Rich & Charlie’s

I think the reason most people like this place is the nostalgia. It’s been around the city for decades, and I find most people that love it are natives. Relative to the other Italian options in the city, I think it is mediocre at best.

We had this pizza for the first time a couple weeks ago and it is amazing with a great price… and the bonus? They deliver!!!

There are 3 things I expect in an Italian restaurant: warm bread, wine, and good food. This place failed at all three. Granted the Unilocal listing did say no alcohol but still what kind of italian place doesn’t have booze. Anyway. The food was mediocre at best and it was freezing cold and cramped and extremely loud. The mozzarella appetizer came straight out of a bag and the salads were lackluster. I had the veal with artichokes in a garlic white wine sauce. The veal was over done and the sauce tasted more like a chicken gravy for dumplings than a pasta sauce. My boyfriend had the chicken marsala. The chicken was over done and the flavor was bland. The cavatelli with cream sauce was the best part of the meal and you could tell it had been sitting a while under the warming lights. All in all, definitely not a 4 star Italian joint and not worth the $ 50 dollar tab.

It is very very seldom that I get a meal at a new restaurant and immediately fall in love with the place. This was such a place. It is small and loud and friendly and the food is outstanding! Can’t wait to go back.

Great place to go. Small seating area. Note they do not serve alcohol but you can bring your own. Great prices for above average pasta.

Food as always was eonderful! We started with the fried zucchini appetizer and the house salad with house dressing. I had the eggplant parmigiana appetizer for dinner as their portion sizes are very generous and my fiancé had the chicken artichoke dish which was delicious! I will be ordering this myself next time!

I have to confess, this was not what I was expecting when we walked in. The dining room was tiny and kind of cramped. We thought we were going out for a nice romantic dinner, but it was more standard, homey feeling, and nothing fancy. It was fine, just not what I was expecting. Service was also standard.
However, the food is most definitely as delicious as everyone says! The spaghetti and meatballs was delicious, and my husband’s chicken parm was a large portion and also delicious. We’ll go back, but we’ll dress a little more normally, haha.

One of my fondest childhood memories! You can’t beat the toasted ravioli! 35 years later and we are still talking about it!

This joint is the same place from my childhood 35+ years ago. It was amazing back then. We loved the toasted ravioli.

This was one of the first take out places we tried when we moved into the area. So good. Quality Italian and good pizza. Love the salad and pasta. We haven’t tried anything there that we don’t like. Two thumbs up!

My husband and I went here for dinner – one of our go-to’s because we generally know what to expect. I ordered Pasta con Broccoli for about the 100^th time. I don’t order it anywhere else because seriously, no one can compete with this killer recipe. It’s big enough to have an entire portion for the next day too.
It’s impossible to resist their Italian bread and butter, which I bet arrives daily from the Hill. This location doesn’t offer alcohol but you can bring your own (wine at least). Patrons are charged a small fee for a glass.
The dining room is decent but far from posh and the chairs are as comfy as vintage can be. Tables are small and seating is a little cramped (at some tables more than others). The years are catching up on this place and you can only clean it so much after all this time. Probably time to renovate but I’m too addicted to their pasta to worry about it if they don’t.

Before there was Pasta House there was Rich and Charlie’s. Few people know the history between the two pasta standouts in St. Louis. Rich and Charlie’s was what started the Pasta House empire. In fact the Pasta House salad was known for years as a Rich and Charlie’s salad. So that bit of history now gone over I am going to write my review on Rich and Charlie’s.
When you sit down you get a basket of fresh Italian bread served with real butter. If you order a meal the Rich and Charlie’s salad is included. I added provel cheese and salami to the all star salad. The bowl of salad is huge and I must confess I could not finish my entrée. I ordered the veal parmesan as my main course and it also comes with a choice of white garlic cream sauce or red sauce cavatelli. I chose the garlic cream sauce. I ate a test bite of the cavatelli and then ate less than half of my veal. I have more then enough left over for another full meal.
Mrs. K ordered the carbonara. Pasta House has changed their carbonara and lightened the dish. Rich and Charlie’s has the old style carbonara loaded with bacon, and garlic cream sauce. This is the real deal. Mrs. K. also had garlic cheese bread which along with 90% of her entrée went home with us. She will get 2 meals out of the left overs.
The price for two cokes, garlic cheese bread, salad, veal parmesan and carbonara came to $ 49.10. The prices reflect what Pasta House used to be. A great value. So if you are looking for what the Pasta House used to be like with the all the big flavors it all can be found at this little place.

