I have eaten at 2-3 Italian restaurant's in "The Hill" area of St. Louis. Which one's are everyone's favorites? Which would you recommend to a first timer with only one night in town?

Favazza's - I ate there on a trip with my fiancee in March, and it was fantastic.

I recommend Cunetto's. Moderately priced, great food, great atmosphere.

I agree with beckers2482. I have eaten at most of the restaurants on The Hill and Favazza's is my favorite, with Zia's a close second. I like Favazza's because the food is great, not too expensive, service is great, and they actually have decent parking (which many restaurants on The Hill lack).

I like Cunetto's too but I personally don't think its worth waiting in line for (you have to get there about an hour before the restaurant opens on Saturday to get in right away), as other restaurants in the area are just as good.

Tracy

"(you have to get there about an hour before the restaurant opens on Saturday to get in right away)"

I'm really curious about this statement as it reminds me of what I hear about places here like Outback and Carabba's. "We go an hour before they open so we don't have to wait an hour for a table." Huh? Is there a reason why waiting outside an hour before they open is better than waiting an hour when they are open and being able to eat at a decent time?

Favazza's has always been my favorite too.

Well, I don't know about other places and I'm not really one to wait at places for them to open, but in the case of good Hill restaurants, I can see where it would make some sense.

You can wait for an hour and get in right away, or at a place like Cunettos, you can get there after they open and wait for several hours. Some of these places have been St. Louis institutions for generations.

Patrick, I totally agree. Cunetto's, I believe, opens at 5:00. There is a line around the block by the time it actually opens, and a good portion of those people will still end up waiting because there aren't enough tables. You can sit across the street and watch the people start lining up around 4:00, like clockwork, every Saturday. My in-laws took us there for dinner and we got there early just so we wouldn't have to "wait for a table". Excuse me? We just waited for 45 minutes, outside, in the rain! At least if you get there later in the evening you may actually get in the door and have a seat at the bar until a table is free.

Tracy

I just saw your post Clifton and your probably right. The restaurants on the Hill get busy pretty quickly so we usually go for an early dinner soon after they open. As busy as Cunetto's is at 5:00, I imagine they would probably be even busier later in the evening, although perhaps waiting until 8:00 p.m. or after could help.

I, for one, would never wait an hour to eat at a chain restaurant like Outback. If I'm going to wait that long, it has to be worth it.

Tracy

I asked a similar question about 13 months ago. If you cilck on my name, I think you'll be able to find the thread.