My friend and I visited for the first time today at the suggestion of co-workers. We had heard Rigazzi's is a St. Louis favorite so we decided to give it a go! We had the most wonderful service and our food was absolutely delicious! Colin was our server - he was so polite and knowledgeable! I had the Fettuccine Rigazzi and my friend had the Pasta Florentine. Both came out hot and fresh and the garlic bread was also a perfect pair for dipping in our sauce. 10/10 would recommend! read more

I went here with some out of town guest and we sat out on the patio it was thurs 5-16 and the weather was gorgious. Food was really great as it always has been in the past. Our waiter was a older guy that had the personality of a man who hates his job and hurts all over. He was grumpy, never smiled, we even explained we had out of town guest who had never been there before. he didnt even bother welcomeing them. The food took a long time to come out 30minutes. The waiterappoligized & told us he had some big partys inside and thats what was slowing up the orders. I love eating on the hill but theres plenty of other spots that wont embaress me with crapy service. Luckly my guest were so gracious that they never even complained But were happy just to rest for three hours in the patio area. I will definatly not recomend this place to anyone again. Next time its mama tuscanis. read more

What a sad disappointment...We have frequented this establishment for years (family going back further than we've been alive). Been about a year since we've been so went back and the service was atrocious. The bartender (Carrie), who was also the manager on duty at the time, was not pleasant at all. We completely understand having a hard day and being understaffed but she was rude to her staff and forgetful of certain customers. We also felt she was left hanging with a bar that was poorly stocked so she had to flounder with getting new bottles and making due. we sincerely hope that Rigazzis changes things in the future. read more

This restaurant was recommended by a friend when I first traveled to St Louis. I go back every time I'm in the city. Sometimes going more than once while I'm there. Pasta is amazing, pizza is some of the best I've even eaten and while I'm nit a fan of toasted ravioli, whoa, this i amazing. I order it every time. read more

All ways been happy here . The salmon dinner is a must! Maybe the best around ? The table cloths are old style . I would change the....but that's just me. read more

Polite and attentive wait staff. Food was great with Gluten Free Menu. Made it that much better!

This is why St. Louis gets laughed at a bit by the folks from the east and west coasts. Rigazzis is considered an StL institution. Just because a restaurant is an institution does not mean it shouldn't attempt to serve food that is actually good and hire wait staff that actually care. Today in the Post Dispatch the owner is quoted as saying this about Yelp: "I don't like it," said Mark Aiazzi, owner of Rigazzi's restaurant. "It used to be, if you had a bad experience, you'd tell your friends, you'd tell your family, maybe you'd even tell us. But now, if the waiter doesn't get to your table fast enough, boom, you go online and tell everyone and their mother about how lousy the whole place is." Here is the article: http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/dining/restaurants/article_23d1fdc4-5a75-5358-a159-99c94b1b0b3c.html He doesn't want to get feedback or to improve. He wants the myth of Rigazzi's to be maintained. Yelp is a great thing. read more

Wow...wow....this place is bad. It has been open for how long? And the restaurant was packed? Who are you people and why are you here? I came here for my husband's holiday party and left going...really...really? The atmosphere here is typical Italian, nothing startling except that it was packed. Service, okay, nothing great, not awful. But then we come to the food. My husband and one other in our group ordered a dish which had short ribs and pasta. This looked more like someone threw a can of Dinty Moore over pasta. It was barely edible. Neither of them liked it...at all, not even a little bit. I ordered a dish which was suppose to have fish, crab and shrimp. I think I saw one shrimp swimming in a horrible tasteless sauce underneath a piece of FAKE crab....gross. Now I know we did not order typical Italian food, but from what I saw/heard, this wasn't great either. Maybe they should pare down the menu a bit and focus in on some really good dishes. At least they had bread as a filler so I didn't go home starving. I would rather eat at the Olive Garden, Macaroni Grill, Fazzoli's...... read more

