Amber Wooff
Google
We made our way here excited to experience real, fresh, delicious Italian food. Instantly walking up there's a nice outdoor vibe, not overly fancy, but very pleasant with outdoor lights, plenty of shaded area, plants for decor, and seating for various group sizes. The inside is also a fresh and modern decor. You're instantly greeted to be seated inside or out. I noticed right away their branding, pasta to cook at home and sauces for sale. The pasta is near white, which you know means it's real! Upon being seated, we looked over the menu and couldn't decide what to try (note: there is a lot of Italian lingo on the menu). Luckily, with the help of our very friendly and sweet waitress, she was able to give us her recommendations and explain some of the other options to us. We decided to go all out and get started with bread service and the cheese sticks (note: some names of items were more Italian-I'm giving you the English cliff note version). That bread is AMAZING!!!! So fresh and delicious!! I loved the airy texture and simple but yet delicious flavor of the simplicity of fresh ingredients and love. The flake salt on top just hit the nail on the head. As for the cheese sticks, the breading was a softer texture but crispy from the cook. They were very large in size with a fresh cheese inside. Hot and delicious. The theme to this review is definitely how much you can taste the freshness and overall care and dedication this chef has to their food. It comes served with a side of marinara. There were 6 sticks total (our picture was a little late). We ended up choosing a pepperoni pizza (just plain style not the ezzo on the menu with spice and honey-my husband let me have my way), the fiama Marla bolognese, & the kids marinara spaghetti. The pizza was everything and more! Thin but fluffy crust, tons of flavor, cheese was the perfect ratio with a good amount of pepperoni too. It is not overly sauced, which we both enjoyed. Again, super fresh, perfect consistency on the crust and delectable flavor! My son (pickiest eater alive-meaning we had to flip the spaghetti over so that it hid the Parmesan Romano) LOVED his spaghetti! The noodles were more al dente than I cook them, but yet it tasted perfect! Both the hubs and I said we'd totally get the spaghetti with meatballs on our next visit. Now, as for the bolognese, we actually did not care for this one. It had a different, almost bitter taste we couldn't identify. The noodles in it though, so fresh and cooked perfectly!!! Plus, they were thick and delicious like no where else in St. Louis. All the portions were large, even the kids! They are also sauced in the best way, not overly sauced. I think what we figured out was that this place doesn't have to over compensate for anything because they use quality ingredients that they let shine in their cooking-it's that freshness and care that they are able to share the story of real Italian food! We loved that! It definitely shines at Katie's! Our waitress did a great job to come back and check in with us about flavors and any needs we might have-even with two young kids with us, she acknowledged them too. To our surprise when we advised at the boxing stage that we just didn't care for the bolognese, she had her manager come out and he apologized, even though it was our taste we made clear that was probably the issue, not them. In the end, he still comped that plate-not at all necessary, but overly gracious and it really shows of how much their service matters to them. That in itself rates high with us! You just don't find that kind of hospitality anywhere now days. We really felt like we were part of a family coming here to eat. In addition they have a ton of Italian desserts we saved for the next trip, as well as a great wine list and Coke products for drinks. The restrooms were clean and everything was well kept. We couldn't be happier with our experience, the food, the service, our wonderful waitress, the atmosphere, all of it! We even purchased pasta to make at home and sauce! Definitely a must try!
