Restaurant goers would agree that some of the best restaurants in St. Louis are “holes in the walls”-places that serve good food in a memorable and casual setting. These restaurants don’t worry about stars. They worry about pleasing their customers. The prices are low and the portions, big. If Webster were alive today his definition for such a restaurant would be “Mangia Italiano.” Located at 3145 South Grand, Mangia Italiano presents the hole-in-the-wall restaurant at its best.
The door to Mangia Italiano stands open during business hours, reminiscent of the relaxed, New Orleans-style atmosphere, always welcoming hoards of hungry patrons. At the entrance, a large mural spans the length of the building. The mural is abstract enough to allow diners to idly play art critic, until they reach the top, where chalkboards list what’s on tap and the desserts for that night. A quick look across the room will find mismatched tables left over from the `60s, decorated with lamps or candles. This is not your typical “Hill” restaurant.
The menu at Mangia is on the small side, but it is quality, not quantity, that prevails here. The appetizer menu offers a wonderful cheese garlic bread ($3.50). The right amount of garlic is used, leaving you with breath that won’t scare away a goodnight kiss, but will keep vampires at a distance.
A wide variety of salads are available. A house salad can accompany any of the dinner items for $1.99. The salad contains the basic ingredients, but the creamy Italian dressing was definitely worthy of consumption.
The dinners at Mangia speak for themselves. The orders come in the choice of half or full. At Mangia the half portions are actually filling, constituting a welcome change from many more-expensive restaurants. The spinach manicotti was simply divine; three huge rolls of spinach and two different kinds of chesses smothered in a marinara sauce. The meal was completely filling, though not a speck remained when finished.
The linguini with pesto sauce ($6.95) was also thoroughly enjoyable. The pesto sauce actually contained sufficient basil. When mixed over fresh linguini, it makes a fine dinner on any night. The right amount of olive oil was used which meant the pasta was not drenched.
Mangia Italiano makes all the pasta fresh, so the orders do take a while. The wait is worth it though, because each bite is delicious. The pasta dishes are full of flavor and prepared the way they’re meant to be.
Besides pasta, Mangia Italiano serves several different sandwiches, named after Roman leaders. The Caligula ($5.95) contains Italian meatballs covered in a marinara sauce and then topped with parmesan and mozzarella. (One day you’re the emperor of Rome, the next you have a meatball sandwich named after you.)
The Maximus ($5.95) is also a worthy choice, containing ham, roast beef, salami, mayo, roasted red bell peppers and mozzarella.
A selection of desserts are available after each meal. Each night offers different desserts, but a few selections to look for are the turtle cheesecake and the chocolate cake. The turtle cheesecake tastes like a layered Snickers bar. The chocolate cake is covered in a wonderful butter icing.
The service at Mangia is on the slower side, even though they warn you that the food does take a while. The waitress did not come by the table often, but if you did need another drink, the bar is not more than 20 feet away no matter where you are seated.
In the end, the food was great, but the service could have been better.
Mangia Italaino serves fresh pasta in an atmosphere where there’s no such thing as a dress code.
The place is full of lively people, and Saint Louis University students should have no trouble fitting in.
Reservations are not taken; outdoor seating on the sidewalk is available in good weather. All major credit cards are accepted.
A fun time is waiting on South Grand at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Mangia Italiano.
