Charlie Gitto’s

Molto bene! Despite living in south city for most of my life, tonight was my first dinner at the legendary St. Louis landmark, and it certainly lives up to its reputation! Joshua was very attentive and professional, yet personable and not at all stuffy. Ditto for the maitre d and whole staff. True to form for an old Italian place on the Hill, an army of polite teenagers keep your waters fresh. :-) I had one of the day’s pasta specials, blackened beef pasta, and it was incredible! They make their pastas in house (at least some of the varieties), my dish had an amazing Cajun cream sauce, and the beef was cooked and seasoned to perfection. We were there to show an out-​of-​town friend (and me!) a taste of St. Louis, and we’ll definitely come back for special occasions!

Dined here on 1÷11÷16. Fantastic meal. Josh, the maitre d’, was welcoming from the moment we walked in. Don, our server, was top notch as well. Herb butter strip steak was prepared exactly as ordered. I am typically not a fan of sauces or butter on my cut of meat but this butter was subtle and was not obnoxious to take away from the deliciously aged meat. Girlfriend raved about the eggplant appetizer. Highly recommend if you are looking for a higher end Italian dinner in an old school atmosphere.

O’Ryan (and I do apologize if I spelled your name incorrectly) was extremely professional. He greeted us and was very knowledgable, explained their specials without mistake. It almost seemed he had grown up with the place, and this was just second nature to him. I had the Veal Cordon Blue, which was absolutely stunning. They had ran out of the original side dish that had come with the main entrée, so instead they served a side of pasta which was cooked to perfection, I’ve never had pasta like that before. Overall wonderful time!

Dinner at Charlie Gitto’s was absolutely amazing. I don’t think they can top last night’s meal. I love when I go out to eat and I’m blown away by food. This isn’t the first time I’ve eaten here, but I was taken aback by how good my meal was. Even my cocktail (five berry Cosmo) was delicious.
Don greeted us, took our drink order and told us about the specials for the evening. We started with CG special shrimp. Humongous shrimp sautéed in garlic butter. I had to dip my bread in the sauce. Our waiter Don, brought us a small sampling of their soups. Clam Chowder and Lobster Bisque. Each was just as good as the other.
On to our main course. Majordomo decided on one of their specials. Veal cordon blue. Lightly breaded veal with prosciutto and cheese. I chose veal lemonata. Veal in a lemon butter sauce with capers. Each came with a side of mashed potatoes and green beans. Both of our dishes were delightful. I am mad that I ate all of mine and did not take some home for breakfast.
Dessert? Why, yes please. Tiramisu, crème brûlée, cheesecake and others each sounding more delicious than the next. We decided to split the Italian cream cake. So light and tasty that you wanted to pick up the plate and lick it.
Will I go back to Charlie Gitto’s? I can’t wait to go back to Charlie Gitto’s.
P. S. They have complementary valet parking.

This place harkens back to the «old school Italian style» but in a modern-​ish, tactful way. The décor is nice and the bar is uplit marble. The waitstaff is friendly, knowledgeable, and professional. (They know their stuff)
I posted a picture of the daily specials on the day we went (Tuesday). I had the beet salad special — red and golden beets with buffalo mozz and lettuce — tossed with a light dressing. Perfection!
For entrees I had the linguine with clams-​and i was in heaven!!! OBG sauce (olive oil, butter and garlic) Literally, I may have died! My husband had the Pasta Susanne, it was also very good. (He finished his off and then started on mine!). All pasta is homemade, and it makes a HUGE difference.
It was our anniversary, so they gave us a large slice of Cassata cake. (Like cannoli filling — in a cake). Very good. Parking lot is safe and secure… it was a wonderful experience. I can’t say enough positive things about this old gem in STL. Go here!!!

It’s my birthday and I was craving a spicy seafood pasta. When I googled «spicy seafood pasta St. Louis» Charlie Gitto’s popped up. I read several reviews but mainly focused in on anything related to my specific craving. That’s when I saw «Seafood Pasta Suzanne». The reviews were excellent so off we went for my birthday dinner. When I placed my order our waiter Tim told me this was his favorite meal and also told us it was named after Mr. Gitto’s daughter so it must be special. Let me just say it did not disappoint! It is creamy and spicy in a slow heat kind of way. It goes down as the best seafood pasta I’ve ever eaten. My husband had a veal ravioli that was also incredible. The service was excellent as was the ambiance. We will absolutely return!

