Failoni Restaurant

Stopped in early on a Saturday night with some friends, we took a sat in the café which is only separated from the bar by a small open partition. The «café» is limited to about 5 tables while the bar seamed to have slightly more space. The atmosphere here feels more like your local neighborhood bar and grill and the crowd is slightly older, mostly 30+. There are several TVs around so you can be sure to catch the Cardinals or Blues score their next win. There was apparently an outside patio, however it was the middle of winter so it was closed, I am sure it would be a great place to spend a summer evening.
We started off with the Spinocci, which is essentially crispy fried wontons filled with spinach artichoke dip served alongside a sweet sauce, they were amazing and I highly recommend ordering them to start off your meal.
The table started off with two small 12″ pizzas, which are thin crispy flaky crust, slightly thicker than Imo’s. When ordering a pizza you can order it with red or white sauce and your choice or Provel or Mozzarella, for those that don’t know Provel is a Saint Louis combination of cheddar, Swiss, and Provelone which strangely enough tastes nothing like any of its ingredients. I went with a white sauce pizza topped with chicken, bacon and Provel cheese, the pizza itself was delicious. The Provel and white sauce provided an creamy almost buttery and gooey base from the chicken and bacon. The chicken and bacon were cooked perfectly, the chicken itself was done just right and not dried out at all. Over all the ingredients paired together for a top notch pizza, which I highly recommend checking out for yourself.
Service here is friendly, and you can tell that this is a family owned establishment. Prices are reasonable especially considering the small 12″ is almost enough for two meals, especially if paired with an appetizer. Overall Failoni’s is a solid choice for a evening out with friends or just a good meal, probably one of my top choices for pizza, I can’t wait to return and try a pizza with red sauce or one of their pasta dishes.

This place is a family owned and ran joint. Classic big Italian family feel. Everyone knows each other. Regulars are aplenty.
Pizza was good. I built my own. Nothing I would come back for consistently but it’s an interesting enough of a venue (with karaoked live music) to come back and enjoy the friendly family atmosphere.
After drinks and food, about $ 20 a person.

Good pizza in a south side institution. I think the same people have been coming here since they opened and they just keep adding new generations. No it’s not a young crowd but the beer is still cold and the pizza is great. Plus find another spot in STL where you can here Sinatra and Backstreet Boys from the singers in the restaurant on Friday nights. The main guy singing is the most stereotypical lounge/​cruise ship singer ever, but I’ll be dammed if it’s not fun to sing along.

Unilocal has never misled me so hilariously and agonizingly. I’m 18 years old and walked into what I believed to be a casual Italian restaurant/​bar; instead, the moment I step foot inside, there are about 50 40-​year-​olds dancing in a danky bar area to what youth my age would call ratchet music. So I awkwardly sit down at a table and I tell the waitress I’ll take a Coke. She brings it to me but doesn’t return. Five minutes pass, so I go up to the counter to ask her for a dinner menu. She says, «Sorry, the kitchen’s closed.» Well that sucks. It was a little after 11 p.m., and one of the only reasons I chose to drive several miles from my university was because Unilocal listed it as open until 1 a.m. I told the waitress, «Okay, I’ll just get the Coke then,» assuming she’d apologize for the misunderstanding and give me the drink free of charge. Nope. So I’m siting in this dive bar with people 2−3x my age, and I’m drinking a Coke that cost me $ 3. Go to this place if what I’ve described sounds appealing; I just wish the website and Unilocal reviews hadn’t been so misleading. I hope I can try the pizza sometime.

The homestyle cooking is spot on. The restaurant has a close knit, private club-​like atmosphere. I feel like everyone knows each other and they are welcoming when we outsiders stop in for lunch. The burgers are hand packed and huge. All of the prices are reasoanble considering the size of your portions.
Today’s special of breaded porkchop was well cooked and thick cut. I wouldn’t find a better chop at any of the mid-​tier steakhouses in St. Louis.
The service is quick, knoweldgeable, and very friendly. Our drinks were always filled and an ample bar was well within reach if we had chosen to go in the boozy direction.
Tuesdays are Dine with your Dog days on the patio.
The area is safe and plenty of parking is available across the street.

