A bar that serves pizza, dark, shoddy looking interior, looks alone were enough to make me turn around.

I'm in St. Louis every month or so for work, I try and make it a point to stop by as often as possible. It's a great little hole in the wall Italian place. A very local family owners feel. The pizza are great but the cannelloni is my absolute favorite. read more

Came in from out of town on business and chose Massa's based on the reviews and that it seemed like a good, local establishment. Despite the very friendly staff I have to give a two star review. The food was not good at all. It seemed to be "diner" quality Italian, rather than what you would expect from a decent Italian place. It is not particularly comfortable, run-down interior, with a local '80s hit radio station playing a bit too loud. I suppose you could do worse, but I would not recommend Massa's. read more

All I can say is the food is awesome and the portions are humongous. I eat here 2 times a week ( sometimes more) The waitresses are very nice and always there when you need something. The bartender in back is full of charisma, loves the warriors and doesn't mind if you show up at 9:55. Yes it's hood adjacent Yes it's hard to get to Yes it's dark and dingy i Yes it's a bit more price than applefridays But if your in town and near the airport you'll regret it if you don't stop by!! read more

First time here and it was early our favorite place we've been. We got the toasted ravioli and garlic bread as appetizers, and I strongly recommend both. Especially the tortellini which is a local specialty. The cannelloni and tortellini were on point with delicious, rich sauces and fillings. Our server, Katie, was very friendly and attentive, offering recommendations of her favorites and over all just being an absolute pleasure. Also the heavyweight wine was a great pairing with our meal. I strongly recommend anyone in the area give this place a visit! read more

It's hard to believe I'm the first person to review Massa's, they've only been there 34 years! This is again one of those places I would NEVER venture into without a recommendation. My co-worker wanted something close and while we had a perfectly good recomendation to an Italian place on The Hill, it was late and we both have early flights. So at the recommendation of our the desk clerk at our hotel we wound up at Massa's. Please don't let appearances fool you, the food is very good. We split an order of the toasted ravioli served with bolgonese sauce for dipping...YUM! I'd never had these before and was pleasantly surprised. My dining partner ordered Salmon served on a bed of linguine with Pesto (not on the menu) which turned out very good. At the recommendation of our server (she's worked there for 29 years) I ordered the Gamberi (sp) pasta, which, while not my favorite was tasty. We both shared a piece of chessecake and now I'm stuffed. Give Massa's a try if you're in the area. It's a little kitschy, but the food is pretty good. Oh, one thing Missouri definitely needs to do is pass a ban on indoor smoking. In a small place like this the smoke can really get to you. read more

Came here for dinner. For a small place, the noise is like a bar. It's a quaint place. Its confusing for anyone who is not a regular because there isn't a hostess to greet you upon entering. In fact, you stand there trying to figure out if you sit yourself or wait to be seated...as I did. Not even the customers who are seated will help you...kind of rude if you ask me. There is no sign to let you know what to do. I like the decor but then again it is kind of cramped quarters. The lighting is dim. The food is delicious! I had the Spinach artichoke appetizer...mouth watering greatness. The bread is fresh out of the oven hot. The marinara meat sauce is soo good. I definitely recommend this place to Italian food lovers. read more

First time here, previous reviews although not bad in nature of ratings, they don't pain a clear picture on this place, so I decided to give them a shot. The decor no doubt is from a movie, not that it was inappropriate, but it is dark inside, lights kept at a low setting and the red blackout curtains certainly add to this place. One person in my group visited this place 20 years ago and stated the setting/decor has not changed a bit. I ordered the stuffed portabella mushrooms as appetizer. They were phenomenal; soft, creamy and the seafood stuffing was well cooked, delicious and with plenty of flavor. I also ordered the Tutta Mare; pasta on white sauce with plenty, PLENTY of seafood including shrimps, scallops, clams and read more

I think this place has a great atmosphere. I love that it is dark and homey. We started with a stuffed portabella mushroom that was delicious. It was served with an over abundance of crostini which seemed unnecessary. Next was a Caesar salad that had a great dressing that I believe was homemade. We had sockeye salmon for our entree served with pasta. If I could do over I would get veggies instead of pasta and stay away from all the bread. My only complaint is that I felt a little rushed by our server. read more

