places.

Excellent service, and the Pappardelle & Seared Diver Scallops is one of the best things I’ve eaten in a long time.

We went here for Valentine’s Day dinner with another couple. The place was packed but we were seated close in time to our reservation time. Drinks were ordered and promptly delivered. We ordered two appetizers: a cheese plate and the bacon wrapped endive. These appetizers were great but tiny portions compared the price tag. Two of us ordered the pork chop and they were fantastic. One of our party ordered the sausage risotto. The risotto was good but a little spicy. We skipped dessert to head across the street to bissengers for chocolate. I unconditionally recommend Bar Italia!

We were pretty disappointed by the service we received on the evening of Valentine’s Day. The place was not busy in the least, which was surprising. What was even more surprising was that the service was exceptionally slow, there was little attempt to make certain we were pleased with our meal or to make us feel special (which you expect at the high prices we pay at this establishment). We were also surprised that there were no Valentine’s Day specials, and when we asked if there were specials we received a curt response of «nope… just what’s on the menu!» Food was good, but service was certainly not the best.
I hadn’t been to Bar Italia for years, when they were at their old location across the street. My memories were very fond, but certainly dashed on this Valentine’s weekend.

We had great evening. Food was very good and cook my chop perfect. Wine was great and Justin did great job explaining the wine which we go great with dinner. Will be back. Thanks.

Bar Italia is such a great place to get together with friends. The food is excellent and so is the service. Our waiter, Justin, was awesome. We didn’t know which wine to drink, so he gave us a suggestion. The wine he chose was excellent. He even brought us a slice of chocolate cake and said it was perfect with the wine. He was right! We are definitely coming back and we look forward to more of Justin’s recommendations!

Outstanding food, wine, and staff! This place knocked the socks off my expectations. Bruschetta appetizer was very good with excellent mozzarella cheese. I had the Beef Tenderloin which was cooked the way I wanted it. It was as tender as butter! The Pancotta was better than what I had in Venice! The staff was very friendly and helpful. The owner stopped by and was extremely nice and inviting. They had a huge wine list with wines from all over Italy (from Piedmont to Sicily).
Overall, this place has amazing food and a great staff. It is more expensive than what I thought but worth every penny. Don’t wait and stop by Bar Italia!

Finally went here and loved it! The décor is cute and the service was great! I don’t remember our waitresses name but she was so friendly and gave great suggestions on what to order and what her favorites were. I ordered tortellini and I have no regrets, it was delish. If it were a little cheaper I would have been five stars lol, but the prices weren’t terrible.

Good food.
Waiter was a DB and it ruined this place for us. Very condescending, overly intrusive, and a bit abrasive. Doesn’t belong working in the service industry as he had no concept of what it means to «serve» somebody.
Sat down. Looked over the drink menu. I ordered a drink. He immediately stopped me and said, «No…I’ve got a drink for you. Trust me. You’ll like it.» Okay… what the f*** ever… I just ordered a drink because it sounded good, but sure I’ll trust you to tell me what I’ll like — Guy I’ve Never Met Before.
We come to a couple decisions with the menu. As we’re finishing ordering, he literally grips the menu out of my dad’s hands before my dad closed the menu. So… picture that you’re looking at your menu, with it open, and the waiter grabs it from you. That happened.
The table next to us received bread. We asked if we were getting bread. He said, «You have to ask for it. We don’t just give it to people.» Yeah… I’m sure the high cost of bread is really cramping this place’s style. He then proceeded to tell us how he lost a bunch of weight by cutting out carbs. Yeah. We get it. We could stand to lose a few pounds, but when we’re in an Italian restaurant we want some effing bread. Mmmkay?
The only reason we came in here to begin with was because it was one of the few Italian restaurants open on Sunday night. Wouldn’t come back. It’s a shame because the food was actually pretty good.

I’ve been going to this restaurant for the past 15 years so I hope my review can be taken seriously when I say they have the best and I mean, THE BEST, tortellini. For appetizer, you can’t go wrong with their beef carpaccio, bruschetta or house salad. This is a prime Italian restaurant for the city of St. Louis with one of the best outdoor seating areas. I live in Denver now and it’s a must go-​to spot when I come back!

