Da Baldo’s Trattoria

i’ve been here a couple of times, both on groupon-​type deals. the sweet little old lady greeter and seater is a classic. like a lot of food in st louis, it is a bit over-​priced, but here it was tasty nonetheless. good service. i forgot if a coke, came in a can, was $ 2 or $ 2.50. really? in a can? what a rip that was. very old fashioned joint, but quaint. i’d go again, but not for the coke. haha

Another St. Louis time-​warp dining experience, this is a very traditional Italian restaurant that has changed little over the years (we know, we have gone here occasionally for 20 years). If you want a quiet, out of the way intimate place to have dinner this is it.
The décor is great – dark and well-​appointed, there are skylights over the bar area that nicely balance the darkness of the rest of the place. The food is ok but we are vegetarians and there are a lot of meat entrees and this appears to be their strong suit. I had the pesto and it was average, the salad was a little better but had too much dressing. The Chocolate and almond ice cream cake was excellent! During previous visits the food has been slightly better so I will go back soon and try their red sauce.
I think this place is almost better for group functions due to the intimate feel, we had our rehearsal dinner here and it went great and everyone was satisfied with the food. The owners have been present and actively involved with running the dining room every time we have gone!

I was very pleased with our visit here. The food is old-​style Italian and the décor is REALLY old-​style Italian but the service was very attentive and all our dishes were tasty. Prices were a bit high for me, but the portions were good.

note to self…
this place doesn’t allow people to use coupons on their specials.
i got a stl coupon for this place and i have to say the food is just fine.
service not good at all. we we ignored all night by the waitress, the busboy had to get us everything. even to get the waitress which never came even when asked for twice.
when we asked for the check she told us it is a STORE policy that they charge us 20% gratuity on the bill. i asked where they put that policy up… she said its just one they have.
so verdict is… sadly the service made the food bad. because food only taste good when you are having a good time. what gave me the stomachache is knowing that they probably knew that we had the coupon and gave us bad service BECAUSE she didn’t have to earn it.

Take your grandparents. This place is old school. Ancient school. Roman Colisseum Old-​School.

Good Italian in a slightly worn, older restaurant. Went for a late dinner and the staff were mostly watching the end of a Cardinals game on TV over the bar. Dependable and good-​sized pastas with a good selection of fish and chicken dishes. Prices were very reasonable. Atmosphere looks like it might be dressy at first, but it’s pretty casual. Wine selection is fair. Server was very causal, but friendly. Never too crowded. Street parking nearby usually. Bar next door sometimes has good entertainment… we used to eat here all the time when Allen Ross played at Malle’s bar next door – but not sure he plays there much now.

Andrew T came home to St Louis for a week and we started off with dinner at Da Baldo’s to utilize another social dining coupon. We also had heard from a friend of Aunt Annie that this was a great place. So here we go…
This is old school Italian. The décor is probably 30 – 40 years old. The clientele are mostly over 60. I get the feeling it has a loyal following of regulars from close by. The food is solid, the real thing without trying to be trendy or fru-​fru. It is on Hampton, so not in what you would think of as the center of The Hill restaurants.
We started with good calamari, tender, lightly breaded and properly fried. They are served without the ubiquitous red sauce. We did add a squeeze of lemon. The stuffed mushrooms were a real hit, with good herbal flavors, delicious.
Andrew ordered what turned out to be the best of three good entrees. It was Veal Cavour. The veal was lightly coated and pan-​fried crisp. The sauce on it was delicious and complimented the veal as well as the properly proportioned mozzarella and prosciutto on top. The sauce was sherry based, which really came through and was flavored with shitake mushrooms. I would order this next time. Ms T selected Chicken Pinot Grigio, which while not as impressively rich and flavorful as the veal, was still very good and worth a try for someone looking past pasta and who does not like to eat the baby veal calves when they could be running free in the fields. I, for once in my life, ordered spaghetti and meat balls. I never do this, but my friend, Mr. D has been told at least twice that it is often one of the best things and I was hungry for pasta. I must say it was quite good. The sauce was a light, clean simple tomato sauce not cooked for days and turned into jam. Finally a sauce in St Louis that was not sweet! I was beginning to wonder about that. The meat balls were large and light, clearly with veal content. They were well seasoned and I enjoyed it all even more the next day when I had my leftovers for lunch.
We were not disappointed by Da Baldo’s and will surely eventually be back. I would rate it close to Lorenzo’s but much more traditional.

Four stars is probably a little bit benefit of the doubt, but I think if you’re looking for very very traditional Italian place, this is a good place to look. The décor is very old fashioned — a smaller, dimly lit room in an ornate style, with tables really crammed in to seat as many as it does. We were greeted by the owner’s wife (obvious from pictures on the menu and the walls). It also has, and I don’t mean to be offensive, an «old folks» vibe. As in, I was the youngest person there.
Our appetizers, calamari and stuffed mushrooms, were pretty good. Calamari was tender, if not a little garlicky to my taste, and also served without the classic red sauce. I didn’t really miss it, but it’s so standard I was surprised it wasn’t there. The stuffed mushrooms were tasty, stuffed with a creamy bread crumb mixture.
My entrée was veal cavour, which was very good. The veal was pounded thin and tender, with a great pan fried crust, delicious ham and cheese, and a light sauce that didn’t overwhelm. The veal stayed crispy throughout — and it was a huge helping. Just, really enjoyable. Similar reviews for a chicken dish (the name of which I forget), and even compliments for an order of spaghetti and meatballs in red sauce. Sides came with each entrée — I had stuffed zucchini, which could have been better. Very very little zucchini and too much stuffing to my taste. That veggie accompaniment would have been good with the veal. A side of pasta in red sauce was a bit over cooked, but the sauce was good.
We did have a groupon, which means an automatic tip added for the full price of the bill. It’s a new thing to me, but it makes sense, as people probably all tip on the post-​coupon total, which isn’t really fair to the wait staff. My parents are working their way through some spots on the Hill after largely ignoring it for almost 20 years, and I would add this to a list of returns.

