Ciao Restaurant Bar & Grill

This was an incredibly awkward meal! Like at least one other reviewer experienced, when we ate here we were the only customers in the entire place. It was a weekend evening, prime dinner hours. This bizarre deserted restaurant beginning should have been fair warning. The bartender/​server/​host/​jack of all trades was very nice. However, our drinks and food were miserable. The calamari was rubbery and inedible. My pasta was lackluster and the boyfriend’s food, nearly inedible. We were terribly disappointed!

We decided to go here at the last minute because we had a voucher from
, and I’m glad we did. The décor is brick, wood, and dark colors, generally a warm feeling, with open spaces. They had what I’d guess were Bosnian musicians, and at first they were way too loud, but they realized and turned it down, we didn’t have to ask. The service was excellent, attentive, and very friendly. Our waiter was genuinely nice, he really went out of his way for us; I feel badly that I neglected to ask his name, because he was wonderful. The food: while we all left full, a lot of the food is not actually Italian, even if they name it so. Our waiter recommended pizza for our younger diners, and after getting several other types of dishes, along with pizza, I can say with certainty that pizza is probably the way to go. As for the rest of our dishes, they were well prepared, with fresh ingredients, but, Italian? Not really, more like Bosnian/​Eastern European/​Slavic, etc. They need to transform into what it really should be: a Bosnian restaurant. This place has all the right parts to be so good, but the biggest problem is it is not Italian. It is obviously Bosnian owned, so why not run it as a Bosnian restaurant? I left firmly believeing in this establishment but it needs Gordon Ramsay to come and transform it into a charming, authentic Bosnian gastro pub. Serve good food with good cheer, live music, and it would be great! Until that time, stick with pizza and you should be happy.

Went on a Saturday night, early evening. We were seated immediately. Our server arrived just as we needed him to. We ordered a bottle of wine which was very affordable and an appetizer as well. The appetizer was calamari. I would not recommend it. However it was served hot and with French fries which I thought was strange. We then ordered our entrees, the linguini scampi and the four cheese penne. Both arrived hot, which I mention because since I moved to Saint Louis most of my meals have been served lukewarm. The scampi was so delicious that I give it a 10 out of 10. The four cheese penne was good but I would not order it again only because i desire something with a bit more flavor. The service was good and I will return and recommend Ciao to everyone.

Went back again for another stellar vegan pasta dish with artichoke hearts and capers! they also had $ 3 signature drink specials which were very good. I am really LOVING this place! I wish I could post a photo of my dish today… it was beautiful.

I don’t know how many stars to give. So the place is easy enough to find and there is parking on the street. I went with a group of 6 adults and 4 kids. We had called ahead so there was a table already ready for us. We were visiting family (we are from here but moved away a couple of years ago for work) so we were treating them to dinner. We ordered the pepperoni, four cheese and gyro pizzas all of which were delicious. We had the Bosnian sausage as well, which were also great. We ordered steak and schnitzel both of which were great. Unfortunately though we did also have a Caesar salad and the calamari which were not very good. That being said, the good food did not blow me away but was something I would eat again. The downfall of this place was that the bartender was serving THE ENTIRE PLACE ON A SATURDAY NIGHT. The poor guy was sweet and helpful but he was spread very thin as more and more people walked in the door. Because of that, we received slower than desired service and often sat wishing we had a drink to wash it all down. All in all the place is nicely decorated, warm, friendly and tasty. But they need to hire more people as one guy can’t bartend and run the place alone.

I like this place. My gal and I have gone here about 4 times and never seem to be disappointed. We are picky eaters too and usually find most Italian restaurants in St Louis (even on the Hill) to be flacid greasy piles of goop. Don’t get me started about «St Louis» style pizza (a fourth graders version of pizza). Yuck.
Ciao, on the other hand, has food items that are quite light and delicious (Southern Italian?). We have had the pizzas, calazones, salads, and various appetizers and have not had a bad morsel yet. The pizzas and calzones crusts are all light a fluffy, the spices are flavorful, but not overpowering, and the salads are plentiful and tasty.
The service has been great also. The staff is always attentive, friendly, and cater to your needs. The interior is clean and earthy with stone, tiles, and marble being the theme. They have Bosnian (I think) bands later in the evening that are a little kooky, but entertaining all the same.
I’ve read all the bad reviews today also and can’t say that I put much weight on them. Most of the people seem like they were expecting to eat Fazolis or Chef Boyardee type food, which sadly for them, this place does not serve.