Okay so I have to say like many have said on here....IT IS UNCOMFORTABLY DARK!!!!! I say uncomfortable because you cant really assess the cleanliness of the place but this is a straight up mom and pop one step up from a hole in the wall so dont expect nice digs but definitely expect good food. If you come here you have to get the stuffed portabella mushroom. It is huge and filled with lots of seafood, garlic, and cheese. We split it 3 ways and it was plenty and it was very good! It was def the highlight of the meal. I had the canelloni. When i get canelloni Im used to having it with both meat and beschamel sauces and it being filled with a meat mixture. Their canelloni comes stuffed with meat, cheese, spinach and mushrooms and it just comes with meat sauce so I asked for some alfredo sauce as well....foul! The alfredo sauce by itself is very good; however, I was not expecting my canelloni to be filled with a mixture of meat, spinach, mushrooms and PROVEL Im not from St Louis and never have I ever had real Italian food made with PROVEL cheese. I expect this on some of the pizzas out here but in canelloni? They could have at least used ricotta but when in Rome.....you just dont order canelloni again lol it would have actually been very good but it had a LOT of provel inside and outside so it was a tad bit overpowering. It had a very good flavor and was cooked perfectly. If you like provel cheese alot, you would love this stuff. My bf had the chicken parm and it was pretty good. It comes with a side. I suggest getting the alfredo noodle side and eating it with it. It was very good as well. My one year old def enjoyed his alfredo pasta. My cousin had the cajun pasta and it was really good too. I want to give 4 stars but the darkness and the fact that they used provel all over and through my dish gets them a markdown for not being authentic Italian. Overall, aside from it being too darn dark in there, Id def go back there. I'd like to try some other dishes. They should consider opening the blinds on the huge front window they have and letting the light in. We forgot it was still daytime until we went back outside. Im convinced the owner is a vampire. read more

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I travel for work quite a bit and rely on Yelp for a quality meal all over the country. I trusted the 4+ star rating even after looking at the pictures...my fault...look at my pictures. I ordered the chicken pesto. I have never seen a layer of thin neon green liquid that was called "pesto sauce". I would not come here again or recommend that anyone subject themselves to this food. read more

Massa's - What is this watery neon green liquid they are calling pesto sauce? - Italian Near Me - Bridgeton, Missouri

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I feel like St. Louis has a really top notch selection of Italian places. They aren't all amazing, but most of them are pretty damn good. I don't just mean the Hill either, although that certainly is #1. We have amazing Italian places all over the area. It's to the point where anyone going into an Olive Garden looks around nervously to make sure nobody sees them walk in. So I had high hopes for Massa's. It's a local chain with three locations in the area. The evening plans called for a nice place in north county, and since this particular party all agrees on Italian, that was the choice. And apparently, this place has a good reputation. I know better than to judge a book by it's cover, but wow this place looks rough on the outside. Once you step inside, and give your eyes 20 minutes to adjust to the near pitch black lighting, you will see that the interior is nothing special either. Wood panel walls, tacky random pictures, and zero natural light. A great place for both a mob meeting slash 70's theme party. Now that would be worth going here for. But I am more than willing to look past the decor for a tasty meal. The toasted ravs were straightforward. My baked Mostacolli was pretty decent actually. But everyone else's meal....sucked. The spaghetti was described as tasting "soapy". The pizza was awful. I don't think I have ever had a less flavorful pizza in my life. The bread was ok, I guess. Service was very good but we were practically the only people there. One star for that and one for the fact that my Mostacolli was edible. Even if our bad food was just a fluke, it still is ugly, dark, and no different than any Pasta House location. I would guess that the other locations are probably better. It would certainly be impressive if they were worse. read more

What a wonderful and yummy surprise when looking for a restaurant after leaving the airport. The food is DELICIOUS. And the (lower) prices were a pleasant surprise, too (especially the good wine). The service and atmosphere is fabulous. read more