How this place stays in business on the Hill is beyond me. Really poor service, poor salads, mediocre bread, and pedestrian pasta. If this tastes great to you, you've been eating at the Olive Garden too long. Hint one: if you're only going to a place because you've been going to 20+ years, you owe it to yourself to find a new place. Life is too short to eat mediocre pasta all the time, especially when the funds are going to a staff that ignores patrons and can't cook well enough to make up for everything else. Hint two: If you're an Italian restaurant and your claim to fame is that you serve beer in a fishbowl as if it's 1972 and such things don't come off like fraternity gags your 60-year old dad would have dug, you should take the next plane to the old country, get down on your knees, and beg forgiveness from every Rigazzi whose name you've soiled in St. Louis. read more

Food is just average. The atmosphere is nothing special. Tables are very close together and the place is very brightly lit. The toasted ravs are pretty bland and definitely not the best out there. We don't plan on going back. There are much better places on the Hill. read more

As a lot of other reviewers have stated: DON'T EAT HERE. I have been to Rigazzi's twice and I will never go back. Both experiences left me wondering why this place is so hyped up. There has got to be better Italian food in STL. My favorite is Del Pietros. The food here is horrible, the wait staff tries to get you in & out as soon as possible so that they can hurry up and seat the next schmucks that bought into the hype. Don't be one of those schmucks. read more

I had my heart set on a delicious steak dinner so I was relieved to see a filet mignon on the menu. Priced at $24 it was the most expensive item on the menu. I had ordered it medium well and we proceeded to wait for what seemed like a long time for two entrees. When our server brought out the food it was clear what had taken them so long, my filet was visibly well done. Only one bite was needed to prove the filet had been over-cooked and was unappealing. When our server had returned to check on our table I proceeded to inform him of the problem with my steak. Instead of offering a solution to my problem I was given an excuse that "the restaurant doesn't get many filet orders." In closing if your chef can't cook a filet then take it off the menu. I won't be returning or recommending to friends. read more

Shortly: this was about the worst "Italian" meal that I have had in the US. I live next door to Italy and spent most of my life there. Rigazzi's is a hoax when it comes to Italian food, sorry. First, we ordered bruschettas. Tasteless tomatoes, olives and parmiggiano on french baguettes are not bruschettas. Instead these should be made of toasted white bread, garlic, fresh tomatoes, salt and olive oil. Bottom line: disaster. Second, we ordered seafood pasta. I couldn't believe what I got. Frozen shrimp, artificial crab meat, cream and overcooked linguine (=even here, these were not linguine, but much wider pasta, closer to pappardelle). Instead, seafood pasta should be al dente linguine with white wine sauce, clams, white fish, garlic and olive oil. Plain and simple. When I asked for an espresso, I was told they sold the machine a while ago. I gave up and settled the bill for two - 60 dollars including tip and two glasses of sub-average (and slightly warm) white wine. All in all, avoid this place. read more

I didn't see the article you speak of, Seth, but I agree with you about this place. It used to be a "not bad" kind of place back when I was married in the 80's, but it has gone down hill. I was just here with a group and all of us decided we should have gone else where. The lettuce in the salads were brown on the edges and limp, the pasta was heavy and almost tasteless, the bread was not fresh and the pasta was mush. The wait staff ignored us most of the time and mixed up our orders, food was sent back. I won't go back unless I'm in another situation where I have no say, like this time. read more

I'm glad someone else started this, because Rigazzi's is almost as sacred as Ted Drews in this town. ...and I don't get it. The staff are inattentive, the ingredients are weak (limp lettuce, frozen shrimp), and everything is just bland. I've given them several chances to impress me (everyone's got to visit at least once, It's A Landmark!) and they haven't taken the opportunity yet. read more

Let us just assume that Rigazzi's starts with 100 points. -10 points for not making a reservation when my friend submitted one through their website. +10 points for instead sending her an invitation inviting her to interview for a wait staff position. And the ease of getting a reservation when we figured out what had happened to call to sort things out. +10 points for delicious toasted ravioli, which quickly became my favorite thing about STL. -10 points for forgetting that we ordered them. +10 points for being very apologetic when we brought it to their attention, being accommodating and giving them to us to-go, and not charging us for them for the inconvenience. Our waiter was seriously stellar. -10 points for a meh Caesar salad. -10 points for a meh entree - I had the pasta carne buco, which tasted kind of like shells with jarred gravy. +10 points for a HUGE menu, it is probably my own fault that I ended up with a bad entree, since it would have been incredibly easy to choose something else. Overall grade: 100 points. The highs balanced out the lows. It was a solid Italian dinner, a step up from something like Bertucci's - and our waiter was great. I'd go back! read more