From the calamari to the pasta in the Penne Ciao the food was cooked perfectly. I thought the look of the bar screamed for a roaring fireplace. The booths in the bar did (as someone already wrote) promote good posture but I didn’t mind although we probably would have stayed longer after we ate if the tables weren’t so low and we could lean on them to talk. Odd observation but true.
The pasta’s sauce was spicy but not hot. The texture was chunky but still clung to the pasta. I could have eaten a loaf of bread with that sauce and the sauce served with the calamari but oddly enough no bread was served. I’m not usually one to want bread but I wanted every bit of that sauce. That being said the portions were big enough that I was able to take half my pasta home and I have bread here so…
I was honestly surprised that there weren’t more people here. It’s really good food with an interesting menu and cozy ambiance. It deserves a crowd.

Service was very friendly and fast. The bread and butter were not good the butter spread seemed to be frozen and the bread was not good at all. We ordered the steak salmon and the chicken Alfredo arugula. All of the entrees were amazing steak was cooked exactly how I ordered (med-​rare) had a nice crust and the potatoes that came with the entrée were very good as well nicely salted and crispy crunch. Salmon was a little under seasoned but it wasn’t bad still moist. The chicken Alfredo was one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had in a restaurant. The atmosphere was really pleasant we went on a sat night they had live music playing and there were some patrons singing. For desert we had the tiramisu good but not great not bad for the price though overall a good experience there are little things that could be improved. Would definatly go again for good Italian food.

We went for an early dinner on a Sunday. The place was fairly empty, but the food was excellent! Really liked the décor as well. We will have to come back!

Great atmosphere. Went with red wine and shared the mixed Ciao combo. Everything cooked to perfection beautifully presented. Highly recommend.

I hate when people use MEH to describe their experience at a restaurant, but… MEH! That certainly sums up my experience at Ciao (and I was so hoping to love it).
We were the only couple dining at the restaurant on Friday, although early because we hit it up on the way to the ballgame. It’s nicer inside than I expected. One gentleman (I suspect an owner) was our greeter, bartender and server — he was the only employee in the joint except for a cook that we saw come out later.
During 4 – 6 pm Happy Hour they offer their $ 7 custom cocktails for $ 3, which enticed us to try them. We each tried a couple mostly-​fruity concoctions and agreed we would never pay full price for them. I was disappointed to find out after we left that we, in fact, HAD paid full price because they didn’t give us the Happy Hour price. Dammit!
For our dinner, I ordered a Caesar Salad and Italiano pizza (subbing pepperoni for prosciutto). Be warned, the Ceasar salad came out entrée sized, which I was not expected at $ 6. It was tasty. The pizza was good as well, but nothing too memorable. My dining partner tried the Fungi Schnitzel and said it was extremely tough.
Overall, the combo of charging us wrong + ghost town environment + just so so food means we probably won’t be back.

This restaurant had amazing food and excellent service! The place was nice and clean and the bartender was happy to answer any questions we had.
I would definitely recommend this restaurant to Friends.
Only thing to watch out for though is that the address is wrong on here. Don’t navigate to Gravois Road navigate to Gravois Avenue!!!

At the advice of friends we tried Ciao for dinner on a Thursday evening. It’s just a short walk from our house so we were hoping for a winner. We got one!
Started with a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and antipasto plate. Hard to go wrong at $ 20 for the bottle. Was a very easy to drink wine. The antipasto plate had a great smoked beef, salami and two kinds of white cheese. Also had a relish of olives, tomatoes and peppers that was tasty. Served with a fresh bread basket.
For entrees he had the linguini Alfredo with chef’s homemade sauce and I opted for spaghetti bolognese, also with homemade sauce. Good size portions that we brought some of each home. The Alfredo sauce was nice and creamy with none of the chalkiness some have. The meat sauce was well balanced, not too sweet and not too spicy.
We split penna cotta for dessert, the presentation of which was beautiful. It was a nice refreshing taste at the end of the meal.
We bought the Unilocal deal of $ 20 of food for $ 10. Good experience, we will be going back!

I love this place! it is very close to where I live, which is convenient. They often have Groupons, which I also love. But the food is excellent and I would go even without a groupon. They have a wide variety of pizzas and pastas. The pizzas are excellent. The pasta portions are perfect. The staff is always friendly. The server made a mistake and put in the order for the wrong pizza for my boyfriend and instead of just letting it go to waste, she gave him the wrong one and the right one. We only paid for one, of course. I thought this was very nice of her. She encouraged us to take them home with us! I know St. Louis has the Hill, but if you don’t want to deal with the crowds or prices, try Ciao!
Note: They have live music on Friday and Saturday evenings. We were there on a Saturday and after about 7:30, it was reservation only due to the crowd for the band.

