Lots of new restaurants appear to be popping up around town, and Katie’s Pizzeria Café, which we tried recently for an after-theater supper, came as a serendipitous choice — welcoming, tasty and modestly priced. It opens at 6:30 a.m. for coffee, begins food service at 11 and serves until 1 a.m., something only a young restaurateur would be strong enough to attempt, but we hope she can continue.
Across the street from the Esquire Theater, the interior has been redecorated after some other restaurant tenants and feels new-school Italian minimalist but with a few pieces that could easily have belonged to Nonna. On a wall at the end of the bar, black and white Italian films run silently; they’re subtitled, so if they’re in your line of sight, a talent for lip-reading Italian isn’t necessary. During our visit, "8 ½" was on screen, so we played name-that-performer while we waited. (Anouk Aimee, Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale, for starters.) Avid theater-goers will realize that it reminds them of the musical "Nine," the play based on the Federico Fellini film.
Katie’s has been open only a couple of weeks, making this an extremely early review in light of our usual policy. So be warned things change in restaurants this early in their lives, but we were happy with what we found and thought we’d share the meal with you.
The menu is shorter than the movie. Katie Lee, operating her first restaurant, comes to the business with good blood lines; she’s the niece of Zoe Houk, who’s operated restaurants around town for more than 30 years. Katie’s pizza is not St. Louis traditional style. It has the pre-requisite thin crust, but no provel, and we doubt if there’s a spot within 250 miles where you will find a pizza with potatoes, parsnips and pancetta bacon, a combination that will intrigue some and leave others with a funny expression on their faces.
Three first courses (cannelini bean dip, prosciutto spring rolls, and a dish of shrimp, olives and raw fennel), and four salads (mixed, chopped, shrimp Caesar and grilled tuna Nicoise) precede the pizzas. We tried the chopped, properly named the Italian Market Vegetable Chop Salad. At $7.95, it’s a very generous dish, a dinner plate edged with arugula and the center filled with julienned carrots, shaved fresh fennel, a little red onion, some chickpeas and baby tomatoes and a few pine nuts, all marinated in a vinaigrette. It’s definitely entree-sized, and surprisingly good the next day, we discovered.
Pizzas, except for the simple ones listed under the heading "Bambini," are 11 inches across. Out of ten pizze, three are vegetarian. We chose one with Genoa salami, onion, hot chiles, calamata olives and fresh mozzarella, and were delighted with it. First of all, it’s handsome, the thin salami slices cupping up to add a third dimension to a normally flat dish. The chiles seemed to be just a very light sprinkle of dried red pepper flakes, more of which was available if desired. It wasn’t swimming in cheese, and the crust was…. Mmmm, the crust. Very thin, very crisp. That thinness will endear it to locals, and so will the kitchen’s habit of spreading the toppings right to the edge. The occasional bubble here and there, told us it was definitely homemade. Firm enough to easily eat the wedges out of hand, and not very easy to tackle with a knife and fork. Good stuff.
Nine wines by the glass from their list, which isn’t all Italian, but leans in that direction.
The Washington University campus already has discovered this place, which may mean that Sunday evenings will be crowded. But you’ll always have a movie to watch.
Katie’s Pizzeria Café
6611 Clayton Rd., Clayton
314-727-8585
Coffee, Lunch and Dinner Daily
Credit cards: All major
Wheelchair access: Poor
Smoking: After 9 p.m.
Entrees. $11-$13
Comments
15 responses
The visit to Katie’s Pizzeria was the most disappointing and frankly antagonistic restaurant experience I have had in a long time. We waited an hour for pizza, the ONLY entree on the menu, only to have the waitress try to drop the neighboring table’s pizza off on us. She said “oops, the other table had eaten ours”. We declined the pizza we didn’t order and waited patiently for our pizza, which was ultimately somewhat cold and tasteless. I know these things happen at a new place, but when one person in our party gave constructive feedback to the owner, Katie, the response was insulting and defensive, apparently this a mix up has NEVER happened at their open-a-week-long restaurant and the person who gave the feedback was given a psychiatric evaluation – something I didn’t know Katie was qualified to give. Admittedly Katie did slam a bottle of wine on our table, but she never apologized or engaged in any kind of conversation. When leaving Katie told us to never come back and to “have a nice drive back to West County.” When I told Katie that I lived in the city, I was told “I didn’t look like it”. By her tone of voice I can tell you that living in West County is the ultimate insult. I’m not proud to say that at this point I lost it. So if you want bad pizza, bad service and the ultimate- bad ownership, visit Katie at her Pizzeria. I give them a month at best. You’d think Zoe Robinson would have trained her niece better than this. It was shocking. Maybe Katie should have a reality TV show instead of a restaurant.
