I realized that after all this time, I still hadn’t made an STL restaurant recommendations post. Oddly enough, after living in the St. Louis area for about five and a half years of my life, I didn’t really explore a whole lot of the restaurant scene within the actual city. That’s mainly due to four of those years being my broke college years, but when I did venture into the city, I found some great spots. As you can see, I do love some good Italian food.

Cibo Italia

Cibo is a new restaurant in the Clayton area with some delicious sandwiches and a great patio. It’s the perfect spot to grab lunch in the summertime, enjoy a good sammy, and complain about the relentless humidity while being thankful that their patio has ceiling fans.

Hamilton’s Urban Steakhouse

Hamilton’s is one of the city’s most renowned steakhouses, and for good reason. The steak is indeed delicious, the service is exceptional, and experience is one to remember. I can’t remember exactly what it was on the menu that I got, but I do remember that it was easily the best I’ve had in St. Louis.

Noto

I figured I would include this on the list despite it being quite a way outside of the city since I haven’t gotten the opportunity to talk about how delicious it is yet. Noto is the perfect date night spot if you’re looking for a dimly lit, high class dining experience with incredible Italian food and superb cocktails – all while being relatively affordable.

It also has a nice speakeasy around the backside of the building that is definitely worth checking out.

The Hill

If you’re looking for the best traditional Italian restaurants in town, The Hill is where you need to be. My two favorites in the neighborhood are Anthonino’s Taverna and Zia’s on the Hill, both of which I have no pictures of. Nonetheless, they both make for fantastic, intimate dining experiences with food so good that it’s a crime not to enjoy a nice glass of wine with your meal.

Vicini

If you’re a frequent reader of the blog, you’ll know that this fantastic family-run restaurant was featured in my best restaurants of 2025 post. It’s truly a one-of-a-kind restaurant with probably the best Italian food I’ve tasted outside of Italy, and I couldn’t recommend it more. They hand-make just about every ingredient in every item they serve, making the menu completely different depending on the day – giving the experience an exciting spontaneity that you don’t see very often these days.

I highly recommend their cacio e pepe and any of their sandwiches.

360 Rooftop Bar

If you’re from out of town and you’re looking to do some sightseeing, this is probably your best option. The restaurant/bar offers an incredible view of the city and an unbeatable view of the Gateway Arch, as well as some tasty food to go with it. I remember their mac n cheese being a delicious option.

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Thank you for reading! If this post was helpful, consider dropping a like and hitting the follow button for a new post every Wednesday! If there are any places I missed, let me know in the comment section and I’ll try them out asap. While you’re at it, click on those social media icons below for more BPB content.

Have a great week!