There are a lot of really good places on the hill. We joked that even the QT gas station had better food. The pasta was mushy cold and bland. Spaghetti with meatballs came with no meatballs. Looked like a kids meal. The pasta itself had to have been cooked and left in water for a long time. Salad dressing was wrong. Cream sauce had separated. Worse than the food was the service. I understand when someone is busy, but a smile and Ill be with you in a bit would have been great. We had to ask for a new server because the original one was too busy to top at our table. This was honestly the worst combo of poor service and poor food that I have seen in ten years. read more

We used to love this joint for the food and the fishbowls, and we went a lot. . . . many, many times! Last time there, taking my father and one of my sons . . . not so much at all. Food was dry, not-inviting. Nobody took a to-go vessel. What happened after the fire?! read more

Warning!! The author of this review is often accused of liking bland food... That said, I really enjoyed my mostaccioli with meat sauce. There was enough sauce for me too - I hate it when places serve you a plate of noodles with a dollop of sauce in the middle of them. Bring on the sauce, I say! The noodles were perfectly cooked and I was given free reign of the parmesan. I thought the sauce was flavorful with plenty of meat, without being spicy. The bread was pretty non-descript and served cold with real butter (bonus point for that I hate fake butter). The slaw was also worth mentioning - it was crunchy and sweet and in my opinion really outshined the salad. Service was great and friendly and everyone was patient with me as I asked lots of questions to decide what to order. Oh, and I was out the door for $10! I'll be back... read more

Really hard to write this review. Many, many good memories of going to this place as a kid. Almost a tradition when I was little to go here before Blues games at the Arena (pizza). We went last Wednesday before heading to the Muny with our kids. It had been a long time since we last visited Rigazzi's for no real reason. My wife and I both had their Wednesday veal special. I guess I didn't read the description thoroughly because it was actually a veal patty with a slice of pancetta on top and covered with cheese. It wasn't what I was expecting, but my fault for not paying attention. Anyway, that aside, it was really not very flavorful. There was supposed to be a sauce on it, but I couldn't really detect anything. It came with a salad that had the house vinaigrette on it - an extremely slight amount I might add. It also came with a side of pasta which wasn't bad. Red sauce over tubular noodles with the right amount of garlic. My daughter had some fettuccine alfredo and seemed to enjoy it. My son ordered a burger. I had two fishbowls (shared the second) and my wife had a glass of wine. The fishbowl was the highlight of the meal. Very cold, very large. We got there early, so no wait. Our waiter did a good job and was visible throughout our meal. The gentleman that greeted us at the door was very friendly and gave us our pick of tables. I would give them an A+ for service. Our bill came and with tip ended up being around $100. I like to eat out and don't have a problem dropping a c note on a good dinner. I have to say, though, that this was probably the worst $100 I've spent in a long time. Considering all the other options we had, I was really disappointed. I guess if you stick to the sandwiches/pizza/beer it would be an ok place to revisit. I don't know if it has always been like this and in the past I just never ventured too far away from the pizza, but wow...I would be hard pressed to recommend this to anyone. Prior to this visit I would've recommended it in a heartbeat. Rigazzi's has been around for a long time and I hope they are around for many years to come. They're obviously serving food that some people like or they would've been gone a long time ago. Hopefully, we caught them on an off night. read more

Very good food. The place kinda needs a facelift but all in all I found the ambiance to be charming. Bread: amazing! Fettuccine: addictive cannoli: best ever. Great service as well! read more

Two stars, I rarely do that, damn. Fishbowls of beer, great! Although, my buddy did not need to order a fish bowl of Jack & coke. Food was very mediocre and the place looks like you're eating in someone basement, I hate vinyl checkered table cloths. Place packs them in though, guess I'm missing something. read more