Everything we had were excellent. Service was even better. Charlie Gitto’s has become my go-​to place for Italian cuisine.
The Toasted Ravioli ($ 10) deserves its fame, especially for the sauce — I can drink it if you offer me a cup. The Seafood Pasta Suzanne ($ 28) is with spicy three-​pepper cream sauce, a superb combination that makes the pasta rich and having layers of taste. The Grilled Lamb Chops ($ 34.95), one of the daily specials today, has three huge double-​cut lamb chops; we had it cooked medium-​rare, which would be a perfect choice. It’s tender, juicy, and savory. That’s a stealing price for such lamb chops! Really hope they would put it on the regular menu.

Fantastic meal! Was there for dinner with colleagues from work and the restaurant didn’t disappoint. The restaurant is located in a section of the city called The Hill which is an Italian section.
We started with one of their signature appetizers… toasted raviolis! Boy were they good! Garlic cheese toast as an app was also pretty good. I had the lobster bisque and it was amazing. Creamy and tasty and I’d definitely recommend. Not many chunks of lobster but the creamy broth was spot on. For my entrée, I ordered the Blackened Swordfish over homemade pasta in a creamy tomato sauce. Fantastic! The portion was huge so I had to take half home. To finish the meal, I enjoyed 2 large cannolis which I’d recommend as well of you can fit in dessert. Charlie Gitto’s is must try if you’re in the St Louis area.

Perfect atmosphere & great service! Wonderful old-​school Italian atmosphere with Sinatra and other greats playing softly in the background. Warm and receptive service at the bar or dinner. Midway though our dinner I told the waiter I wanted another glass of wine when I was done with the first one. I savored that first glass of the Super Tuscan with the delightful roasted ravioli, for maybe another 20 min. As I was finishing a conversation with my wife and son, I took the last sip, and a full glass appeared instantly!

Started with tomato salad with anchovies. The salad is good, the anchovies were not worth the upcharge, 4 anchovies from a can for an extra $ 2. I had the 14oz strip, peppercorn preparation. It was cooked to my desired doneness and I was pleased. My companion had french onion soup then the spicy seafood alfredo. I was told the soup was good, but the cheese topping wasn’t very good and it seemed like it was a cheap cheese substitute. He liked the pasta and said it was a little more spicy than expected but good. It is a good old school Italian restaurant.

Had a great experience here on Saturday night. This doesn’t look like much on the outside, but don’t let that fool you. It is on The Hill, so parking/​driving can be tricky because of the tiny streets. We used Über to get there, but they did offer Valet parking — I didn’t catch how much is cost.
Called ahead and made reservations for a party of 7, were seated right away in the back room (just us!). The place was packed, so I wouldn’t try going without calling ahead. I made our reservations that same day, but I wouldn’t have wanted to try it without doing that. Our server, Joshua, really made the experience great and we really appreciated his willingness to be helpful and make sure we had a good experience. He was very personable and when he found out we were from out of town, he went out of his way to recommend several things to do and see which was very nice of him.
We started with the toasted ravioli — it wasn’t anything special, but it was good. Savory, tasted freshly made, and served with their marinara sauce. Good if you aren’t sure what else to order.
Many of the people at my table had the special, which was a veal ravioli or the swordfish pasta. Both people commented that they were heavy (you are given WAY more than you could eat) but both dishes were flavorful and well prepared. Two of us had the homemade pasta ribbons in marinara and that too was a good choice at a place like this — the sauce was one of the best marinara I’ve tried. very fresh tomato/​basil taste and definitely made on site.
This was a great place for a group dinner — it was crowded and loud, but I don’t know that it would be a very good place for a romantic date night on a busy night. There were just a lot of people there.
We didn’t do dessert, but we did get a few glances of the dessert tray and it all looked delicious. (again, large servings, so beware if you are looking for something ‘light’.)

