We got reservations to this place pretty easily just earlier in the day for a dinner on Saturday night. This was our first time trying this place. The interior is elegant and upscale with ambient lighting as well. Service was impeccable, they paid very close attention to all of our needs. We got the crispy eggplant appetizer, which was delicious; it was very crispy and tomato sauce it came with tasted so fresh. For main entrees, I got their risotto special, which came with shrimp and scallops. I personally thought it was good, but not great. The risotto tasted a bit salty for my preference and scallops did not have much flavor. My fiancé got the ravioli, which we both liked- the pasta was perfect texture and the cream filling was delicious. They do give complimentary bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dip. read more

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What a little gem. Quite quiet evening & we had a great waiter. House made pastas. Delicious. Had fungji pasta & lobster w vodka sauce. Some salads that were quite good. Portions were the perfect size. Price point was reasonable. . read more

il Palato - Salad - Italian Near Me - Clayton, Missouri

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To sum up our evening at Il Palato in one word I would have to to say "wow". From the moment we walked in, we were impressed by the warm and intimate atmosphere. I always feel frustrated in restaurants when I struggle to hear the people at my table talking. The noise level was well controlled, which is a rare treat. The service was top-notch. Our waiter was an absolute gentleman and was perfect in his timing and approach. There were separate servers for water and runners from the kitchen for the food. Nothing sitting under a warmer in this restaurant. Even the water tasted like it was perfectly filtered. (I'm a water snob and don't drink tap water) It was served chilled with no ice. Who knew you could take a glass of water up a notch! The restaurant manager made sure to say hi to every patron and paid meticulous attention to the flow of the evening. All this and I haven't even started on how amazing the food tasted. I got the halibut and I absolutely cannot recommend it highly enough. Extensive wine collection to indulge even the most refined palette. This restaurant fell in the category of fine dining, but I felt the prices were reasonable given the quality and atmosphere we enjoyed. I definitely have paid more at other restaurants and not had nearly as good of an experience. I'd give 10 stars if I could and I am definitely a picky foodie. Fabulous find and a memorable evening! Thank you Il Palato!! (I was so wrapped up in my elegant evening I neglected to take any pictures. Guess I'll have to go back I'll edit my review to add some impressive images) read more

It was delicious, I had some homemade pasta. Proportions were tiny, but it was really rich so that was fine . Salad was strong mediocre. The waiter was hopefully new because he did not know very much about the menu or the food in general. read more

Il Palato provides a charming Italian ambiance with its low-key, candle-lit setting. The abundance of baked bread consumed before dinner brings me great joy and should not be judged. The seafood pasta was impressive with its generous portion of seafood, creating a flavorful and satisfying dish. #stlouispescatarianapproved @stlouispescatarians on instagram. The caramel apple dessert added a sweet finale to a great dining experience overall. Ask Jensen W. if she'd bathe in the dessert. read more

il Palato - Italian Near Me - Clayton, Missouri

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A Michael del Pietro restaurant, Il Palato offers delicious Italian food in Clayton. The outdoor patio is lovely, and interior seating offers table, booth, and bar seating, and the wait staff are top notch, without a lot of turnover. Their eggplant Parmesan is the best around! We've never had a bad (or even, average) meal here. Enjoy! read more

Had a reservation there tonight at 6:45 with my husband Kevin. Moved my napkin before I sat down and this critter crawled out. We left immediately. read more

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Let's start backwards with the dessert, the apple caramel dessert was so good I could bathe in the caramel. Not kidding the seafood pasta was also great, they even split it up for me since we were sharing it! Our waitress was the nicest & most helpful. The vibe was quiet & lowkey & dark but very cool. read more

il Palato - a group of people sitting at a bar - Italian Near Me - Clayton, Missouri

Checked this out last weekend and it was great! To start, we got a kir imperial, the Paloma, and a whiskey on the rocks (can't remember which one). The kir imperial and whiskey were great but my friend who got the Paloma felt it was a little heavy on the grapefruit and unbalanced. For dinner, we got the chicken and polenta, the steak, the stuffed pappardelle, and the bucatini. Everything was delicious and the portions were HUGE! Everyone had leftovers. Overall will be back for dinner in the future. read more