Food was amazing taste wise. But service and timing wise not so hot. We waited 20 minutes for some sandwiches. Had to wait another 5 for someone to bring ketchup back. And waitress was busy doing other things didn't give us much attention and bae tender was a smart ass. Pretty much rolled his eyes when I asked if they had drink specials. Thought the atmosphere looked nice online. But was a horrible awkward dining experience all around. Wouldn't recommend or return. read more

Went with my wife on a Friday night and paid about $50 for deep fried ravioli, pizza and pasta, with no drinks. The service was fast, but the food was terrible. You could buy better food out of the frozen section of a supermarket - and for just a fraction of the price. I was very disappointed. read more

Seriously authentic St. Louis, Hill, Italian food; we're talking toasted ravioli, meat sauce on everything (my favorite dish is the meat filled ravioli, with a meatball on top, with slice sausage on top, topped with meat sauce... no joke). $20 for a bottle of wine...get two! Huge fishbowls of beer for the brew lovers too! We all got salads, which come with most entrees...don't waste your time. The salads aren't that good. Just order an appetizer of toasted ravs instead. I got the veal parm, which was pretty good. I wouldn't write home about it. The waiter was up-front with me that the veal was a processed patty, which I appreciate. I went for it anyway, and it was pretty good. There were two patty's on my plate, which was way more food than I could handle. My wife got the Arribiata pasta dish which she liked. She said the peppers were hot, but it was the usual meat sauce on top. Other favorites were cannelloni and the tortellini. Service was fast and friendly. All in all, a good experience. Just don't make the mistake of thinking that this is like a fancy italian restaurant. This is a good ole-fashioned St. Louis italian restaurant/bar. read more

In my opinion, this place used to be a lot better than it is now. I mean, there IS a reason for it's noteiriety. I remember coming here for a dinner with an ex-boyfriend's HUGE Italian family many years ago, and they simply loved this place. And they were all 100 percent Italian...and it was really delicious. But, yeah, any recent trip and the food isn't quite as flavorful, the staff isn't quite as friendly...it's rather sad. They are going to have to kick it up a notch to keep their good name. read more

We walked in on the recommendation of a friend. Rigazzi's has an inviting entrance. Walk into the bar and family style seating. This seems to be the best part of the experience. I still wonder why Rigazzi'a was recommended??? The ensuing dinner was less than impressive. The baked ravioli was filling, nothing else. Garlic? bread came with the meal and was average. May come here again if extremely hungry or just to get the fishbowl of beer. Probably just the beer... Can't go wrong there. Authentic? Mmmm... read more

I tried Provel and I liked it Tastes like Velveta and Plastic I tried Provel just to try it I hope my friend doesn't mind when I vomit on his carpet It felt so wrong it felt so right Doesn't mean I'll eat it again tonight I ate Provel and I kind of sorta liked it Let me first state, we do not have Provel in Massachusetts. I was forewarned about it, and even reading the Wikipedia article about it made me wanna die. My friend Jim and I went here first thing on my birthday. Fishbowls of beer happened. A pizza eating quest between two fat bastards like ourselves almost felt like a Lord of the Rings long quest. Even though we conquered, I still feel like food ultimately won. The waiters/waitresses came over every 2 seconds to ask us if we were ok. I'm assuming this is because we were wearing sunglasses inside, and shitfaced at 2pm at a family dining establishment. I appreciate the concern, but it was my birthday so, you know, fetch me another goblet of beer so I can lubricate my throat enough to choke down your pizza. read more

Inedible. Beer was okay. read more

Great service. four of us arrived about 4pm. food was great. I understand you need reservation later in the day since they are quite busy. Have a seat with Al. read more

Dear God this was the most bland Italian food that I have ever eaten in my entire life! The pasta sauce tasted like Campbell's vegetable soup mushed together and given a little bit of red color to it! Yuck! I wonder what happened to all the garlic and oregano that you normally taste in Italian food? It was absolutely brutal! The menu did not mention that the ravioli was boiled so it was not very flavorful either and I can't say I was too impressed by the bread which was cold! $9 for a plate of pasta was a bit much especially when it should have gone for about $5 or $ 6. The wait staff was not entirely knowledgeable about what was on the menu. I asked if the restaurant served French fries with garlic and Parmesan baked on top, and the server said he did not know. read more

I really wanted to like this place. Potentially it was great a long, long, long time ago and it is nostalgic at this point for those who grew up here. Honestly? The meat sauce surrounding the pasta (also not good) tasted as if it was from a Chef Boyardee can of raviolis. Sad. read more

95% sure they served me a McDonald's patty covered in red sauce and called it their "famous parmiciano."