Great atmosphere with great music and wonderful attentive staff. Come for brunch, appetizers, dinner or delicious cocktails and wines. I sit back and let the staff suggest entrees and rotated wines based on season. This is my go to spot in the neighborhood to spend hours with friends.

This review is primarily for the drinking side of it, one of my favorite pastimes. Though I’ve been somewhat a regular here since moving to the CWE i’ve only had a couple smaller plates which were interesting and no complaints there. I like to come here on the warmer months and sit outside where they have a nice outdoor bar and patio. Brandon the sommelier will take good care of the grape lovers out there and you won’t fall short of a nice selection in that regard. The staff is very welcoming and friendly, I like to chat it up with them at the bar over cocktails or even an espresso especially on Thursdays prior to heading to the attached club for ‘international night’ which should be an obligatory stop for anyone that is a fan of dancing. You won’t hear a more electric mix of music spun by none other than the owner of the establishment I believe. I’ll have to bring my appetite sometime but in all other regards it’s a great spot in the heart of CWE.

The patio was packed at Bar Italia since it was a nice evening so we decided to sit inside at the bar. Brenden greeted us and took our drink order. We each had the Basil-​Cucumber garden cocktail. Very refreshing and tasty.
Their online menu does not have listed what we decided on for an appetizer. Goat cheese encrusted with pistachios and drizzled with oil served with toast points. Although we shared this, it is small enough to have on your own. Mike also has a bowl of gazpacho which was a large portion.
For dinner I had the Veal Scallopini alle erbe and Mike chose the tortellini. My veal was good but it did have a lot of cheese on it. Mike’s tortellini was DELICIOUS. If that wasn’t homemade I’ll eat my hat. Beef tortellini with a light cream sauce. I was so jealous that he had that and I didn’t. When I go back, that’s what I’m getting.
I noticed in previous Unilocalers comments that service seemed to be a problem. I cannot comment on that since we sat at the bar and had excellent service.
The drinks were good, the food was good and service was good. I’ll be back. Buonasera.

Don’t bother. The service is so poor you will wish you went to McDonalds for a McBatteryacid. We were only visited by a busboy (3 times) before wait staff came to check on us. Initially, we had one waiter then another took over and belittle the busboy for talking to us. He was the only person that acknowledged us. Our eventual server was an egocentric jem named Justin. If you still decide to go her and Justin is your server RUN! He is completely full of himself and absolutely disrespectful towards fellow staff. That’s a deal breaker for me. We contemplated leaving several times. Finally out food came with a ticket time over 1hr I could’ve fired down a full row of saltines sans the water and been satisfied. The food was decent but not worth the wait. We will never be back. Scratch this one off your list.

Started out with some drinks on the tented patio and then moved into the bar to have an appetizer as it was a cool night. The bartender was just amazing with his chatter about the restaurant and what drinks we might like. He created some just for us based on a few key ingredients we suggested. Their complimentary bread is delicious and we also tried the goat cheese appetizer which was great and also the antipasto. Both took the edge off our hunger and then we were talked into trying their «world famous» espresso martini which was actually the best tasting espresso martini I’ve tried although that list is not long. I really don’t usually like them because they are either too sweet or too bitter but this one just got the proportions just right. Would definitely stop back here again on our next jaunt to the area to have a full dinner.

A friend chose this restaurant due to its proximity to the Chase Hotel. Had a dinner there with 7 women on a girls’ getaway weekend. It was a disaster. The waiter was friendly but inattentive. Everyone, yes, everyone, was disappointed with their meal. We think most of the menu items are precooked and kept in cafeteria style vats in the kitchen. The special, seafood risotto, was quite possibly the worst I’ve ever had. The risotto was rice-​like and hard, not creamy and properly prepared. My friends scallops were so bad, she didn’t eat them. For a busy Italian restaurant in a city chocked full of great Italian, why are they busy? The patio! It’s nice and quiet enough and large-​ish. The setting and the company where the only saving grace.