Went here last night with a Unilocal deal. It makes me feel awkward to be the only table in a place, especially at 7:30. I really enjoyed the décor, very cool. I think the booths are more suitable to having drinks with a bunch of friends than eating dinner (taller seats, lower table, tons of space).
We had the antipasto plate. There were two kinds of cheese, and Gouda always wins me. Then there was salami and some weird looking but delicious ham (I think). You should try whatever that was. I liked the peppers, onions, and tomatoes on the side, and extra bread was free.
We got the spinach pizza. The crust is nice. Well cooked all the way across, crispy at the edges, and just soft enough to fold in the middle. It turns out I don’t like spinach on my pizza as much as the bf thought I would, but I would really like to try this again with tomatoes.
Pros: pizza, décor
Neural: service, lack of customers

We like it a lot! The food was excellent, as was the service.
We had the Pizza Luna as an appetizer. At first I thought it would need a dipping sauce of some type, but after having a few bites, I realized that a sauce would’ve just masked the awesome flavor of the dough and garlic. The two of us shared a pepperoni and mushroom pizza, which was also excellent. Ok, maybe not so adventurous, but since it was our first time, we decided to stick to the basics. The dough was hand tossed, but still light and crispy, and the sauce and toppings were great. The pizza and appetizer were plenty of food for the two of us. The only suggestion I would have is that they should have two options for each type of wine by the glass. The house Chardonnay wasn’t bad, but I would’ve really liked the option for an upgrade.
I can see why some people wouldn’t like the booths by the bar, but I really like them because they encourage good posture. The seats are a bit far from the table and the table is a bit low, but again, I found this to be a good thing. They have normal table seating as well, so don’t let this deter you. Overall we really liked the food and the atmosphere and will definitely return again.

My husband and I bought a Groupon for Ciao to try something new for a change. It’s not in the best location and we were a bit skeptical when we pulled up to see hardly no cars out front and the restaurant almost completely empty (I guess it’s a fairly new restaurant and not a lot of people know about it). We got our food and it was AMAZING. I got the garlic shrimp pasta and my husband got the tuscano pizza. Our server was great and very friendly. The restaurant is really beautiful, however the booths in the bar area are not the most comfortable. I would give the food, service, atmosphere, and free pizza coupon we got with our check 5 stars. I would give the seating and dead flowers at all of the tables 4 stars. We will definitely be back.

My friend and I enjoyed a really wonderful meal at Ciao this evening. It was my first time there and I definately will be returning. The Ciao salad was absolutely delicious. The balsamic dressing was wonderful. I was surprised by the size (such a large portion).
We ordered a Diavolo pizza. It was amazing. I was in the Mediterranean over the summer. This pizza reminded me of my vacation. The crust was crispy, light and was hot. The sauce, toppings and mozzeralla cheese blended together perfectly. The pizza had six large slices for $ 13.00. Our waiter was charming, polite and engaged in a pleasant conversation with us. I also enjoyed a glass of Cabernet. We ate a bit on the earlier side so the restaurant was not too crowded. It looks like they might play music there.
Next time, I should probably get my own pizza so that I can have some for the following day! Yes, I will be back! I was very impressed with my meal this evening!!!

Yikes. I actually feel bad for sharing but I must since I can’t help thinking about my experience every time I drive past this establishment.
Let’s start with good stuff. The design of the actual space has potential. Our server was a darling. The salad was acceptable, it’s just a salad. Prices are not intimidating either.
There was some bad stuff. My date and I ordered a Bud Select which tasted odd which was no surprise since it was six months old. After ordering a second beer, a Budweiser, I discovered it was seven months old. Nobody checks dates? Okay.
The dining room thermostat was set on 79 degrees on a July evening and it was every bit of that. SO HOT. The background music is just plain weird but we got a few laughs out of that fact.
So I order a steak, the most expensive item on this reasonably (cheap?) priced menu. I was informed they were out of steaks. Fine, you’re out of the most expensive item on your menu that I’d like to pay you to prepare. How about the cordon bleu (also beef)? They had that so I tried it and received something that looked like a twice fried chicken breast. It was ugly. I wasn’t willing to eat half of it and took the rest home just to be polite and pitched it in the dumpster before I even went back into the house.
Our darling server, after introducing herself, was obviously told to ask if we had an online deal and did so immediately which was awkward. Why would that matter?
Perhaps walking into a place on a Saturday evening only to see two other diners should have been a sign that this joint isn’t doing too well. I hate to say I won’t return to a local spot trying to do well but… there’s no chance. This was a unique experience for me in all the wrong ways.

Quite possibly the worst Italian restaurant I’ve ever been to.
The service was terrible and the food left MUCH to be desired. The whole experience was so bad I almost felt sorry for the owners. The place was completely empty. The décor is weird, awkward and uncomfortable.
Service was slow and rude. The waitress forgot to bring out our salad then acted like I kicked her dog when I politely reminded her. She later admitted she forgot to enter it in to be made… and then giggled at her mistake.
I’ve never been more disappointed in a dining experience in my life. Please don’t waste your money on this place. It’s mediocre food, AT BEST and overpriced for what you get.