Café Piazza — Restaurant in St. Louis

Update (April 2025): Dinner at my (former) fave.

I ordered a panzanella salad--came out with just tomatoes and olives, no cheese or croutons. I mentioned it and they took it and fixed it. I also ordered the Lil Bread, which was burnt, and the dipping sauce was just oil and rosemary, no balsamic. Some guy was talking to the new owner while his kids ran races back and forth across the wood floors of the restaurant, as well as behind the counter.

My stomach, which had felt grody all day, felt less so after eating and I asked what desserts they had--only to be informed they were out of all their desserts. The owner let me know he had only recently taken over, and that three days prior he'd fired his kitchen manager. I said yes, the food seemed different. He said, "For the better?" and I said, "Sorry, no," and mentioned the above. He apologized and offered to make it up on my next visit, but there won't be one. And not just because I'm returning to Mexico.

What a damn shame. I've recommended this place to probably a hundred individuals in my five years in STL, including the Uber driver who brought me here today. I think I'll forget this meal and try to remember all the good ones. But I do hope the new management can improve.

Previous review (pre-2025): My favorite restaurant in St. Louis. The vibe is different depending on who's working and the music they're playing. Sometimes it's punk music, sometimes classic rock. The place is absolutely gorgeous, with an STL-themed mural on the ceiling and tons of art to check out while you eat.

I don't even know where to begin on the food. You really can't go wrong! I get the Paint Your Own Pizza usually, with veggies and white sauce. Their appetizers are incredible--the Lil Bread is great, with balsamic-rosemary oil to dip it in. Also the goat cheese marinara dip. And when I used to drink, their house white wine was my favorite.

I just love the ambience, the location, and the people. The food is really a bonus. These pics are older so please excuse...

Ordered carryout. Immediately got a text that the pickup time was 30 min later than quoted. Arrived and was told 5 more minutes, putting it at the tail end of the updated quoted time. No problem.

Ordered Lil Bread and pizza (first 2 photos). Total was $19 before tax and tip.

Based on photos, I was expecting a small loaf of bread. It was bread nuggets. Great texture but no flavor. Not even a yeasty bread flavor. Dipping oil was heavy on the vinegar. I'll be tossing them in herb seasoned garlic butter in the hopes I can salvage them. Don't think they're worth the money as-is.

Pizza is ok. It has some flavor. It's rustic. Not anything to write home about.

I doubt I'll be back.

Update: 10/30/24 (third photo) Came for a late lunch - dine in. Ordered the Sicilian with extra sauce and pepperoni at the bar, and then say outside. They said it would take longer to bake, but it didn't seem to take long at all.

I'm accustomed to Sicilian being thick, almost like focaccia, and rectangular. This was round and kinda like hand tossed. Maybe 11"? I wouldn't call it Sicilian. It tasted very good, though it was very light on the pepperoni. The sauce was definitely the star here.

Also tried the little bread again. This time it was lightly coated with garlic butter and dusted with Parmesan, and the oil was not overly balsamic. The flavor of the bread was really good. Next time, I would skip the oil and ask for extra tomato fillet sauce from the pizza to dip it in.

With the pizza passport, the total was...

Was a an interesting experience to say the least. Ordering process was the day before and was a lot of back and forth. In the establishments defense, they were short handed. I placed my order with Scott the night before needing the 8 orders for my office. First phone call was around 3pm, then phone tag back and forth, submitted text for all orders at 820pm for pickup at 1045. They open at 11.

Day of pickup:

Inside of building... very interesting and creativity galore! There is also a huge arcade room behind the bar... for smokers it's probably a dream. I personally don't like the smell of ash trays nor do I like the current smell of cigarettes. It was so gross!

My text to Scott: "You should know.. 😏 the order wasn't 100% correct. Even though it smelled amazing and some orders were tasty.

Complaints regarding: over cooked pizza crust, no croutons on the salad (it was a panzanella), no arugula on my pizza, the cheesecake per the menu should of been regular, and no offense but the party donuts were disgusting. I'm impressed by 2 of my Co workers who actually swallowed the dough. They were extremely chewy, so I threw them away.

I'm not concerned about the arugula.. I actually enjoy my pie with or without it. But, we were charged for it and this is why I'm bringing it up. I wanted you to know prior to me leaving a review."

His response (3/14): "I'm no longer there but I'll make it right on my next shift"

YET, nothing came from it for me to...