I really enjoyed my experience here! Walked in with a party of seven and were sat immediately. Our drink and appetizer order was taken right away and the apps came out quickly and were delicious! We had the spinach and artichoke dip alongside the toasted raviolis, yum!! I ordered the chicken bianco and it was a good sized portion and was very good! Our service was the standout winner of the whole experience! Our waitress was phenomenal and even brewed my grandfather a whole pot of decaf coffee! They were all so sweet and thoughtful! Too bad I live in California or I would be a regular here! read more

An amazing meal every time! I've come here on work travel twice now and have not been disappointed! Be prepared for dim lights and delicious food. You can go wrong with the Cajun pasta, seafood pastas, stuffed fish, or really any other pasta dish. Highly recommended, but just know that the plates will be huge. Looking forward to my next trip! read more

Massa's - Seafood pasta with cream sauce - Italian Near Me - Bridgeton, Missouri

I went with several coworkers for dinner and will not go here again. It's a hole in the wall place next to a cemetery. I drove around for almost 20 minutes trying to find it. When I did arrive, it looked old and run down. I was hesitant to go in, but my coworkers insisted. Inside was dark and small. Surprisingly it was full of people, mainly businessmen. The dining area was small. We had to put 2 small tables together to fit us. I literally had only a small corner of the table to use. We were elbow to elbow next to each other and to the customers at the next table I ordered the Fettuccini Pollo. It took almost 30 minutes for our food to arrive. My food was bland and unappetizing. The chicken was overcooked and dry. I didn't eat but half of it because it was so bad. I ate one of my coworker's pizza and it was OK. For almost $20, I expected more. Instead all I got was dry chicken and pasta dough. read more

Pizza is edible. Pass on the rest. Bland and nasty. I had the shrimp scampi, the wife had the Cajun pasta, and the kiddos had chicken strips and fries. Let me say this place is small. I think my bathroom is bigger than this place. I feel sorry for the people who were seated literally 3 feet from the women's restroom. The Cesar salad had very little dressing on it, but they made up for that with about a pound of parmesan cheese. Yuck. The shrimp scampi was cooked good enough, but the mushroom sauced pasta that came with it had absolutely no taste, very bland. I didn't attempt to try the wifes Cajun pasta but she mentioned it was okay. I did try the kids chicken strips and they were quite disgusting. I was wondering why the kids were eating more of the stale bread and butter than they were their chicken strips. The wait staff weren't rude or unfriendly in anyway, but they just seemed uninterested in anything going on. I won't be back. I normally love supporting locally owned places and try to go to them as much as possible, but Massa's will have to step it up a bit if they want me back. I guess it's back to Macaroni Grill for lobster ravioli and seafood linguini. read more

Great food, service and ambiance. Went there for the first time tonight. All 3 of us were raised next door to The Hill and any Italian restaurant not on The Hill is suspect to us. Proved us wrong. Little hard to find and not spectacular from the outside but great surprise inside and well worth the effort. Good prices, GREAT food, old world ambiance. Bit of a drive for us but we will be back. read more

Very small, dark, and impossibly cramped Italian restaurant that is hard to get into because of the road and parking. The food however was delicious! I had the Cajun pasta, a salad, and a slice of cheese bread. I didn't finish half of it because it was so much! The waitress was entertaining and totally accommodating. Use a flashlight to order, order extra - cause you'll want to bring home leftovers! read more

Awesome food! Pizza is excellent, similar to Imo's style but much better. Cheaper also. Cheese garlic bread melts in your mouth and is oh-so gooey. So good! We have had other entrees besides pizza, but it has been a long time and I can't remember exactly what we ordered, just recall it was chicken for me and pasta for the hubby. I can say we never had anything we did not like. read more

Massa's - Pic of half cheese, half green pepper pizza. Part of it is gone since it did not make it home before we started eating it. - Italian Near Me - Bridgeton, Missouri

Cool place. Definitely drawn in by the look. I'd go back though, it was quiet, nice bar, divey. Food was okay, but I would probably recommend to stick to a classic -- spaghetti w/meatballs and a big glass of cheap, red table wine. It's what I imagine Frank and Deano would do, at least. read more

Massa's - Exterior -- Missouralian. - Italian Near Me - Bridgeton, Missouri

I dined there on a Monday night @ approximately 6:30pm. The place was roughly 30% full. The service was nice and quick. I had the Alfredo and a salad. The salad was very good, maybe a bit too much cheese. Their house dressing is very good. The pasta was cooked well and the sauce was exceptional. No too salty like some Alfredo's can be. I'll go back. read more

Food is always amazing. It is Italian at its finest. Staff are friendly and strive to give you thier best efforts.