I was thrown out of Bar Italia after paying $ 400 worth of bar tab in cash.
I was invited to attend an event at Bar Italia by a crew member Katie for an event Saturday April 5^th,. but the staff took full advantage of me and threw me out after I cleared everyone’s bar tab out in cash money. They owe me a full refund and should do the right thing after personally inviting me to attend.
The person who threw me out didn’t know who I was. I was invited to the event from a coffee shop across the street known as the Coffee Cartel after they learned I tipped the coffee cartel $ 20 for one large cup of coffee minutes before the staff threw me out of the Bar Italia establishment after I paid everyone’s tab in the bar with cash, and this business owes me a prompt and full refund from their deception of taking advantage of an innocent individual while they knew I was drunk. The owe me a $ 400 refund for their deception they used to draw unlawful business to their establishment.
They physically put their hands on me which resulted in injury with a big cut on my neck.

The restaurant is in a great location and is the only Italian place in this spot so my expectations were high. If the prices were lower, I wouldn’t have expected more but I don’t think you get what you pay for.
Carpaccio was not tasty and the texture was off and covered in too much lemon. The beet salad was fantastic though.

When: Wednesday night @ 6:30 PM
Ordered: appetizer– bruschetta
Seafood pasta
Scallop spinach pasta
Total: ~$ 60.00
For being an Italian restaurant, Bar Italia came a little short. First off, we entered and the room on the left had a good # of people and vibe but we were instead guided to the room on the right with only 1 other table. Room was drafty and we felt kind of forgotten. Super laid back vibe– come as you are.
Typically when eating Italian, you receive a nice basket of fresh bread (Scape offers focaccia and an artisanal cracker) with olive oil. Unfortunately, this was not the case so we ordered some bruschetta. Which consisted of 2 small slices. While they were topped with veggies and melted cheese, we were disappointed that we only got 2 slices. If you’re not going to do classy Italian, then don’t skimp on the portions.
Overall, food was good but nothing to write home about. Calamari was borderline rubber band.

Are here last weekend for dinner and I was so pleased from start to finish. The patio is lovely, our server was phenomenal and there wasn’t a dish my friend and I ordered we didn’t like. Everything was prepared to perfection. The wine our server recommended was also amazing. If you haven’t been here yet, don’t delay! You are in for a treat.

Disclaimer: This is a bar/​nightclub review, not a food review.
I go to Luna Lounge at Bar Italia every Thursday for International Night. It’s the only club I attend regularly with an almost religious eagerness. I look forward to Thursdays more than any other night of the week, and here’s why:
The venue itself is centrally located in CWE at a major neighborhood corner. The club is connected to the restaurant and they share bar space. The atmosphere of both places is slightly upscale. In the shared bar space, there is seating and the bartender on Thursday nights is quiet, but always friendly, and he makes my drinks quickly. The wine list tends towards the extensive side and there’s a delicious and reasonably priced Pinot Noir that I would recommend. The bar side is quieter — more conducive to sultry conversation. In addition, there is outside seating next to the street and at the restaurant — great for chatting with a friend in a quieter area and catching some fresh air, although plenty of people smoke outside.
For a danceclub, the cover is cheap ($ 5 for gentlemen, $ 3 for ladies) and the standard club drinks are slightly cheaper than typical St. Louis ($ 6 for a vokda sprite). The dancing area is smaller than most and there is lounge seating with room to stand usually. They play mostly foreign dance music, ranging from electronic to rap, representing all sorts of countries — Latin, Spanish, Russian, Bosnian, French, Portuguese, Indian, very little American — but all with a good beat. There is plenty of dancing. You don’t need to know the words (most people don’t — there is such a variety of languages). Don’t be surprised to see some basic salsa moves, hand clapping, and whistling. The music played is accompanied by music videos shown on a big screen. However, the songs transition poorly as the DJ works from a simple computer with basic mixing software.
The clientele on Thursdays is a diverse crowd of largely non-​American, naturalized citizens, and first generation Americans. During the school year, the population includes more obviously younger university students. The staff is always friendly and professional, and the bouncer wading about will occasionally bust the playful dance move as he passes.
If you are up for dancing to great music and looking for some cultural variety, Luna at Bar Italia is the place to get it.