Yummy! This was the go-​to place for pickup in high school. It was the only place everyone could agree on. I’m fairly boring and got either the pasta con broccoli or tortellini every time and mever regretted it! I’m getting hungry just writing about. I’ve shockingly never dined in throughout my many visits so I can’t comment there but everything, and everyone seems nice.

It’s a small place so large parties may not fit.
Otherwise beware of portions, they’re huge so you may have leftovers for a few days, but they are delicious. And when I say delicious I mean St. Louis Italian delicious, so if you don’t like St. Louis Italian you probably won’t like it.
You can order a half size which isn’t mentioned on the menu.
Garlic cheese bread comes out in cast iron. Large salad easily feeds four (if you’re ordering entrees too).
I am sure you saw but it is BYOB. Which is nice because you don’t have to deal with restaurants overpricing drinks, especially wine.

My family and I were in town for a softball tournament. We always prefer to find local fare to eat and chose Rich & Charlie’s based on the previous reviews. I have to say we were not disappointed. The dinning area is on the small side, maybe fifteen tables, but the fast friendly service makes up for it.
The food was amazing! Large deep bowls of piping hot, bubbley pasta served with soft chewy bread. The garlic cheese bread was to die for. I ordered the penne ronzio. It was very good, with plenty of prosciutto and mushrooms in every bite. My wife ordered the stuffed manicotti. The cheese was perfectly seasoned. The best dish by far was the cavatelli ordered by my daughter. The best garlic cream sauce I have ever had. My only critiques are that the bread before the meal should be served warm and the red sauce is a little sweet. But that’s more of a personal preference. I know for a fact anytime I’m back in the area I’ll return for another meal.

Small location but excellent food. So get there early and come hungry. Cheese garlic bread is loaded with cheese and very tasty. Portion sizes are extremely large so unless you want leftovers for days or are a big eater, I’d recommend getting the half orders. I’ll be returning.

The best tiny Italian restaurant in the world! The food is simply perfection! The salad is the best around – love those artichoke hearts! Definitely get the cheesy bread – nothing beats melted provel cheese. I always order the pasta but my husband is addicted to the baked lasagna. I don’t think we have ever had room for dessert but I’m sure it is yummy, too!

It was our first visit yesterday. Small restaurant with friendly service. Salad was good and large. Bread was good too. Lasagna was just okay; would have liked more meat. Husband liked tortellini. The bill was the shocker! Seemed over price but we also don’t eat Italian out a lot so others may find the prices reasonable.

I’ve gotten hooked on Chicken Marsala from their catering service. An event I attended at Christmas offered it. I haven’t been to the restraunt and have been searching out other restraunt’s chicken marsala. Needless to say I haven’t found another version as good as Rich & Charlie’s. I will be going to this restraunt in the near future for the chicken marsala.

There are little families all over St. Louis but this is one of my favorites. It’s a tiny little dining room (and I mean tiny) for years, and it certainly outshines the bigger chains.
Food– awesome. I have never had anything bad here. Every dish I’ve tried has been excellent. Nice sized portions… Not super sized but not skimping out. The quality and taste is always spot on. Definitely not industrialized like you find in other places. One of the keys for me is the dinner salads and bread that come before the meal. Many places skimp out on that and you get chunks of iceberg, a blob of cheese on top and a to go cup of dressing. Typically you have to pay for a nicer salad, but not here. The standard dinner salads are decent lettuce, already cut, pre tossed in Parmesan and their house dressing. Bread is actually good fresh bread too. If they put effort into the little side dinner salad, you know a place is putting time into their main plates. Oh. And did I mention? TRY THE MEAT BALLS!
And if you save room for desert the peanut butter pie is made from scratch and good enough to kill for. Ha ok well almost. Really really good.
Price– not bad. You can expect to pay between 8 – 15 depending on your dinner entrée and 7 – 12 for lunch. Very reasonable for the food you’re getting.
Great experience for me every time. Cute romantic setting and friendly service every time. I highly recommend for a lunch or dinner experience.