This is one of our very favorite places to go despite the odd ambience of the place. It is a dark and tiny restaurant which can get chaotically busy at times, but that is testament to how amazing the food is. Their owner is a hoot, & a lot of the staff has been there for 20 plus years. My two favorite meals in the world are the beef Pepe and the Cajun pasta. They are both so phenomenal I have a very hard time deciding. The stuffed mushroom appetizer is fantastic as well as their salads and cheese garlic bread. You really can't go wrong here with whatever you decide. There are several other locations, but even though it is tiny and can be very hard to find if you are not local, this is the original Massa's, and by far the best! read more

Was visiting area stay at the Embassy Suites (a dump) and looking for a decent place to take the family. Other reviews sounded good and so we tried. The place is very small with a dark romantic restaurant feel. Blazing hot inside despite A/C wall unit so wanted something light, not hot, heavy food. Tried a chicken Caesar salad and pizza. Both were horrible. The chicken in the salad tasted like it came out of a can, the dressing was garlic and mayo and the cheese on the pizza is that fake cheese that you find on low end pizzas that completely ruins the taste and the thin crust was cracker thin and tasteless. Others had pasta dishes and seemed happy with them. We did not try the dishes mentioned by other reviewers who liked this place so can't speak to those but would say avoid pizza and salads and hot days. read more

Really enjoyed my dinner with my son during my visit to St Louis area. The food was delicious. We ordered the seafood stuffed mushroom and it was amazing. Definitely need to come back. Very nice wait staff, cozy atmosphere and a decent wine selection. Prices were really good too. Recommend for sure. read more

Not the greatest Italian food but not terrible. Staff was friendly but wait was a little long

HANDS DOWN THE BEST ITALIAN FOOD! For the price and the quality you can't beat it! The pastas are incredible! Antwan is the best pasta chef this side of the Mississippi! I will be coming here on every layover I get in STL. Do yourself a favor and come to Massa's! read more

Massa's - Italian Near Me - Bridgeton, Missouri

Always a great experience! Food is phenomenal and service is great too! The atmosphere of this location really makes this place unique - very authentic! read more

The food was so good that I felt as if I had to make an account on here to explain. I'm actually surprised that there are any bad reviews on here in the first place, but have come to the conclusion that every place has "off" nights. First, getting to the place can seem a little difficult because it is right off of Lindbergh but it truly wasn't as hard as some of my friends were making it out to be. And although the parking lot was small there was plenty of room for a full house of people (the restaurant is small but it is the original building!). The servers were incredible and the overall service for the night was perfect. The bread was warm and fresh, the garlic cheese bread was delicious, and the fettuccini Alfredo was amazing. The pasta had to have been the best I've ever had. I found that the sauce separates after it's been in your fridge and then you try to reheat it, but heating it on the stove again seemed to fix that. I had such a simple meal that ended up blowing me away and I will definitely be back! The only thing I regret is not getting around to writing this review sooner. read more

Adam and his staff are amazing. The food was outstanding. If you haven't been there you are missing out

I ordered a two topping pizza and 2 salads tonight to go . When I went to pick them up I went to the restaurant bar as always . The guy that took my order was on the phone . 2 different waitress came by and asked what I needed . When I told them I was picking up an order I was told I would have to wait for the guy on the phone . So 7 to 10 minutes later I was helped . The order was sitting on a bar table out in the open . The pizza was cold , floppy and not even cut all the way through . The amount of toppings on this pizza were a joke . You get more toppings on a 5.00 dominos . When I called to tell them all I was told was sorry give us another try . Wow ! I sure miss the old staff . Jonnie , Chrissy , and most of all Bill . I bet Bill would be horrified with the food and the service I received . I have been a life long customer. I have seen the decline in a his location unfortunately it is not he closest one to where I live . Don't know if I will give it another try . read more