Wow, was this place good! We had a reservation, but it wasn't packed so we could have probably walked in. It had a really nice vibe overall. Cocktail menu was fun and offered a lot of creative drink options. The service was awesome; Jack was attentive and funny. And then the food... OMG the food. Loved the eggplant dish, meatballs, roasted chicken and ravioli. We will most certainly be back! read more

First time here and it won't be last! Il Palato is located in the center of Clayton. Meter street parking is available until 5pm (Monday through Friday), while free other times. Interior is elegant and classy. Service is great as well. Our water gets refilled frequently throughout our dinner. I came for dinner at 630pm on a Friday evening. Perhaps it's in the midst of omicron outbreak, it's not crowded. The servers put all diners far apart, so I feel safe dining here. Their menu isn't very big. We ordered three dishes. All of them come out really good. What did I ordered? * Melazanya (Appetizer) is really delicious. We are served with three large pieces of crispy eggplant is served with basil and mozzarella in tomato sauce. * We ordered two pasta dishes for dinner. Both are very good, but I especially love the one with giant prawns, seafood served in fish broth. Our second pasta dish is a papadelle served with shredded pork. I like it too, though I feel the meat should be more evenly mixed in the pasta. The price is a little high ($80 for the three dishes, including tips) but reasonable given the quality of the food, seating and the level of service. We'd come back again. read more

il Palato - Papadelle, with pork and tomato - Italian Near Me - Clayton, Missouri

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Very friendly service and good came very quick! We sat outside and it was wonderful, and the food was amazing. Definitely recommend the Melanzana even if you don't like eggplant. read more

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Great food for reasonable prices, and very good service. In a very convenient location for dinner, with very nice decor. Another great Del Pietro restaurant. read more

Sat at bar, had the hot honey pepperoni pizzette, so good! Bartender was fabulous, will definitely go back!

I had high hopes for this place with the high rating. Not sure what happened but it's on a downgrade. I feel like this place is off. Somethings wrong. Bartender doing way too many jobs at once and serving way too many tables . I think the owner is the hostess. The stake tartare was really good, so gave it 2 stars. Pomodora salad odd, mushy. Eggplant app...boring, not creative. And a good judge of restaurant is the bathroom. In this situation, it's a dark hallway, no lighting. Stained toilets with industrial rough Clorox for hand towels. Bye bye $100... read more

Very appealing place. Their curb appeal was beautiful. It's looks inviting, upscale, and intimate. They have spacious outdoor seating which is what we chose due to it being a beautiful day. Jack was our server of the evening and he was very helpful. We decided on the Porchetta for the appetizer. The crunchy and crispy bites of pork was excellent. It was surrounded by two sauces that made the dish sing. It was topped with a cucumber/pepper relish. It was spicy and yummy yummm yum. I definitely recommend it. We also got the Ravioli and the Orecchiette. The ravioli and the sauce was the best thing I've eaten in a while. It was flavorful and perfectly cooked. The pasta was delicious and had the perfect bite. The sauce was the star though. I really don't have the words to describe it but just trust me. It will surely give you the eye roll and moan that good food gives. The Orecchiette was plentiful and balanced. The Clams were cooked to perfection. The Salsiccia and Shrimp were also amazing. The pasta was not over cooked at all and it was flavorful. I didn't have to add anything to alter them. I would most definitely return for these dishes. There are also several others that I'd try also. read more

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What a gem in St. Louis area!!! Went in on a Monday night because everybody else was closed. Did not expect much, but was blown away by quality and taste of appetizers and entrees. I traveled to Italy three times and always miss authentic Italian food. This is it! Next time I'm in St. Louis area I'll be here again. Also service was amazing Jack took really good care of us! read more

il Palato - Fish Special - Italian Near Me - Clayton, Missouri

We had a disappointing experience with the service and the food. Our server brought a cauliflower appetizer instead of the bucatini with cauliflower bolognese. We asked the server why there was no bucatini and he just said it didn't come with any pasta. I then ordered a chicken entree that had a good taste other than it had many hot peppers. The entree description didn't mention any hot peppers or heat. I mentioned this to the owner but he only responded casually. I've never had a hot Italian entree like this. The focaccia bread is always good and I'll Palato is a nice, comfortable restaurant. read more

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It's all about the flavor and all about the service! And our waiter JUSTIN was always just in time for everything. Great appetizers, the entrées were unbelievable. The manager and the waiter very very courteous. We sat outside and it too was wonderful. Give it a try! Ask for handsome Justin! read more

il Palato - Italian Near Me - Clayton, Missouri

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Good food and nice ambiance. Well run Del Pietro restaurant. Definitely worth going to.