Well, in giving the new restaurant its’ fair criticism, I can’t second the comment above.
I’ve visited Katie’s Pizzeria once and was quite happy with my experience.
I didn’t try any food, due to the fact that I had just eaten.
I did have two glasses of Shiraz though. A very dry red with just the perfect palate.
The service was friendly and inviting. Fabulously delicious women and you can bet I’ll patron again.
If anyone remembers correctly. The building the Katie’s Pizzeria is in, was Blueberry.
Blueberry went out of business. I’m not sure why, but my guess is More than Horrible Service.
I had visited the place twice and decided to never go back.
Now Katie’s has blown that notion out of the water. Either way, try Katie’s for yourself.
Delightful time with a Killer wine list.
Jay
The business in there before was actually Blackberry Cafe (as opposed to blueberry, but I can understand the mix up).
Rather than because of the suggested horrible service, they actually had to move out because the tenant (Katie’s dad) raised the rent way too high to make it possible to stay. They’ve moved across town to a location on Forsyth, right in front of Bally’s Gym–just before entering downtown Clayton.
Jayce, a landlord raises the rent, not the tenant.
I have had the pleasure of frequenting Katie’s Pizzeria & Cafe well over half a dozen times now and I can honestly say that my experience has never been anything but an absolute joy. The wait staff has always been perky and well-informed, while the atmosphere lends to an eclectic space that is comfortable while still sophisticated. The quality of the food has always been above the price point, and I have never had to wait more than 20 minutes for anything that I have ordered. I have brought everyone in my family to Katie’s, and every reaction has been the same, beaming with satisfaction. It is a warm atmosphere with friendly people and a laid back attitude that is centered around the notion of creating a positive and sophisticated dining experience. Especially considering this is Katie’s first restaurant, I, and everyone that has been there with me, has considered it is a complete success. I sing it’s praises.
upon visiting katie’s pizzeria, we were disappointed to find that what we had heard about katie, the owner, was accurate. when we arrived, there were already about 8 other people waiting for tables. we stood there for over 10 minutes before anyone even acknowledged any of us. when katie finally came to seat us, instead of apologizing for their lack of service, she appeared irritated and almost angry. one of the girls waiting suggested that she take a list of names down and she responded, arrogantly, “i can handle this” which she proved she could not, as there continued to be much confusion as to who was next and when we could be seated. we finally had to tell a server that we were next on the list when a table became available. after that initial encounter, our visit was pleasant enough. our server was great, despite being clearly understaffed. our salad was disappointing, but the pizza was delicious.
We love Katie’s. The service has improved greatly, the food is always great and the atmosphere is like no other in St. Louis. And to top it off they have welcomed Donna Scavatta as the new manager and Jack Rinaldi as the friday night bartender, both formerly from Balabans. What a pleasant surprise! We love it.
Dear Kim-
In regards to your post, I am deeply sorry for your disapointment saturday evening, I was the bartender/girl greeting patrons at the front,( Katie was not present that evening, along with half of the scheduled staff)…So I sincerely apologize for being short, but not only did I have a full bar and wait staff waiting on drinks, I as well was tending the front. We are aware that when we are short in staff , that it becomes very difficult on every employee to make sure all customers are happy. We recently had a meeting and have all come to a conclusion to take charge of this problem. I really hope you can see past this short coming and give us another try.Once again I am very sorry if i was rude, and I just did not think it was fair for Katie to take the heat on this, when it was in fact not her.
sorry again, hope to see you soon….we know the pizza will keep you coming back
Lauren
My husband and myself ate at Katies late Saturday evening and were absolutely delighted not only with the service, the congeniality and the atmosphere but also the food which was incredible.
The Tuna Nicoise was the best salad I can recall having in ages. I normally don’t care for olives other than the standard black or green. There were the most delicious tiny, presumably Greek or Italian olives and a house made dressing that was the perfect compliment to the salad.
Although I had the intention of only tasting the Pizza which had Eggplant and some other Veggies I ate half of it and have found myself wanting another one all week. I am thinking the elction results are a good reason for a celebratory meal!
Katie herself was not there when we dined so she obviously has hired an excellent support staff to run the restaurant and prepare her recipes.
The wine list is great. I had a delicious and generous glass of the Malbec.
I would recommend Katie’s to close friends, even those with high dining standards.