Our family has been eating at Massa's for years now we still love it. We've never gotten bad food or service. I've never found artichoke dip that is better than Massa's. The manicotti and cannelloni are great; tutte mare is a personal favorite. If the Bridgeton one is too dark for you, try the one in Winghaven; it's bigger and more modern. I've never tried the one in Kirkwood. read more

Food was great. Thoroughly enjoyed the avocado dip. My husband likes spicy things so he tried the Cajun Shrimp Pasta while I had the Alfredo. Both were really good. Only reason I didn't give this five stars was because the staff was fairly loud and the building a little run down. Even while the staff was in the kitchen we could hear their conversations plain as day. And do I want to look at the cleaning cart my entire dinner? No. Waitress was very polite and attentive and drinks were good as well. If all you care about is the taste of the food, definitely try Massas out. But if you are wanting good/nicer atmosphere, somewhere else would probably suit you better. read more

One of the best pizza's and terrific salads. Maryann is the best waitress and don is a terrific bartender. I would recommend this restaurant read more

After getting a ride from the hotel shuttle, I entered the older looking building without intrepedation (I had been briefed by the concierge at the hotel) to a dark smoke filled room half full of diners apparently enjoying their meals. It's alot darker than in the pictures on their website. The hostess took me to a table close to the back wall when I spotted it; room at the bar. She happily took me to a chair, offered me a menu and departed. After about 10 minutes the hostess came back and offered me the wine list. The bartender finally came over (he was cavorting with a lady on the other end in a red outfit). I ordered a glass of Cab and looked at the menus. The wine was somehow warmer than room temperature which made its taste suffer alot, and the wine list was nowhere as ornate a their webpage advertises. I ordered the Tutta Mara and a salad with house made creamy Italian along with crumbled blue cheese. The salad arrived quickly along with some warm unsliced French bread with packaged butter melting underneath.The salad, a bagged blend of green lettuces was fresh looking and cold. The home dressing was remarkable. It's flavors took the bland lettuces into a new realm of exquisite flavors. The blue cheese was a luscious Gorg that went well with the now cooler temped Chianti which I ordered. The single round italian sweet/hot pepper was the perfect support to add flavor to my first course. The bread was just bread. When I was only about half way through with my salad, the entree arrived piping hot and steaming with the fragrant smells of the sea. The pasta was cooked correctly with a parm and cream sauce; which was not real thick but still pleased my palate. The clams, crab and scallops were cooked very nicely although the shrimp were over finished and a bit rubbery. I could not find any mussels. The portions were large and the service; once I finally got waited on was okay overall. I would go back once again. Would have posted pictures but it was too dark without a flash. read more

The silverware (which was missing until I snagged some from another table) was dirty. Hard to tell, though, since the place is dimly lit so give yours a good look if you go. The Cesar salad I got was swimming in dressing. I ordered a pizza and while the crust was very good, I swear there was cheese whiz on it. My business partner had a pasta dish that looked better than my pizza and I wished I had gotten it instead. Not horrible, but enough about it that I didn't like that I probably won't go back. read more

I'm utterly shocked at the rating this place has. It's much too high. From the outside the place looks like a run down shack. Upon entering the establishment it's so dimly lit that I wondered what they were hiding. It turns out they were hiding how gross the pizza is. I like Chicago style pizza so this was just way too different. The cheese seems like chemical cheese (like velveeta) because of how it spread when melted. It also tasted like fake chemical nacho cheese except more provolone-y. My daughter had the toasted ravioli kids meal and the dipping sauce tasted like chef boyardee sauce. I was also disappointed that they didn't offer anything other than pop for kids to drink. One plus is that we rolled on at 6:30pm on a Friday with 14 people. This does not outweigh the quality of the food. read more

I was staying across the street at the Embassy Suites and was told to go there. I am so glad we did! A little whole in the wall Italian restaurant with GREAT food and service. When I come back to STL I will be eating here again! read more

I used to eat here 20 years ago - for fancy prom night dates. Intimate setting, terrific pizza, traditional St. Louis Itslian. Not too many places like this are left. High quality, moderate price. Takes me back in time... Wonder if that prom dress still fits? read more