Amighetti’s Bakery & Cafe

There are so many wonderful places to eat on the Hill, St. Louis’s Italian neighborhood, that it is hard to find a bad place to eat. Amighetti’s is one of my favorite sandwich shops, though they also offer pasta and salads. I have settled on a hot Little Italy sandwich which is salami, cheese, onions, and black olives. It is simple and delicious (and very cheesy!). The box lunch includes a side and drink, all for under $ 10. The bread is superb.

The food is outstanding for the price. If you go here you have to try the special with a side of extra sauce. Lasagna is also outstanding. This place is a St. Louis institution.

Love, love, love the amighetti’s special! I recommend sharing one with someone, I’ve never been able to finish one myself, the sandwiches are huge. Only wish they were open later!

The Amighetti’s Special sub sandwich is a St. Louis classic. Your first visit? Order the Special. Everything is fresh. If it’s a nice day, sit outside and enjoy everyday life on The Hill.

Fail! The sign says they’re open until 3. But apparently that’s not true. Too bad. They must be doing so well they can just throw away customers. Skip this joint. Go over a block to Missouri Baking Co. They keep normal hours.

Always good. Always worth the 90 mile drive. Met new owner. Super nice. Clean. Friendly. Fresh. Quaint.

Went here twice to give them a chance, but both visits the same: like going to your crabby grandma’s house for stale sandwiches and leftover sides. I’m not a native St. Louisian, so I’m guessing this place runs on nostalgia. 2 stars for location and relatively quick lunch.

Oh NO, drat… The new owners have changed the ingredients on the Little Bit of Italy. It is no longer the best sandwich ever. They should change to a different name on the business. I have been there twice. Wanted to see if it was true. Went today. Definitely not as good. What’s up with that?

Love this place! Have been going here since my teens & it’s still the greatest bang for your buck on authentic italian food. Since this is a bakery as well I’m sure there’s no need to say this, but the bread is fantastic! Their sandwiches are also pretty delicious. This place has been around for many years & I’d say it’s definitely worth a trip or two.

Had lunch here twice this week. Love the meatball sandwich. The half sandwich is two huge meatballs on bread with an awesome red sauce.

It’s been a long time since I’ve been here.
The curtains haven’t changed. I don’t know if they’ve been washed.
I went in with my girlfriend who religiously gets 3 bagettes (These things are 32 inches long.) every couple weeks. She cuts each one into fourths, so she’s got 12 days of bread for meals.
There were cookies available, probably 12 types. They looked good, but there were many display cases empty. Probably due to the time of day we were there — after noon.
But it seems they cater to the sandwich-​for-​lunch crowd with fountain sodas and bagged chips.
Not what I remembered.

Tip: if the outside seating area is empty, it’s too cold to eat out, okay? I had my puppy with me as we were driving through to Kansas City (we made a stop at Bertolli to get our knives sharpened) and needed a bite to eat without cooping up the dog for even more time.
Bad idea. It was cold. Our food came out in styrofoam boxes and it was probably cold enough out that my alfredo’s temperature immediately plummeted, and it was in desperate need of salt and pepper, which weren’t available outside.
I will extend massive compliments to the staff for being so nice. Little puppy ran right around my legs as I was picking up the tray of food, and our two bottles of Fitz crashed. The staff gave us another one, and someone came out to clean up the broken glass.
I need to come here again, when it’s warm, and without the fuzzbutt, because I want to give this place a fair shake. My food was bland, but I won’t let that be the last time I try here.

A friend and I have been on a bit of an ongoing sandwich tour of this fine city, trying to hit all of the many spots. So in relative terms of comparison, Amighetti’s is OK, but just nothing to rave about.
What put me off right away is that I ordered their featured sandwich, the Amighetti Special, and the woman behind the counter immediately took a few steps toward the back and fetched the wrapped-​up pre-​made sandwich from a stockpile of them.
Pre. Made.
This was about 12:45 on a Thursday afternoon and the place had about six other customers. MAYBE I can understand this practice if you’re selling the things non-​stop a la Ted Drewes custard in the summertime. But even then, I can’t twist premade food into a positive thing.
Now the sandwich itself was decent in flavor, and definitely huge. However I don’t know if it was a result of the pre-​making or what, but the bread was a tad «tough.» This is an issue with a sandwich, as it forces the contents to be pushed backward as you eat.
You get the picture.
I should note that my friend ordered some sort of hot sandwich, which was made to order, and took about 5 minutes to come out. He seemed to be about 3 out of 5 stars pleased with it.
Bottom line, I’ll probably give Amighetti’s another try sometime, but it certainly won’t go near my semi-​regular rotation of Nora’s, Blues City, Snarf’s and the occasional Adrianna’s.

This place is pretty good, but nothing to write home about. If it was in Arnold or Chesterfield people would be writing, but on The Hill there is just too much stiff competition. They have good hours and are usually pretty fast to get service, and even though I came at like 3 the food seemed pretty fresh and not suffering from the normal problems that come with ordering food in off hours.
I got a hot salami sandwich, and my girlfriend got The Little Taste of Italy. Mine was okay, although the salami was not as good as Giola’s (which is what brought me to The Hill in the first place).
Along with the salami being just «okay» I ordered pepperoncinis on my sandwich, and unfortunately the stems were still attached to the peppers and the peppers were whole. I can understand a place having a different style for them than other places, but you can’t eat a stem, and disassembling the whole sandwich to take them off kind of took the sandwich charm away from the whole experience.
The Little Taste of Italy, however, was raved about, so I have to add that. I just think for my personal style (I like very few condiments and vegetables) Giola’s, with their really good and unique meat wins me over. I could easily see someone liking Amighetti’s more though.
Also, a pretty cool touch is that you can order pasta here for a pretty cheap price. I’m not really sure of the portion, but I would bet it’s pretty good. Also, the patio outside is super nice. I felt like I was in a hidden Roman back alley eating. This place is good, but if Giola’s is open, that’s where you’ll find me.

