On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
8th & Pine (MetroLink)
Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Loading...
This is an incredible restaurant. Tony's is a treat and worthy of its fine reputation. The food and service are incredible. Regardless of your taste, Tony's will not let you down. If you have picky taste, don't worry about it, they will make sure your food is cooked to your liking.
The staff at Tony's is there to serve you. Anyone in restaurant will feel like a king or queen, even if only for an hour or two. Tony's is reasonably priced for fine dining. You will be able to leave Tony's without breaking the bank. This is a wonderful place for any occasion. A birthday, anniversary, a nice dinner before a ball game, this is the perfect spot.
Remember to bring a jacket if you are a male, but if you do not have one they do have loaners. This is a must stop if you are in St. Louis.
Ever since I was a kid growing up in STL, I heard of Tony's as the standard bearer for STL restaurants. My parents used to come here for special occasions, so I always wondered what it would be like to eat there,
I moved away, have eaten at some of the best restaurants in the country and when I came back, I knew I had to finally cross that threshold.
Wow, Tony's really lived up to my childhood expectations. Scallops were divine and the filet with foie gras was mesmorizing, literally tasted like buttery goodness on each bite. I usually cut my steak in big pieces to eat and found myself cutting this steak in tiny pieces to savor it. As good as the beef was, the star of the dinner was my gfs lobster albanello. That had to be one of the best tasting dishes I have ever tasted, literally culinary gold.
Service was attentive as expected, but not too attentive where they are always bothering you.
Even if you're not in fine dining, I'm sure that you've probably heard about this establishment if you live around the St. Louis area.
This is by far the fanciest restaurant in St. Louis. Jacket is required and the ambience is really high-class. The service is top-tier and so are the customers eating here. The food wasn't the best I've ever had but good enough. This is a place to go in St. Louis if you're more about dressing up for a special occasion rather than enjoying the taste of the food.
You can check out my full review on my website in my profile but here's a quick review:
Overall Tony's is a standout in St. Louis. I've been to better restaurants elsewhere but it's definitely the best I've found in this town. The food doesn't try to be cutting edge but the ingredients are fresh, the menu items are familiar and there's something for everyone, the service excels beyond any other restaurant in the area, and the atmosphere is classy without being too stuffy or cold.
My dying wish is a meal from Tony's. I was floored by the bad review Patricia F. gave this spot, absolutely floored. I'm feeling the need to defend my favorite place, in a big way. (even though I'm happy to see the rest of the reviews are positive).
Tony's is the very very best and I'm not even sure where to begin. I've been fortunate enough to be able to frequent Tony's since I was young for every important occasion in our family. Birthdays, anniversaries, my engagement, my graduation from college etc. If the question is where, our answer (wallet-permitting), is Tony's.
Everyone at Tony's aims to please. Vince Bommarito, the owner, is a true master of the kitchen, and of the dining room. Vince, along with his sons and their waitstaff know how to charm and work a room. Moreover, Vince has been good to my family for years and years dating back to when my Grandpa used to sell him chef coats via his uniform business. He makes over my 91 year old Grandma like she's a queen whenever we get to go! Even if it's not on the menu, he's happy to whip it up. I always start with a Caprese Salad, though you won't find it on the menu. Their Spinach salad is also fantastic for an on-the-menu selection.
My #1 recommendation is the Lobster Albanello. It's has the most ridiculously sweet and rich cream sauce created from reduced shallots; it's paired with lobster and mushrooms. I always get it sans mushroom and request pasta. The pasta is made in house and makes the dish coma-inducing. Try a side of their creamed spinach. Or ask for salsify as a side, it absolutely melts in your mouth.
My other favorite entrees: Try the Dover Sole. The waiter de-bones it tableside and the fish is absolutely the most delectable piece of heaven you can put in your mouth. I could eat 15 orders of the Sole.
Veal Piccatta! The edges are slightly crispy and the sauce is dead on. This was my old stand by as a youngster, before I got a taste for lobster and seafood.
