DelPietro's Restaurant — Restaurant in Richmond Heights

First review from 2018: It's been years since I last ate at DelPietro's former location in South City, and was delighted to hear they recently re-opened right down the street from me on Big Bend. Last Saturday night, a friend and I thought we'd give it a try. We made our reservations online and were seated about 5-10 minutes early. My first impression of the interior was tasteful, modern, and clean, but maybe a bit too minimalistic; the bare concrete floor (or maybe something else I just can't put my finger on) made it feel a little less inviting than it could be. Our waiter was prompt and very courteous. We started with a pair of DelPietro salads which were excellent as expected, but perhaps a bit on the small side. The warm bread chunks, olive oil, and Italian cheese that was brought out to go with it were superb. I did take notice, however, that certain staff members were multi-tasking, and we observed one lady rotating between serving bread and taking out the trash, a questionable practice if no hand washing was involved otherwise. Speaking of hand washing, the men's room was out of paper towels, save for an oversized Kleenex box with a few damp morsels left.. I dried my hands off using my shirt.. Back at the table, I ordered the bissteca (steak) with gremolata. The meat was cooked to perfection with the gremolata adding just the right amount of flavor, and overall I would rate the meal as excellent. The potatoes were equally good, but I could've used a few more. Thankfully, my friend shared his balsamic veggies with me, so I was satisfactorily full by the end of the meal. We finished things off with a slice of tiramisu, which was excellent, but again, maybe an inch or so smaller than expected. I understand portion control minimizes waste and maximizes profits in the restaurant business, so I can't really fault them for operating with a budget in mind. However, for big eaters like myself, I would highly recommend sticking with the heavier, more filling dishes here like the classic bolognese, or splitting an extra order of pasta with your guests if you go the standard entree route.

UPDATE: Review for second visit, 10/23/21 I joined my friend and his wife for dinner at Del Pietro's on October 23. In summary, we were seated promptly. Service was friendly, fast, and efficient, but maybe the experience went a little too quickly?There was not a great deal of wait time between the salads and the main course which is both good and bad as we were indeed hungry, but we had a lot to talk about. Given that the check arrived quickly and coffee refills ceased fairly early, and we surmized they needed to free up some tables for waiting guests. For starters, you get these small squares of bread which you can dip in olive oil and/or parmesan. We polished these off in a matter of seconds and were not offered more - probably to control costs. I ordered decaf and refills were timely for the duration of dinner service, although they became noticeably absent at the most important time (dessert). I was not offered cream, although I usually drink mine black. I ordered the Del Pietro salad which was fresh and came in a nice-sized portion with a great tasting dressing. Dinner was their chicken piccata. Mine consisted of two flattened chicken breasts soaked in a pleasant wine sauce with capers and a small bed of spaghetti. Every bite was packed with flavor but the pasta serving was a bit too lean for me. For dessert, my friends ordered cheesecake and I ordered the tiramisu. My friend's wife had to flag down the bus boy for cream as it was not offered nor served initially. We all enjoyed the quality and flavor of the desserts but we all agreed the portions were too small relative to other Italian restaurants in the area. Obviously we live in a time where portion and cost control is important, and that is reflected in Del Pietro's reasonable prices. Candidly, I'd happily pay a little more for... a little more. All in all, this is a solid restaurant and we enjoyed...

Our first time in a new restaurant you can expect some bugs. Hopefully this place will take a good look and fix the issues. Positives: the food was good. The salads and pizza was very good. My mother enjoyed spaghetti and meatballs. My seafood pasta was delicious. 4 out of six of us were very happy with our selection. Don’t get the fettuccine or the mushroom pasta. Cons: The service. Our waiter was slow. He wasn’t friendly and should find a new job. Our water glasses were empty and he came by and filled some of our water but ignored my sisters empty glass. He gave us some oil on a bread plate for the Parmesan cheese once and took the oil off the table. We were a table of 6. That didn’t work out so well. They brought us another tables food, discovered their error, grabbed the plates and took the food to another table. When our food was delivered the owner (maybe, she didn’t introduce herself) came over and asked how everything was. We had just gotten our food. She saw them place it on our table. No one had taken a bite. How would we know? Overall: it was a little chaotic. I hope the service improves. There seemed to be too many employees and a little confusion. Our waiter was not good. I hope he finds his calling. My food was delicious. My husbands was bland. He will normally eat anything and be happy. He ate my food and I will have a pbj when I get home. I’m...

OMG!!!! OMG!!! OMG!!! We felt like we were eating in the heart of Italy! The atmosphere, the beauty and low light ambience. Candles on the tables. The voices speaking Italian and then the appearance of a beautiful woman whom introduce herself as Mary DelPietro. Along with her stunning appearance came a voice of welcoming us and offering to take our cheesecake to the refrigerator. My family and I were there to celebrate our birthdays! It was sooo difficult to make a food choice because everything looked so desirable. Tony was our waiter and he was so sweetly patient. He kindly repeated the choices on the menu more than 4 times because we could just not make a decision (LOL). Tony kept our glasses filled.

Under the "Antipasti" we ordered the Fritto Misto - It was so delicious and plentiful! Some family members tried the Lasagna and others tried the tutto Mare-shrimp and we tried the jumbo shrimp on creamy risotto. Everyone was sooo pleased with the various dishes. The portions was enough for 2 or more to share. As I sit here at my desk typing this review, I am simultaneously reminiscing of our dinner we had last night. The Food was/is heavenly, mouth-watering and scrumptious. The team-work is impeccable! This restaurant is a must-go-to and a must-return-to. We are so in-love with DelPietro's Restaurant!

Mrs....