I can’t comment on any other menu item except the Little Bit of Italy. Why? Because no one in their right mind should ever get anything else BUT this sandwich and I never do.
Served warm, it’s the perfect storm of goodness — Genoa salami, melty cheese, onions, black olives and Italian bread slathered with garlic butter. Hot damn, it’s delicious!
Be warned: Unless you come on an off-​hour, you’re going to be fighting for a seat and fighting for attention from staff… but…for the Little Bit of Italy I come head down, elbows out, ready to go. No one comes between me and my sandwich!

Small café. Brightly lit dining area for the hill. Seating is very limited. It is kind of like Lord of the flies really. St Louisians showing their best disposition!!!
Good thing the food is awesome here. My boys always get French dips, or roast beef with Gravy. The sandwiches are delicious and filling prepared on fresh baked bread.
Also they have pasta sides instead of chips. They have a limited menu of Italian staples that are very good!
It was very crowded and could not get a refill without waiting in the line out the door for customers placing food orders. While people were waiting for tables, some asshat’s kid was doing homework after eating. They were carrying on a conversation for 30minutes oblivious to the world around them?
No table was bused while we were here.
Finally, my sons’s pasta con broccoli was assembled (Not mixed) in the styrofoam take out tray. They literally put a layer of noodles, a layer of white sauce, and a layer of brocolli. The styofoam box was despite an eat in order. My other son mentioned that the sphaghetti tasted just like Digregorios?
This very well could be another well established St. Louis Restaurant that is regressing into mediocrity. Think Rigazzis?

Great place for lunch! Especially on Saturdays. The food is good and fast. The Amighetti Special, a large Italian sub, is the most popular item in the joint. We travel all the way from O’Fallon, IL to get the Amighetti! If you’re going, make sure you pick up a few cannoli! They are the best on The Hill!
My daughter, recently, breaking family tradition, ordered the small spaghetti and meatballs (instead of an Amighetti). It was enormous! Came with two large meatballs and Italian bread. She really liked it. I had a bite, and must admit, it was quite good.
They run a gelato shop next door, which offers additional seating for patrons, which is a plus, because seating is very limited. There’s also garden seating between the bakery and the gelato shop for when the weather’s nice.
Another neat feature of Amighetti’s is they offer a full line of Fitz’s bottled soda. Their cream soda is awesome!
The counter folks are kind and friendly. The atmosphere is comfortable. There’s a single counter window to order from, which isn’t laid out well. This generally adds to the length of the order line and the wait. There are restroom’s in the basement, but very small.
If you are looking for an afternoon bite on The Hill, or are in the area shopping, give Amighetti’s a try. You won’t be disappointed. It’s a St. Louis institution!

Amighetti’s is just okay. It’s a really cute, classic place in the Hill that’s a St. Louis staple, but in my opinion the food is nothing amazing.
The Amighetti’s Special is their classic sandwich. It has ham, roast beef, Genoa salami, brick cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, pepperoncini, and special dressing. For $ 7.89 the whole size easily feeds two, but to me it’s just a pretty typical cold cut deli-​style sandwich with fixings. So although the location is cute and it’s nice to support St. Louis institutions, if you’re looking for a sandwich that will knock your socks off you should hit up Blues City Deli.

The Amighetti’s Special is one damn good sandwich. A half sammie could easily fill you up for lunch, but at less than $ 8 for a whole, it’s a hard deal to pass up.
The Special is loaded with cold cuts and veggies galore — ham, roast beef, salami, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, awesome pepperoncini, and even more awesome special sauce. All loaded on Amighetti’s own fresh-​baked bread.
They say is «often imitated, never duplicated,» and having had a variation on the Special from quite a few places around town — Schnuck’s «King of the Hill» anyone? — I can definitely say that Amigetti’s is right on the money.
Their other sandwich and pasta offerings are pretty good — my family enjoyed the barbeque beef and turkey delight sandwiches, and a side of the mostacolli with red sauce (which is a big enough portion to serve 1 for lunch!). But the Special is definitely where it’s at!

Stop #17 on my «Eating my way through Chicago/​St. Louis and possibly doing other things on this trip Summer Tour 2011» took me to the Italian section of St. Louis called «the hill». One of my travel road books told me to go to Amighetti’s. The book talks to me. I swear. Moving on.
Amighetti’s Special Sandwich is «often imitated, never duplicated» according to them. They might be right. This is a monster sub. The whole sub goes for $ 7.29. It contains ham, choice roast beef, Genoa salami, brick cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, onion, pepperoncini and special dressing (I skipped that as it is mayo based) all on a fresh baked roll that is made right here. Are you drooling yet? I am. I ended up eating half of it and taking the other half to the Cardinals game. A guy saw me eating it and it took him back to his youth and going to Cardinals games and bringing an Amighetti’s sandwich with him.
It is stories like that that make me miss having places like this where I currently live. Not much history in food places, or at least Italian deli’s here in Portland, OR. Amighetti’s has been around since the 1920’s. That is something special. Just like their sandwich.