Other family favorites: Scallops, Rack of Lamb, Tenderloin. You really can't go wrong though, everything on the menu is ridiculous.
And desserts: I don't see how you could complain about the creme brulee with berries "thrown on top". They happen to be the freshest in-season berries atop the most de-freakin-liscious creme brulee you can find. (tsk tsk!?). There are not one but two chocolate tortes, homemade banana ice cream, ricotta cheesecake, with raspberry sauce mmmm, I could go on. It's unfortunate that I'm writing this at lunch-time and all the way from Seattle.
This should suffice. But, before I finish, I did want to mention that I literally laughed out loud reading the criticism about "cheap flatware" and "serious self-importance". That first claim is just snotty, overblown and not true. As far as the second, well, Tony's has the acclaim it does for no reason other than wholly deserved reverence from the many many people who recognize what an incredibly special treat it is to endulge in such perfectly structured culinary pleasures.
The nicest restaurant I have eaten at would have to be Tony's. Everything was amazing. This place is great when you want a meal to be more than just a fill up.
Insane. From the start I knew this place was going to be good.
The host looked like Joe Pesci from Casino - complete with pinky ring and smoke tinted large framed eyeglasses. The mini-bar's walls were adorned with autographed head shots from celebrities of years past. The service was a first for me - we had 3 people working our table all with very identifiable responsibilities. This was some serious service.
My pepper sirloin was R I D I C U L O U S. Served up sliced and steaming from some sort of table-side hot plate. One of the best steaks I've ever had. And for the price, it was about on par with a Ruth Chris steak. Not that i cared, the meal was expensed.
Oh, it's a suit and tie kinda place.
I had the pleasure of being taken to Tony's as a bartering deal for organizing a friend's office. That was the best bartering deal that I have ever made! As I understand it, Tony's is one of a few restaurants in the country to get the AAA five diamond award. Once you go, it is obvious why this is.
My meal was chosen for me: Beef Tenderloin and Foie Gras. It was fantastic, beautiful, flavorful and there were so many layers of taste. The tenderloin was medium, with a delicious bit of blood in the center to accent the overall flavor. Oh my, you haven't lived until you've eaten this dish. The staff was wonderful, the surroundings lovely and everything was delicious. I don't know what more I can say, other than that everyone needs to save up and go! I am so lucky to have friends like this!
I'm not a St. Louiser or a Missourite, but I had one of the best meals of my life at Tony's. Having spent some time in the area during my friend's wedding, I took a $70 cab-ride to downtown St. Louis, and was thoroughly impressed by this place.
Simply looking in the local tourist guides, I stumbled across Tony's with high marks. I decided to take a stab, and make the trek to downtown from the Red Roof Inn in St. Charles.
Didn't have a jacket, as required, but they provided one for me, and I felt like royalty, as I looked at pictures of famous people on the wall with Tony, including Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis.
Had a scotch, made it to my table, and decided to do the five course tasting menu with wine pairings. This experience changed my life forever. Never have I experienced what 5 courses and 5 perfectly paired wines did to the human body. Some of the food was prepared table-side, and it was all good. I actually shed a tear when I drank the chardonnay after the lobster-shrimp pasta.
During my service, I saw Tony, the very guy standing with the Chairman-of-the-Board in the picture I saw earlier. He came to my table and wiped the crumbs off my tablecloth. I mean really...that's service. Not that I looked important...he probably knew the jacket he bought, but he still went the extra mile.
Very traditional-chic, with Tony's you know what your paying for. Immaculate service, great food, amazing wines. I wouldn't call it breaking new culinary grounds, but they have their food, presentation, and service down to a science.
A great place for the weekend dates or business dinner...
Quality of Food: 10/10 (Steak Diavola and Lobster tail are prepared with a perfection along with a fresh caviar, tangy salads and tasty turtle soup - we asked a chef to make somethin' special - after 7 courses later, you'll be satisfied)
Presentation: 8/10 (Standard upscale American flavor)
Service: 10 / 10 (Ridiculously attentive and pleasant, yet making you feel comfortable)
Ambiance: 9 / 10 (A bit too traditional steak house feel but very classy at the same time)
Price: 10 / 10 (Great Great price for what you're getting from A to Z at Tony's)
Parking: 9 / 10 (Valet service - don't know about self parking?)