My fiancé recently went to Gitto’s for dinner with a friend and raved about it, so when he asked me to go, I said okay. I had not been there in 20 years and wasn’t impressed then, so I never went back. After reading many of the Unilocal reviews, which seemed positive for the most part and thought maybe it was me.
We were greeted and promptly seated outside since it was a lovely night. Our server came over quickly and took our drink orders. Bread was brought over a few minutes later and I asked for olive oil and some parm. The runner said «give me a moment». Our server came over and told me I could purchase olive oil, parm and spices off the appetizer menu for $ 5.00. I only eat one piece of bread anyway, do I said nevermind. Bad taste #1!
We ordered an app of Ravs and they were very good. I ordered the house salad and one of the house’s specialties, Veal Nunzio. My fiancé ordered a house salad and lasagna.
The server brought our salads and walked away. I sat and waited for the server to return and offer fresh ground pepper. I waited 10 minutes before any person that worked there to walk by. Finally my fiancé stopped the bus boy, who brought me a pepper grinder. Bad taste #2.
As I sat there eating my salad, I noticed the care and attention that our server was paying to other tables. Hmmm… I guess we didn’t as wealthy as other customers. Bad taste #3.
Our dinners came out and I was still eating my salad. After I finished, I tried my Veal Nunzio. It was awful!!! The veal tasted like it was poached in butter not sautéed. The sauce tasted like a packaged hollandaise with extra lemon added. I tried the haricot verts, which looked wonderful and but could barely get my fork in them… practicaly raw. I like them al dente but they weren’t even that. So I tried the potato purée and it was mealy and totally lacking of flavor. I had every wrapped and I thought I could try to make it edible at home. Bad taste #4.
The whole time I was attempting to eat my dinner, my finished salad plate sat on the table. Our server walked by many times and didn’t attempt to remove it. Bad taste #5.
At this point I just wanted to get the bill and leave. So we paid our $ 100 bill and left.
Next time, we will go back to Brazie’s, Anthonino’s or Trattoria Marcella. Never have I had a bad meal or service at any of these places and there wasn’t the pretentiousness I experienced tonight. My money is just as good as the next persons.
Two stars for the Toasted Ravs, the Maitre d’ and the well brewed Ice Tea.

What a wonderful experience. Classy and classic in the heart of St Louis’ The Hill. Outstanding food, outstanding service, great atmosphere. We had the toasted ravioli which was crispy and very delicious but the real star in the late was the red sauce. WOW! I tried each of the three main meals we were served. Veal? Spectacular. Rigatoni with (red sauce) homemade sausage. Killer. My all around fav was what I had. Eggplant Napolitano. What? Huh? Really? Must get! I posted a picture.
Service by professional wait staff is always a plus. Prices are decent. Wine selection is abundant and diverse. Parking totally stinks but they have a very responsive valet service so no worries there.
Come and eat and have the red sauce!

Great date night for any couple that enjoys good food and tasty wine. Staff is very knowledgeable and friendly. If your going on a nice evening don’t miss out on the patio seating. Lights, candles and acoustic guitarist in the background made for a very enjoyable night.
Appetizer, 2 entries (lage portions) and 4 glasses of wine totalling $ 98.00. I look forward to going back soon.

Perfect location to stop by and have a bite to eat before heading to a show at the Muny — which is exactly what we did!
Thanks to Open Table we were able to secure a reservation on a Friday night. I wasn’t sure how busy it would be but we were able to get in and get out in a timely manner. I had read that there was complimentary valet parking however there was no one outside the restaurant or a sign that said anything so we found our own parking in a lot a house or two down.
Our waiter was very knowledgeable, let us know the specials and instantly gave us the warm bread and our drinks. Our portions were huge and we were super happy to have split the meals between the two of us as we would have had plenty left over. We chose to go with their house made toasted ravioli, their own caesar salad and then their margherita pizza.
Great time, great service, can’t wait to visit again!

This restaurant has been around forever. I have been around forever. Two forevers came together for a wonderful evening of celebration of awesome food.
We have an area of the city that is a neighborhood dominated by fine Italian dining. This has been one of the crown jewels of the area. The list of celebrities that have eaten here is long but Frank Sinatra should sum up the caliber of food they serve.
I had two items their salad and their Pasta Seafood Suzanne. The salad came in Charlie Gitto’s own dressing, hand selected cheese, and for $ 1.50 I added anchovies. This is a high quality salad and the cheeses did not dominate the salad they complimented it in a very unobtrusive manner.
The Pasta Seafood Suzanne had homemade noodles, shrimp, mussels, clams, and bits of seafood in a light garlic cream sauce. To kick this up a notch they added a pepper spice that did not overpower but complimented the seafood and pasta perfectly.
Food impeccable, Service impeccable. Location impeccable. Amazing older building with free valet parking.