Made a Friday reservation for my family after seeing the great reviews. They had the table ready in this very packed and energetic spot. Felt so welcomed. Besides the terrific food (had the olive appetizers and the combo pizza), we were checked on many times by the owner and her son. It was obvious that that they genuinely cared about their customers. Our waitress was so attentive despite being very busy. We will make this a regular stop in STL and recommend it highly! :)
An absolute standard for restaurant hospitality!

Seriously awesome brick oven pizza. But that’s not what even brought us here.
Tuesday and Wednesday evening are dine with your pup nights, you can bring your dog (s) and sit on their peaceful and large patio. Our furry family member had been in her crate all day while we were at work so we wanted to go out to dinner but she can’t be trusted out in the house right now (she ate my nook), so we needed a place she could join us… Welcome to Failoni’s.
We ordered two pizzas, the Magherita was my choice and was PERFECT. The other had white sauce, spinach, bacon, sausage and provel, our group would order with the mozzarella next time, a bit rich for our tastes with the provel. Also the Florida native things Provel is nasty lol, not me I grew up in STL and LOVE it! We also had the flash fried spinach, two of us LOVED it! I had a house salad which was great with the house dressing and I believe homemade croutons.
The cheesecake was to die for, we ordered one slice and it was plenty to share between three people, don’t skip it, you will regret it!
Great service, friendly and attentive. Nice clientele, chatty and friendly. They even had a gentleman from Center for Head Injury selling handmade dog treats at a great price!
We will absolutely go back again and Sugar gives it a thumbs up too because the cutest little girl kept throwing her her bread. ;-)

I have never been disappointed by anything I’ve ordered here, and that’s an understatement. The pizza is awesome, despite my not really liking St. Louis style pizza in general. Joey’s Fave is possibly my favorite pizza ever and has opened my eyes to pickled jalapeños on pizza.
Come back just a couple of times and they will recognize you and treat you like family. Wonderful people running a wonderful business. Always a good time and a positive atmosphere.

The food is always Fabulous. Mama Failoni’s marinated olive appetizer is worth the trip on its own, and the pizza is true St. Louis style and excellent. Everybody who works here is family, and they are into 4^th generation of the original owners. And they treat all of their customers as part of their family. Wonderful local family atmosphere.

Great Italian fare in a friendly neighborhood corner bar setting! We had the pasta carbonara and a pizza and both were absolutely excellent. The pasta was perfectly cooked and loaded with bacon and huge chunks of mushroom. As others have noted the pizza is excellent St. Louis thin style, but without the heavy provel taste of Imos and the like. Pricing might seem a bit high given the décor, but trust me it is worth it!

Love it!
Failoni’s is a great Italian restaurant. My husband and I often go there on Friday before the «regulars» get there. On Friday night they have bands and you must have a reservation after 6 so be aware if you are planning to go on a Friday. I would say it is more of a hang out for the older 40’s crowd but their food is really good. I love their pizza, it’s St. Louis style but it’s a little thicker and they use cheeses beside provel as well. I always ask about their specials and they are always good. It is definitely family operated establishment. When I had a question about a menu item, the server said she needed to ask her mom about it! How cute! The head chef is the mother. You should definitely try Failoni’s I don’t think you will be disappointed.

Disclaimer: I haven’t eaten here… this 5-​star review comes strictly from the great time I had there last night.
My friend and I arrived at Failoni’s to watch another friend’s brother’s (did you get that?) band play. The band was on a break when we got there and some, what I thought was, Frank Sinatra was playing. The place was packed! We found my friend who quickly started telling me about the place and said, «That’s Alex singing!» Alex, the bartender (and I think owner?) was behind the bar singing Sinatra. He was incredible. He did a few more songs (and I was fooled a couple more times… completely thought it was the original artists). The band started playing again and they were rocking. We had so much fun dancing. The atmosphere was different from what I’m used to… the crowd was about 85% over 40. My friend and I are 22 and 30 (respectively), so I was kind of surprised by how much fun we had with that group. We called ourselves «cougars in training.» One of our new dancing friends told us to «Watch out for the old guys… unless they have money.» I loved it… there wasn’t pressure to look or act super cute, we just danced our asses off and had fun! Everyone there was just letting loose and having a good time, inhibitions aside. It was great!
I WILL return for the pizza… and probably to dance. :)

Great atmosphere! 40+ age range recommended

I love supporting locally owned places. When the place is also one of the best at what they do, it makes it even better. Great St Louis style pizza. A very friendly staff. Cool building. Go, eat, be happy, enough said.