Intangibles: Great value for 5 star restaurant if you like a traditional steak house or Classic American cuisine for food, wines and service.
You can easily find just as good a dining experience at plenty other places in St. Louis... cept you're wearing a jacket.
The service is excellent, but it took us a while to get the servers to lighten up with us. It was more of a mechanical experience (metronomish, for lack of a better fake word) than an intimate one.
One can't help but compare the food with other restuarants in the area. Most of the food that we had could be found elsewhere and very little has set itself from the rest of the pack.
I do have to say that this place has the best osso bucco that I've had in St. Louis. Easily. Their marrow scooper outer thingy even had two sides for different widths. Now that's decadent.
It's not a bad restaurant. If you are in St. Louis and need to have a formal meal out, by all means go.
Tony's has many hallmarks of a "fancy" restaurant: attentive service, good wine list, strict dress code (gentlemen MUST wear jackets). But the food is not imaginative or special, if you're used to San Francisco or New York restaurants, and the overall execution lacks the sophistication of a "classic" restaurant.
The Chef's tasting menu featured...
- Smoked salmon and cream cheese rolls. Enough said
- Lobster and shrimp pasta. The buttery and slightly spicy sauce was delicious, but it was 98% ziti, 1.98% overcooked shrimp, and a microscopic amount of lobster
- Tenderloin and foie gras, with sauteed spinach on the side. It was okay, but unremarkable.
- Cheese course, with New York Camembert and some Italian cheese which I don't remember much about
- Creme brulee. You couldn't really taste any vanilla. Served cold (tsk, tsk), with berries thrown on top.
- Coffee and petits fours
At $200 for two with some good wine (the Barolo served with the steak was excellent), I left well-fed and happy, but it just wasn't that remarkable.
Okay, maybe you could argue that they're not trying to be innovative, that they are a "classic" restaurant. Especially for a place with serious self-importance (wall full of signed photos of celebrities from the 80s in the waiting room, banners outside proclaiming it's St. Louis' top restaurant, jacket requirement), they could use a little more polish. I'm going to get a little obsessive-compulsive here, but...
- Cheap flatware and plates are a bad idea
- Acoustic tile on the ceiling is tacky
- When crumbing a table, the waiter should not scrape crumbs off the edge of the table
- Waiters should not squeeze between a guest's chair and a table en route to another table, when they could easily go around
Apparently this is the best restaurant in St. Louis. Poor St. Louis.
(See my review of Zias as this is the complete opposite of the spectrum!)
1. I'm Italian, etc
2. I was a hotel Concierge in STL.
Tony's is the best Italian restaurant in St. Louis for formal occasions. Amazingly professional Staff, and The Cleanest Restaurant Kitchen I have ever seen in my entire life! You could eat off the floor, but the dining rooms are much nicer.
The service is exquisite and the wine list AMAZING. The price is steep, but what can you expect from a restaurant that wins the coveted five-diamond AAA award? It is also a restaurant that consistently snags the DiRoNa Award.
After my dinner there, I understood why. The proprietor came to my table and spent 15 minutes chatting with me in depth about the red wine that I had picked out to accompany my meal. He even offered to show me around the town, as it was my first time in St. Louis. (Tony, you are the best!) This is real, warm Italian hospitality at it's best. The bill made me flinch, but it was a dining experience of a lifetime.
Tony's is decadent, extravagant and worth every penny. Actually, compared to 5 star restaurants in larger cities, the food is priced incredibly reasonably. I believe this is the only consistent 5 star Italian joint in the country, and it lives up to the hype.
The Lobster Albanello (mushroom cream sauce) is one of the single best things I have ever eaten. We always seem to end with the bananas fosters, partly for the show, but mostly because it's heavenly.
The service is exactly what you expect from one of the top restaurants in the country.