Since it is nearly in my backyard, thought I'd try it again, after not being impressed the last 2x. No difference. Their red sauce is not even mediocre. Typical high prices for what you get. They refuse to enter the 21st century by not having any lo-cal salad dressings. I am sure I could whip up a tomato basil vinaigrette in an Italian restaurant. I've never had a pizza, so maybe those are good, but 13.99 for a small one is a bit much. I had the chicken saltimbocca. If you closed your eyes, you could tell there was ham on it, but you could not tell what else you are eating. The breaded ultra-thin chicken had no taste or flavor, nor did the white cheese sauce on it. Good thing they are famous for their fishbowl beers. The cheap tables and chairs are at least covered by red and white checked plastic table cloths. I guess that is Italian, although they serve some American food. Just a pet peeve of mine, but young guys are ok waiters for the female patron, but old guys are not what I want waiting on me. -------------------------- 9-13-14 TRIED IT AGAIN AS ALL THOSE CARS THERE CAN'T BE WRONG, CAN THEY? TINY SALAD FOR THE PRICE. THE SAUSAGE AND PASTA HAD GOOD SAUSAGE LINKS. THE RED SAUCE ISN'T RED. IT IS ORANGE AND NOT MUCH TASTE. WORST RED SAUCE ON THE HILL SO FAR, BUT I AM NOT DONE. JUST DONE GOING HERE. read more

We decided to come here on a whim. We like to try different restaurants every couple of weeks. My husband suggested Rigazzis and unfortunately I did not check yelp. Before we even walked in the door I knew we should have walked right back out. I hate to be judgemental. It was very dated and there was a big buffet as soon as you walked in the door. My husband said I was being pretentious but I said it looked like something off of Gordon Ramseys show "Kitchen Nightmares". Despite that we sat at the bar and ordered food and drinks. The place was packed! The people next to us at the bar were going on and on about how good their food was.... We ordered a glass of wine, a beer and toasted ravioli for the appetizer and the Friday night special to share for dinner. When the ravioli came out I was shocked. It didn't even look like toasted ravioli. They were tiny, dry, fell apart when you stuck your fork into them....they were just gross... the salad was iceberg lettuce and some dressing thrown on. Then our meal came.... we ordered the Friday night special. It consisted of fettuccine con broccoli, chicken parm and one other pasta dish that I did not try. It was all terrible. The chicken parm was burnt on the bottom and hard, the fettuccine was watered down and no flavor and it had to stop there. We quietly told the waiter we could not eat this food. That is was just bad... he asked if we would like something else and we said no. He brought our check that was still $30... Moral to the story this place gives the historic Hill of St Louis a bad name. I will never be going back. read more

