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The gang was all there.
When Frank Gabriele talked to us a few months ago about the opening of Giovanni’s Kitchen (the former Cini at 8831 Ladue Road), he vowed that “one of us will always be there. That's what will set it apart.”
He wasn’t kidding.
When we stopped by at lunch yesterday, patriarch Giovanni Gabriele (Giovanni’s on the Hill) was greeting and seating; his son, chef Frank Gabriele (both at left) was expediting in the kitchen; Alessandro Bozzato (chef from Giovanni's) was manning the burners; and Warren Rapp (GM at Il Bel Lago, the Gabriele’s other restaurant in Creve Coeur) was working the single-room dining room.
After several months of renovations, Giovanni’s Kitchen (the former Cini) opened on Monday, serving lunch and dinner. The space, in Colonial Marketplace in Ladue, was formerly home to Cini, the Gabrieles' foray into “fast casual Italian,” a logical and timely concept that “never really caught on,” according to Frank Gabriele. (Learn more about it in a recent Q&A with Gabriele, here.)
In the Q&A, Gabriele told SLM that Giovanni’s Kitchen “won't be elegant, but it will be very nice.” Perfect description...
The most dominant feature is the red walls, muted with a dark, smoky glaze. The effect is cozy, yet striking (so much so we asked for the name of the painter). A series of pewter-colored stamped metal panels lends Old World charm. A drywall drop ceiling and extensive carpeting mask ambient noise, reducing the chatter from the now-commonplace “deafening,” to merely “lively.”
There is a nine-seat bar at the rear of the room, with pinkish Edison bulbs dangling above. And where Cini’s kitchen was open, this one is closed, muzzling yet more decibels of unwanted noise.
In the same vein, the restaurant has 70 chairs, “when we could have done 85,” says Gabriele. The effect of formal black napkins and matching tablecloths is mitigated by the use of contrasting white butcher paper atop all tables (see above).
The lunch and dinner menu affords quality plates at affordable prices, like Maialina al Forno, a marvelous double-cut pork chop (above), at $19. At the top of the price ladder is a “kitchen sink” Fritto Misto—with clams, lobster, smelts, calamari, mussels, zucchini, and green peppers—and a fresh Branzino al Forno, a Meditarrean sea bass served deboned--with a touch of spinach, pesto, ginger, and anchovy paste (below) --but otherwise whole, both $24.
Lunch options hover in the $10 range, one of the stars being the Sorrentina (below left)--containing roasted eggplant, housemade mozzarella, basil, and tomato, on homemade panini bread, accompanied by an excellent little side salad with red peppers, pickled parsnips, kalamatas, and shaved fennel, all for $8.50.
Giovanni’s is largely a scratch kitchen—with all breads and pastas (except for the bucatini and rigatoni) made in house.
A typical example of Kitchen fare is the Scampi in Bianconero (above right), housemade black and white fettuccine with grilled Gulf prawns, grape tomatoes, and basil ($20).
An unexpected highlight is the optional bread course: a Sicilian staple made from pizza dough that Giovanni Gabrielle calls panelle. Served with red sauce (right), it’s the Italian version of chips and salsa, and just like its Mexican counterpart, you’ll have to restrain yourself--the bubbly, pillowy triangles are that irresistible.
No corners were cut with the wine list, either: it’s 80 bottles strong, with 20 varieties available by the glass.
The Gabriele’s have somehow taken Giovanni’s and Il Bel Lago down a notch in price but not in quality, knowing full well if they keep those 70 seats occupied, restaurant anomalies such as this can occur. The best part of that deal? Everybody wins.
Giovanni's Kitchen 8831 Ladue 314-721-4100 No website at press time, full menu is below
Photos by Kevin A. Roberts