Service was on point even after it got busy! Food was fresh, pasta was made in house, shrimp with scallop appetizer was heavenly. Wine selection was good with many Italian choices. Go here if you are close!! read more

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We went here for Valentines Day and had low expectations because it was packed! It was absolutely one of the best dining experiences ever. Love the atmosphere and food. And the eggplant appetizer was amazing. We're already talking about going back soon. read more

Such a great place. Low key. Excellent food hospitality and vibe. Plus you can get a table or seat at the bar usually.

Might have been a bad night but holy cow. Service sucked. Food was marginal. Do not recommend.

I went on a Friday night and there were only 3 parties total. I have no idea why because the ambiance was nice, food was great, and service was excellent. We had the branzino, risotto, and short rib and everything was excellent. Our server, Russell was attentive and knowledgeable. I will definitely go back! read more

Came here with two girlfriends, have wanted to try this restaurant for a long time. It is located in Clayton and has a very clean and minimalistic but modern look to it. We went on a Tuesday night and it wasn't too crowded. I started with the verdura salad which was great. I ordered gnocchi pasta for my main and it was delicious- accompanied by a glass of wine as well. It was a lovely evening and glad I went and tried. I find the prices are very reasonable. read more

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I think Il Palato is an underrated gem. You can almost always get a table, it's pretty inside, the patio is awesome in good weather, and the food and drinks are delicious. read more

Oof I don't know what happened but felt a tad misled by the glowing reviews. This was a big awkward miss for me. The setting and service were good and they were the sole reasons for the generous 2 stars. The food was a disappointment. A huge disappointment. The pizza parm creama was supposed to be a white pizza with Brussel sprouts, pancetta, pear, honey. We assumed it was going to have a perfect balance of savory and a hint of sweet. What we got was charred Brussels and salty pancetta with no balance on the sweet side. Did not find any pear or any honey. Instead, what we ate was a very bitter tasting pizza. Our table could not finish. For mains, we ordered ravioli, gnocchi, pappardelle. The pappardelle was almost inedible - the meat was DRY and STALE. It was a total flub of a dish. My husband did not finish his pasta despite the tiny portion. My ravioli was slightly better than the pappardelle but I can't say anything good about it. It was supposed to have mushrooms, black garlic, truffle butter - I could not taste any of that. I just didn't feel like I was eating out at a higher end Italian restaurant. Just kinda like reheated grocery food but with nicer presentation. The weird thing about my ravioli was the Parmesan crisps, or that's what it was supposed to be. Instead, it tasted like stale cheese cracker chunks I could barely bite into it and was incredibly weird paired with the ravioli. The portion was tiny so I actually finished it. Finally, the gnocchi received zero comments from our dining companion, a client. Literally he just kept his mouth shut. But he also did not finish his pasta. I'll reiterate that the portions were tiny so seeing two grown men not finish a few spoonfuls of food is rare. Was just an overall kind of an odd night. Some diners in the outdoor patio and just maybe 2-3 tables indoors including us. The only dessert option given to us was just a mousse so we did not order despite very much wanting to give an opportunity to end our meal on a brighter note. Esp after already sinking $150+. There was a large party that came out from downstairs later in the evening, so not sure if that affected the operations. read more

