John Mineo's Italian - St Louis

I enjoy a whole experience whenever possible. This fits the bill. First, after you venture inside you'll quickly forget you parked in a veritable strip of stores. A dark ambiance, heavy drapes and a black ceiling harken to a mafia movie backdrop in the 1930s. Waiters in black on black slide around greeting guests. The owner comes table-side to tell stories and say hello. Ravioli, shrimp and cheese bread appetizers land in the table. The house salad, simple, is lightly coated with a homemade balsamic. The scallops over risotto is a spicy, sweet, explosion of flavor. The risotto perfectly cooked. Mangia!

Fantastic spot! Stopped in on a Thursday night at 8pm (they closed at 9pm) and was so warmly welcomed by their staff. The restaurant was quiet but they had a lovely bar area with a few couples. We were immediately seated. (2 people). The ambiance is very romantic. The restaurant was quiet and dimly lit. The service was absolutely spectacular. We skipped appetizers and went straight to order our chicken Romano and chicken Parmesan entrees. The menu is relatively small but they have all of the classics and a few off menu specials. For our sides we both decided to get pink pasta. You have many options among red, white, pink pasta or veggies, etc. Our lovely waitress brought out complimentary bread that was steaming hot with butter absolutely delicious and fresh. Our entrees came out quickly after and we're served over burners in front of us so neat! Loved the presentation. The food was delicious and fresh. The portions were enormous! Most would have a good amount of leftovers with the serving sides. We gobbled them up. Prices for everything were more than fair. The service, food, portions, and ambiance were all five stars. This is such a cute place highly recommend!

Slow service, mediocre food and high price tag. The night didn 't start off well as we were waiting out in the cold ringing the door bell wondering if the restaurant was open. Turned out that when it gets really cold outside, the front door locks itself. We came here to celebrate a birthday and it was a flop. Our waiter forgot to place our dinner order, our food came out slow (he may have had too many tables to tend to) and our birthday dessert never came out. It seems the waiters are tasked with heating up almost every dish that comes out tableside, which contributed to the slowness of the night. Shrimp Dejongbe $18 3 giant shrimp, which is enough to split among 4 people but we got 2 orders since the waiter recommended it. The sauce was tasty, but I don 't think it was worth the price tag. Caesar Salad $12 Tagliatelli Ortolana $31 Pasta was cooked well, came with lots of veggies, but it was bland. . o o . ^ ..2023

The old time ambience was great! We were able to snag a last minute reservation and I am glad we did! It is dark and reasonably quiet, which was bliss. Our server, Mary, was wonderful upbeat, friendly, very capable. The food was really good. My lasagna was perfect. It was dense and filling but not overwhelmed with cheese or meat. The pasta and sauce stood out. The Caesar salad was nice with great croutons and decent anchovies. My husband had the veal special and wowza! It was a very thick veal chop with prosciutto and an incredible sauce over potatoes. The interesting thing about this restaurant is that the final prep and plating is done by the server in front of you. It keeps the servers overly busy and isn't efficient, but oh boy it is a charming selling point!

A friend of mine knew I had a birthday coming up and recommended this hidden treasure. He wasn't wrong! The ambiance of the place is so comfortable and refreshing from the moment we walked thru the door! The food was amazing and we stayed a lot longer than our usual quickeat and go. That was because our waitress Mary made us feel special. She had these little candles for the cupcakes my wife gets for me every year! It was such a great night and we have been back several times since then. Always a place that never disappoints 5stars!!