If I could award this restaurant negative stars, I would. At this point, I think I would need someone to pay me to eat at this place again. I was visiting my best friend who made reservations to come on a Saturday night for 4 adults and 1 baby. When we were running about 5 minutes late, she called to let the restaurant know and then was told that even though she made a reservation, they weren't holding a table for us (so then what's the point of making a reservation?) Anyways, we were "lucky" that there was no wait and we were told we would be seated once we arrived. And so we arrived and were "greeted" by one of the rudest restaurant owners i have ever encountered... we should have turned around and walked away right there. We were seated in a separate room than the other dining area right in front of the bathroom. Not ideal but we didn't complain when we were seated. Our waiter was probably the only redeeming factor at Rigazzi's as he was truly kind and attentive. I ordered the eggplant parmiciano (not parmigiano for some unknown reason) and I think Chef Boyardee could have made a tastier meal. My meal came with a salad and a choice of a side (i selected pasta with their white sauce which was apparently homemade). My salad came on a saucer plate which was thawing so it seems they must have several of these salads already pre-made; how hard is it to chop up vegetables to put in a bowl? The dressing was just squirted on top in one area and based on the tiny bowl the salad was served in, it was almost impossible to toss without wearing the dressing... ok, moving on. The eggplant came out and there were about 6 slices which were all completely coated in flour. I honestly think a frozen meal would have been better. Why wouldn't eggplant parm actually look like eggplant parm instead of this slop? The tomato sauce was like sweet, lumpy ketchup. It was foul. I then thought at least I had some pasta - WRONG... there was more pasta water than sauce in the bowl. I was disgusted. Needless to say, I have never been more excited to eat bread and butter which I'm certain they didn't bake on the premises. I felt bad that we even had to pay for such a disgusting "meal" if one could even call it a meal. As we were wrapping up, that same rude owner marched himself into the kitchen and was screaming at someone in there... really charming. Whoever that jerk yelled at, please do yourself a favor AND FIND A NEW RESTAURANT TO WORK IN! This place is an absolute embarrassment to Italian restaurants in St. Louis. Not only will I never go back here again... I wouldn't even accept payment to be forced to eat here again. We came back home - and i was starving since i was not about to eat that pathetic excuse of food - so I enjoyed brisket from Sugarfire instead. My friends weren't as adamant on hating their meal as much as I was but in comparison to prior visits - they also agreed the place has gone downhill and fast. Avoid Rigazzi at all costs. read more

I had never even heard of this place before lunch today. I figured any place that involved the driving directions of "go down that alley and turn right at the end" would probably be a place for me. I was pretty much correct. I went with a couple of co-workers and a customer. The co-workers had been numerous times before but neither I nor the customer had heard of the place. Apparently, they've been there since some time in the 1950s...who knew? Two guys ordered the lunch spaghetti and it looked pretty good. I had their KC steak sandwich. The guy across from me had the Italian Beef. Mine was good but food envy set in pretty quick. Next time... Food was good. Prices are reasonable. Service was quick and attentive. I'm sure I'll be back. read more

I came here for lunch with colleagues and was expecting to be seated by the hostess at a table and we would wait for a waitress to order lunch. Rigazzi's has a unique setup at lunch where you proceed directly to a steam table in the front dining room where over twelve lunch specials are posted and you choose your special and sides where it is plated, move to the back dining room, grabbing your drink as you pass by the bar, and sit down to eat. It's very efficient for a work day lunch, this old school Italian restaurant at lunch time has eliminated the time to wait for a waiter, the time to wait for your drink, the time waiting for your food order to be sent to the kitchen. I chose as my special the Popeye hero sandwich. The server at the steam table yells Popeye to the kitchen behind him and explains to me that my order will be brought to my table. The Popeye hero was Pork Tenderloin on Italian bread with Provolone, Sauteed Onions & Spinach. At first I was disappointed that I didn't get to choose two sides like the other specials but that disappoint quickly went away when I tasted the Sweet Potato Fries the sandwich was served with. My biggest surprise was tasting the brown mustard on my pork sandwich. I am a mustard and onion sandwich guy--not a mayonnaise and avocado guy. The mustard completed the pork sandwich making it the best tasting sandwich in St. Louis. read more

Rigazzi's - Popeye hero sandwich, Friday lunch special, Pork with Provolone, Sauteed Onions & Spinach. Side of Sweet Potato Fries. - Italian Near Me - Saint Louis, Missouri

If you want authentic Italian in a family atmosphere this is the place. I've been coming here for 18 yrs and I enjoy it every time. Literally everything on the menu is delicious but ofcourse the pizza and toasted ravioli's are my favorite. If you like, get a famous fish bowl beer and belly up to the bar or relax on the patio! This place is one of the places I stop for my Cardinal pre-game meal! Everyone is friendly but if you're lucky Wally will be behind the bar and tell him I said Hi! read more

I'm not comfortable with tight seating. And I'm not sure but it seemed like one way in and one way out through people dining, not a real defined threshold. Lunch for two adults, two kids, spent close to $75, I thought a little pricey. I liked the artichoke appetizer, two pizza's, a salad, they were fine. Nothing really stands out as spectacular here. The story behind the decorations is interesting and it has a nostalgic location. That being said, the food was meh, I may or may not go back depending on family. read more