We had such a wonderful dinner here on a recent Thursday evening! We wanted to do something special and also wanted to try something new, so Il Palato was the perfect choice. We made a reservation, but there was plenty of space... I think word is still getting out. I can also see this spot getting busy with Clayton business lunches during the week. Either way, we were happy that there were only a few other tables! Service was absolutely wonderful and so was the overall experience. l did notice it was pretty dark when we got there, but they remembered to light the candles on the tables after we had been there for a little while. The only other ambiance critique I have is that they were playing something that sounded like top 40 radio... nice dinner music would have made the experience even better! Our server made me a wonderful mocktail, and my wife had the best glass of pinot noir she's had in a while. The bread they brought over was so good, and so was the beet salad we split. It featured roasted beets, gorgonzola mousse, arugula, pistachio, beet green salsa, and whole grain mustard. For entrees, we ordered the trout (cauliflower puree, capers, farro, roasted cauliflower, and chilies) and the risotto (saffron, porcini, parmesan, and charcuterie crumble.) We were both so happy with each item, and agreed it was the best meal we've had in a while. Grateful this place exists! I really loved Remy's but I have to say, I love this restaurant even more. We will be back! read more

Honestly don't know why this place isn't more crowded. Amazing food and great service. We ordered the tuna crudo, the fried cauliflower, and crispy eggplant. All three were fantastic but my wife's favorites were the crudo and cauliflower. Then for entres got the verde pizza and the lamb. The lamb was cooked perfectly and the crust on it was salted to perfection. The pizza was RICH and kinda heavy but I don't know why I pictured verde and thought light. read more

il Palato - Verde Pizza - Italian Near Me - Clayton, Missouri

Hands down our favorite dinner spot. I've never had a bad dish here and love how they keep the menu fresh by changing dishes seasonally. Favorite things right now are the Aragosta and the guanciale pizette. Service is always amazing - shout out to Russell and of course Riley who makes a mean dirty martini. We love it here!! read more

Was in town from California and was very happy to try this restaurant. Excellent service, food is fantastic. Wish it was in my neighborhood back home read more

My date (five year old daughter!) and I came here on a Thursday night and it's a modern, striking looking setting with very comfortable chairs! I ordered the eggplant parmigiana and the beet carpaccio. Both were good, but I would have preferred more thinly cut pieces of eggplant. I am not a huge fan of eggplant but had read it was me of their star items, so I was curious. Still, it was very tasty and I ate most of it. My date had buttered noodles and they were easily the most decadent buttered pasta I have ever tried (the noodles themselves were wonderful, and they had butter and parmigiana cheese on them). She loved them too! For dessert, we split a piece of chocolate cake that she absolutely loved, that had some caramel sauce on it. Definitely recommend this restaurant! We will be back! read more

Came here because it was walking distance from my hotel when in town on business. The sausage and pepper dish was decent sized. But overall The food was an overpriced salty disappointment. The salads my group of friends ordered were all wilted and cost extra and wee pushed hard by the wait staff. The ravioli was disappointing and a very small portion. Some of us left still hungry because of the overall portion size. I would not recommend it. read more

Went here for an anniversary dinner on a weekday night. First, the service was unbelievable. Perhaps because there were such few tables but we were attended to in every corner and the food came out at a very quick pace. When I was unsure of what wine to order, the server allowed me to try my choice. Loved every dish that we ordered. Plentiful and seasoned mussels. My scallops were cooked to perfection. I tried the steak too and was pretty good! Would definitely recommend this restaurant!! read more

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The service, atmosphere and food where absolutely perfect! I would highly recommend this spot for a date night or small gathering without hesitation. We had the pork belly appetizer - phenomenal! Then the ravioli and seafood pasta as entrees. Everything was tasty. read more

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AMAZING! The new menu is fantastic! We loved everything. My Negroni was delicious. The yellow tail app is a MUST try and one of the best things I've eaten in ages. I adored the Roman salad and then had the pork belly entree (flavor explosion in the best way posssible). OMG, they almost had to roll me out of there but it was soooo worth it. My friend had the ravioli and said it was fantastic. Can't wait to go back!! read more

I would give five stars because of our great waiter and the good food. Nicked one because I'd sent a message to acknowledge our special occasion with sparklers or candles in the dessert, and they didn't. But the food was really good even though the cauliflower fritto was mislabeled - sautéed not fried. Delish though. read more

Great food! Everything we ordered was delicious! Service was very friendly and accommodating! Alcoholic beverages were excellent. Loved this place! read more

Service, food, and ambiance are what make this restaurant a go-to location from the owner, Michael buzzing through setting up tables to the quality servers, don't miss it. The food is top-notch, and don't miss the fried cauliflower appetizer it is surprising treat. read more