This place has great atmosphere, is classy and tastefully decorated — but that’s not why I come here. Hands down — the best baked lasagna on the Hill! I cannot rate anything else because I cannot order anything else! But I know I will leave a happy and content consumer of baked lasagna. All of it! Never left the place without cleaning my plate.

Since it was my first time in the Midwest, everywhere I went, I seemed to see Toasted Ravioli as a menu option. My boyfriend (being from St. Louis) had raved about this hometown favorite and had actually gotten me to try it from a Midwest bar in Los Angeles. It was okay– nothing special. Little did I know that in the Midwest, they actually made the pasta and stuffing from scratch and what a difference that makes!
So anyway, let me start off by saying the neighborhood The Hill is absolutely adorable! I loved the charming houses and the small family owned stores on every corner. We were greeted by the Maitre D’ and was advised to have a seat at the bar since we were a bit early. Working in the Food and Beverage industry, I was pleasantly surprised at how great the service was in the Midwest! We ordered wine at the bar and a few minutes later we were seated on the beautiful brick patio. Of course we started off by ordering Toasted Ravioli and to my surprise it was DELICIOUS! They were all different sizes so I knew they were all hand made from scratch. The stuffing was flavorful and not too heavy. Even the marinara dipping sauce was light and fresh. We both ordered pasta dishes and the portion sizes were fairly large; neither of us finished ours. The best part of everything was that you could tell the pasta was homemade. The Maitre D’ also stopped by all of the tables on the patio to ask how our dinner was going, which was great!
We were so full, we didn’t have space for dessert. I would definitely recommend Charlie Gitto’s for a night of great Italian cooking. The indoor part of the restaurant was a bit dark (sort of old Hollywood looking) but the patio was absolutely my fave. For a date night or just a casual dinner with family and friends, this is the place to be!

While this wasn’t the best Italian food I’ve had in my life, everything was tasty and service was great.
Charlie Gitto’s reminds me of one of those touristy Italian places you’d find in Times Square. Or like a fancier Cheesecake Factory. It looks upscale with the white table cloth and dim lighting, but I feel like it’s upscale in a Disney land kind of way.
Snobbery aside, everything tastes really good. Huge portions so you can totally share almost anything. Super nice waitstaff and everything came out quickly for our group of six.

We were in St. Louis for the weekend and had been doing all kinds of kid stuff for the last 2 days and hadn’t eaten anything yet other than pizza, museum restaurant fare and drive thru delicacies.
A friend had suggested we make reservations at Charlie Gitto’s Downtown. She said it was ultra family friendly, super casual, super fun and the food was incredible. I got this text while I was in a daze at yet another museum, so I quickly Unilocaled it, called the restaurant and made a reservation for 6.
Finally, after a few more hours of activity, I set the GPS to Charlie Gitto’s and was curiously puzzled when it said we were only 1.5 miles away from our destination. Hmmm. Strange I thought, because we were a good 20 minutes away from downtown St. Louis. We followed the GPS to The Hill and I quickly realized that I had made the reservation at this location, and NOT the downtown like I had thought. Uh oh.
Now, I tell all of this upfront because I was expecting a laid back, super casual, super family friendly place. We had just left the zoo for crying out loud. Charlie Gitto’s on The Hill was anything but casual. It was super classy, gorgeous, loud and packed to the gills full of patrons in suits and evening attire. Oh crap. I whispered my embarrassment to the hostess and said we were severely underdressed and I was sorry that we may have to leave. The beautiful and model-​like hostess looked at me in my zoo shorts and mom tee shirt and said, «Of course not! You are totally fine. Everybody is just fine. Please come in and we will have your table ready very soon.» I almost cried.
So, me and the hubs and all four kids sat down in our shorts, tee shirts and sneakers at the most beautiful big white table-​clothed table right smack in the middle of the dining room. Our waiter was so amazing and super attentive. We looked like hillbillies. He didn’t care. He didn’t care one bit! After my second glass of Moscato, I stopped caring too. So we had some rude old man sitting with a much younger lady (I’m sure his daughter) staring at us occasionally giving us snide glances, but I still didn’t care!
The entire wait staff was I-​N-​C-​R-​E-​D-​I-​B-​L-​E. The food arrived and I was overwhelmed by everything. So delicious! So very yummy. It was worth my initial embarrassment. Worth the weird, awkward stares from the old man who surely knew we were from out of town. So worth it.
So, next time I’m in town, and visit The Hill location again, I will be sure to dress more appropriately. Even though I’m sure the staff wouldn’t mind.