I am so pumped right now after finding this place. Tried it tonight on a whim and do not regret it. Ordered take out, walked in, and Sinatra was playing softy — what a start! The 6 – 7 tables were packed with older couples having a romantic Saturday night out. Bartender and waitress were very nice. Now the food…
1. Toasted Ravioli — Good, hot, flavorful
2. Canoloni — Wow, probably the best I can remember
3. Sausage and Pepperoni pizza — mind altering. The meats were noticeably fresh. Please note that you have to like STL style pizza (i.e., provel cheese) to like this pizza.
This place is a find, and I went out of my way to review Failoni’s now rather than waiting. I’ll be back, very soon.

This place was packed with people.
As promised by the Unilocalers of STL there was a bit more of a convo here from the patrons, and the staff than the other bars I attended this week. This is the definition of a family place, with nothing but running this establishment for quite a long time apparently. The crowd is definitely of the older variety, 40s and up, very lively none the less. I met a regular there who was upset because he said Thursdays was usually a meat market of girls and instead tonight was a sausage fest, his words not mine. He invited me to another place he is a regular at and since I am always up for an adventure I went. (read about it in the next review)
All in all I recommend this place to anyone looking to hang with a bit older crowd and have good food and good fun.

Another nod for fresh PIZZA!
Failoni’s is a family owned restaurant/​bar that has been around for a very long time. It is best known as a blue collar lunch hangout, popular post game patio spot (w/​entertainment), and for their hopping Thursday night entertainment night, that fills up at happy hour and stays packed until closing.
Some call Thursdays at Failoni’s a «cougar-​fest.» I disagree with that assessment because Thursday nights at Failoni’s is clearly an all middle-​age party night. So, if a young lad is there on the prowl… it’s hardly a case of cougars out seeking cubs.
Failoni’s has always had a solid American/​Italian menu, but they recently added a full pizza kitchen and the pizza is good!!! They serve St. Louis style (a little thicker). But, it is so much better than any St. Louis pizza that I have tasted. Most ingredients are standard Italian and fresh from the Hill.
They will put provel on your pizza unless you ask for mozzarella, but they offer both options. Good stuff!

This looks like a tiny dive bar but a couple of things set it apart:
1) a very sophisticated pizza menu (St. Louis style). For those who dont like Provel there are plenty of ways to customize your pizza away from that. Price is about the same as an Imo’s. I had sausage and it was amazing.
2) The staff, is not surly and insouciant like amny dives. They bend over backwards to help you.
Other things to like about Failoni’s:
Great 1950s feel and furniture
The Cougar Parade on Thursdays! (What’s not to like about that?)
Both draft and bottled beer available. Almost all beer is $ 3.
Live music.
Some good sports memorabilia.
The pizza may be the best in town.
Neutral things:
The crowd is a little on the blue collar side (suggest not wearing a tie as I did).
Less-​than-​good things:
Tacky Frank Sinatra posters
Music was Motown/​Blues and really kind of sucked. Same old typical songs. And don’t play «Sweet Home Chicago» at a place that has St. Louis style pizza … or anywhere in St. Louis as far as I’m concerned! That’s for Cubs fans. You could tell the band could only play in certain times (like ¾? Not sure). I wanted to hear something faster and it was like «they couldn’t do it».

PIZZA!!!
Never have been too crazy for STL style until I had the very tasty pie @ Failonis. Not to mention the BEST thirsty Thursday crowd in the metro area. I anticipate deeply religous experiences for the upcoming day ballgame crowds on Thursdays.

One word: Pizza.
Best in town. Lots of places like to claim true St. Louis style pizza but it doesn’t get more authentic than this. Imo’s is a chain based off this recipe. How you ask, well the guy who opened up Failonis was in business with Mr. Imo when he started his now famous Imo’s Pizza.
What’s the difference? The ingredients. The provel, sausage, pepperoni come straight from The Hill (St. Louis’ Italian Neighborhood) and the difference is amazing.
I rave about this place to everyone I meet, and every time I take someone in, they can’t believe how amazing this pizza is.
I’m a Chicago style fan, thin crust has never been my thing and Imo’s makes me sick. But, that said, no body does pizza like Failonis.
Try it. I promise you won’t be upset, and you’ll kick yourself for not having been sooner.