Best Italian Restaurants in St. Louis, Missouri

Just a few minutes from downtown St. Louis, neatly tucked away in the southwest corner of the city, sits the neighborhood known as "The Hill." Chef Mario Batali of The Food Network calls The Hill one of the top "Little Italy" neighborhoods in the country. 

Settled in the early 1900's by Italian immigrants, this neighborhood has stood the test of time. Some things haven't changed very much over the years. You can still get authentic Italian groceries at one of the many small corner stores that dot the area, or play a friendly game of bocce, which is Italian lawn bowling. Even the neighborhood's fire hydrants are painted green, white and red in tribute to the nation's tri-color flag. Baseball personalities Yogi Berra, Joe Garagiola, and Jack Buck grew up on Elizabeth Avenue on The Hill and the street is now named Hall Of Fame Place in their honor. There are so many good Italian restaurants on The Hill (and scattered throughout other parts of St. Louis) you could just about stumble into any place wearing the tri-colors and get a pretty decent meal, but here are a few of the favorites:

Tony's 410 Market Street (314) 231-7007 Tony's is the only restaurant ever to receive the AAA Five-Diamond Award in the state of Missouri and one of only 34 in the entire United States. The perfect meals, fine wines, and the most elegant service combine to make this St. Louis' premier restaurant. The waiters, dressed in Tuxes, great you at the door with white linen draped over their arms and lead you up the stairs to the second floor dining room without ever even turning around. The waiter going up the stairs backwards is just a hint of the personal service and attention that you are about to receive. Pick something off of the menu, all the favorites are there plus a few very special creations, the only drawback is that the prices are out of reach for most of us common folks. But what the heck, you can always buy Tony's sauces in a jar at the local supermarket for about 4 bucks.