I ate at Katies about a month ago. It was a beautiful fall evening, so my boyfriend and I decided to enjoy some wine and pizza on the patio. I must say that all of the food was delicious. The service, on the other hand, was terrible!!! It started off fine enough when there were only a few tables of people. The appetizer arrived quickly, but our pizza never came. After about 30 minutes (while tables around us were served, finished, re-seated and served again) we went inside to inquire about our the whereabouts of our waitress and our pizza. Our waitress then made her one and only reappearance at our table with an excuse for the kitchen being slammed and it wasn’t her fault, when obviously the order had not been entered or was given to someone else. AFTER we had already followed up with the staff it was another 20 minutes before we were served!!!! Our pizza was served by the hostess and we went inside to request the check as it was never delivered. Needless to say, the waitress was not tipped, which is somethine I have NEVER felt necessary to do before in a restaurant. Note to Katie- your restaurant has excellent food, so it is a pity that your staff seems to be trying to sabotage the whole place.
My Wife and I ate there last night. She was dying to try it. We were one of the first people in for the dinner service, and we had fairly decent service, even though it seemed like none of the staff really had any idea what they were doing. Our food came quickly enough, and it was good for what it was. We, however, were not that impressed, and felt it was overpriced. We had the apple pizza, and while it wasn’t bad, it was missing something. perhaps the apples were not as sweet as i would have liked to go with the saltiness of the cheese. The place filled up quickly and it looked like they were struggling a little with the influx of customers. Reading through these posts, i think people have it correct: food = pretty good, Staff = not so good. I would say go there to try it if you must have some gourmet pizza. Otherwise, try somewhere else. We probably won’t be back, but might recommend it (with a bit of hesitation) if someone was looking for that style of pizza. Good luck, katie.
My husband and I wanted to try something different all day today. We had thus far, and now we were hungry. I said, “Let’s try a hole in the wall place we’ve never been too.” In 5 minutes we past Katie’s Pizzeria and Cafe and my pregnant self said, “Let’s go here!!” We are not from the area so we are always excited to eat somewhere non-chain related. The hostess/waitress was super nice. We arrived at almost 5 pm. No waits! 😉 The atmosphere was awesome. We loved all the lighting. It’s mostly candle lit. The tables are all different from each other as well as the chairs. The smell was not of food, but of a warm, inviting comfort. (It may have been our waitress’s perfume, but it worked) There are comfy little pillows on the backs of the bench we sat on. Very chic yet homelike atmosphere. We were surprised to see that Katie was there serving and talking with guests. (That doesn’t happen at most restaurants we go to.) We both had water in sleek skinny glasses, there were fresh flowers on each table, which were all different from each other. There was this tall clear vase with a random strand of light bulbs in it. A+ on atmospheric lighting. (I am an interior designer) Also loved the black and white movie that catches your eye over the bar. Our $5 side salads were scrumptious, and I loved the pine nuts added for a touch of unique flavor. We couldn’t decide on a pizza, as we have been to Dewey’s with all the unique flavors they have, and have been disappointed there in the past. We decided to get one pizza half/half. He got the roasted chicken and I got the salmon. They both had feta cheese. AWESOME CHOICES!!! We both felt so perfectly full after we ate the entire pizza. We didn’t have that overstuffed, greasy feeling you normally get from pizza places. The best was the crust–what was it!!?? It was perfect as well as our service. Our glasses stayed full. The napkins were the perfect size. The timing of everything went perfectly. (FYI there was a table of 7 across from us, 4 next to us, and about 4-5 more tables being served what looked like in a timely fashion) We definitely will be back. I can’t wait!!! Thanks for the great dinner!!!
I’ve been to Katie’s several times. At first the service was horrible, then they had a new manager – someone from Balaban’s – and the service was much improved. I even spotted the servers opening wine table side! Then one day I went in and I had a terrible experience. I asked for the mgr (the one from Balaban’s) and she had left. After some research I heard that Katie’s Dad ran her off. Katie I think you need to get that mgr back and get rid of your Dad!
I had not been to Katie’s in a while so I decided to check it out again and was very dissappointed. The waitresses are nice but not experienced, as they were last summer when I went. The food was good though. It’s kind of strange though because there is never a bartender. The waitresses handle the bar. I don’t know, that seems strange to me. I guess the bar business at Katie’s isn’t that good. Oh well, whatever! The pizza is still amazing. Tracy
everyone has an opinion, good, bad, well here’s mine… Karie’s is as good as it gets! her ideas are fabulous in all aspects of design with decor and cuisine! my expectations are low in terms of service- for any bistro or cafe in St Louis. the inconsistencies people have been blogging about are super typical for ALL small resturants in this city- only when I travel to NY or Chicago do the staff meet my expectations- and in St Lou- you only get consistency from overmanaged chains- Katies is awesome- and with a reality check on where you are- it is truly as good as you’re going to get! from a wel grounded perspective…. ****