Amazing! They are the real deal. Try and make a reservation although we didn’t. Real service, amazing food. No rush… I recommend a full carafe of wine. 5 star all the way. This is the kind of restaurant you go to for the full evening experience (no dinner and a movie). Dinner is more than enough.
I was shocked the place wasn’t packed… although it was a thursday, probably wouldn’t have gotten a table without a reservation on friday or saturday. MUST GO!

I really, really, really wanted to love Da Baldo’s, but instead, I’m stuck at «it was OK.»
The beautiful wife and I stopped by here on a Wednesday night after work after passing by it a million times.
We started off with some wine — they have a pretty small wine list (about 20 offerings) with a decent selection, _​but_​the things that got me were:
1) the house wines (by the glass/​half carafe/​full carafe) were really overpriced. A full carafe is $ 30!
2) the bottles were all in the same range and more.
I sort of get the impression that despite having a full bar, this is more of a place were people get a single glass of wine for their entire meal.
We ordered the toasted ravioli, because we had read somewhere that they were really good. Or maybe we mixed up places, because these weren’t anything great. The accompanying sauce was pretty much straight tomatoes.
We both had salads with the Mayfair dressing (first time for each). Glad I tried it – it’s the cousin to the Caesar. And despite not loving it, it ended up probably being the best part of the meal because it had the most complex flavor.
Bread came out — two hard rolls (hard as in crispy exterior) with about 50 packets of frozen butter. Sigh.
I ordered the Veal Cavour (prosciutto, mozzarella, shitake and sherry wine) based on the recommendation of our server. It was really sweet — yeah, that’s sherry for you, but it was super sweet, and overwhelmed everything.
We shared the tiramisu for dessert, which was pretty freaking delicious.
Did I order wrong? I’m not so sure. Outside of sweetness, there wasn’t much other flavor. I’m being generous in my stars (it should be more like 2 ½), because I’m a sucker for old school Italian places and (you knew this was coming) they’re Provel-​free.
But right now, I’m really on the fence about coming back. Maybe I’d do the 5 courses for $ 13.95, but I’d we wary of ordering a full priced entrée.

My friend and I went here this past Saturday night after purchasing a value coupon to the restaurant. As we walked through the door, we felt like we were time travelers going back to the period of the Rat Pack. We were greeted by an elderly woman who clearly arrived on a boat from Italy herself. The décor, including a beautiful picture of the lady at a much younger age, and music, including Sinatra himself, just set the tone for the great food to come. We started with the stuffed mushrooms which was served with a cream sauce. WONDERFUL! The sauce definitely made the dish, plus there was plenty of it left in the dish to sop it up with our warm, fresh bread.
I ordered the Veal Saltimbocca. I’ve dreamed about ever since. Hands down the most authentic, delicious Italian dish I’ve ever eaten and I’ve had a lot of Italian food. Again, the sauce just made it spectacular. It was wine based, of course, but so flavorful. I wanted to bathe in it. It was served with a side dish, of which I chose pasta with red sauce. I feel like there is only so many things you can do with a basic red sauce, but again, this one knocked me off my feet.
My friend ordered Chicken Romagna with a side order of pasta with alfredo sauce. While the chicken was great, I feel like the alfredo sauce was the hit of his meal. It was soo creamy and garlicy. I’m not a lover of alfredo, but this one makes me a believer! This restaurant truly knows their sauces and they made each food choice shine.
We did do dessert. I am a huge fan of cannoli and again, if you want authentic, then this is the place to go. The shell itself is homemade, along with the cheese filling. But what made this hands down the best, was the traditional half cherry they snuck into each end of the cannoli. My friend ordered the spumoni. It was a very generous portion and clearly homemade.
I would HIGHLY recommend this restaurant for a wonderfully, authentic Italian meal. If you are a lover of good food, it promises not to disappoint.

We’ve gone to Baldo’s several times and the food and service has always been wonderful. Periodically, Baldo’s will offer full four course dinners which include wine, if you like. When they say «include» they pour the wine the entire time you are there. You can pick from a selection of three or four appetizers, three or four entrees and a selection of deserts. Usually you have a selection of fish, beef, chicken and sometimes vegegarian. DId I mention you also select a salad entrée to begin with. With your entrée you can select sides of veggies and/​or pasta. I can’t remember what, exactly, the per person price is but it’s very reasonable and includes your gratuity. Baldo also makes excellent gelato! You have to try that.

Man, does this place remind me of Grandma’s cooking. An older crowd in an old fashioned kind of eloquence. Everything about this place says ITALIAN and I think its about as authentic as can be. The owner speaks very broken English and seems passionate about his food.
We stopped in the other evening and had a wonderful meal. Everything was superb. Deli sh brueshetta, excellent pasta and wonderful cheese cake for dessert. Simple and Devinne.

Very tasty pasta, moderate pricing, formal interior in a strip mall on Hampton. Very popular with wealthy seniors. My Italian Grandmother LOVED this place for special occasions. It woudn’t be my pick unless I was entertaining much older relatives. They offer great early bird specials.

Da Baldo’s is an semi elegant restaurant that is family owned and operated. The people here are polite and were very friendly and talkative. Bread was brought to our table for us to enjoy, and it tasted pretty good. The menu is more colorful than what I am used to, and it was very hard for me to decide what to get because so many things sounded so good!
I finally settled on tortellini alla panna, which I highly recommend! My husband got the spaghetti, and he really liked it. We finished with dessert, I got gelato and he got a chocolate mousse cake, both of which were very good!