I almost gave this place four stars because I'm not a big fan of Italian food. However, the setting, service and quality of food make it worth it even if you're not a fan of Italian food. Also, the thing I don't like about Italian food is that there is cheese on everything but I thought about it and I don't think there was cheese on anything I had when I went to Tony's.
The restaurant is elegant and homey at the same time. When you walk in you see a bar area that looks like someone's personal bar/living room. There are photos of famous patrons and large sofas everywhere. Right there, I thought the person who has a room like this in their restaurant has to be an interesting person and he was. The owner, Vincent Bommarito, still works there and he's in his 70s. He walked around inconspicuously offering drinks and waiting on customers. You'd never know he was the owner but he's very friendly once you engage him. I guess he doesn't want to interrupt your dinner but he's interesting if you get a chance to talk to him. His son was also working there and he very engaging as well. I went there with a group for a business trip and we took over a large room in the back that comfortably seated maybe 30 people. They set up a bar in our room and offered to set up the outdoor bar for us. It was winter time so we declined.
The regular dining room and the room we were in was very comfortable, also like you were in a someone's home. The paintings on the wall are originals and pretty pricey, I think.
The food is great. I was really impressed that even for a large group like ours they let us order off the menu. Usually with large groups they have a fixed menu so they are better prepared to handle all the orders. Not only did they not do that with us, they also brought out a little cooking station and put the finishing touches on our food. I wondered if that was all for show but no, the food was delicious. The salad was really tasty, it was a green salad but it was so flavorful I could have had that for dinner. It would have had to been a lot bigger but still. The veal is savory and sweet as well as tender. The wine, a Pietradonice Sant Antimo Doc 'super Tuscan' Casanova Di Neri, was awesome. Very dry.
The service was very attentive and efficient.
I can't remember what I had for dessert which is very unusual for me; I usually remember the dessert first then the rest of the meal. I'm sure it was good though.
This is a family restaurant in every sense of the word; family owned and operated and it shows! Bravo!
Has anyone out there ever had a perfect meal? I guess four other reviewers have. In the 18 years I lived in St. Louis I had the pleasure of going to Tony's three times. It took a while before I could afford to go there but each meal was absolutely perfect.
I had the best meal of my life here. I haven't been to the best of New York or San Francisco like the the poster below me has, so I cannot compare to those restaurants. Either way, after I tried the chef's tasting menu, I had the coolest dining experience of my life. Before this, I had never had a food and wine pairing that worked so well together. It's been a year or two since I went here, so I do not remember the exact combinations, but some asparagus and a wine pairing went so well it was like a hand inside of glove. The two choices were made for each other. The meal was expensive as would be expected, but for a good three hours of entertainment and a fantastic meal as well as memories, it was worth every penny.
I'm going to say what everyone has been afraid to say. The place is NOT that good; you can get a better meal for less without the annoying "Let me put your napkin on your lap for you" worthlessness that comes along with paying way too much. If that's what you're into more power to you, but I'd rather spend my money on something else. All that having been said the two times I've eaten at Tony's the food was delicious, and if you're trying to impress someone shallow there isn't really a better place in St. Louis.
I have been to Tony's a couple times and the first time I was not all that impressed. The food is superior and service is attentive. It is known as THE place to dine in St. Louis and has a traditional dining room. What really impressed me was on my second visit they called me by my name. Yes, that's right, they had remembered my name from my first visit. It's this attention to detail that won me over and would suggest this place to anyone wanting a fine dining experience in St. Louis. This kind of service is virtually unheard of in today's world. BRAVO!
The fanciest restaurant in St. Louis. It's mostly memorable for the experience. One of those jacket-only places--of course, you can't start comparing this to real foodie city restaurants...For most St. Louis people, it's one of those special occasion places.
Neighborhood: Benton Park
Category: Pubs
Neighborhood: Benton Park
Category: American (New)
Neighborhood: The Hill
Category: Delis
Neighborhood: Downtown
Category: Cajun/Creole
Neighborhood: Lafayette Square
Category: American (New)
