The menu says so much, even before you read a single word. Thick and glossy, it’s substantial, elegant, and formal, which is also a splendid way to describe the newest spawn of the Bartolino family in Twin Oaks, in the far southwest corner of St. Louis County.
In the museums guide of St. Louis’ grand tradition of Italian American dining, the Bartolino name is like the Louvre. Two other locations are established destinations, sites of innumerable celebrations or nights out since the early ’60s. This addition is a worthy one to the legacy.
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It’s barely twilight on a weeknight; even so, the place is packed, a combination of dates and families. Over here, a couple is engrossed in conversation over a pair of smoked Manhattans. Over there, a birthday celebration is gathered around a big circular table where the guest of honor is tucking into a plate of cavatelli broccoli.
The space is divided into rooms that make every table seem intimate. One cubicle is walled with bottles from the restaurant’s wine collection. Light from spiky brass chandeliers is softened to a warm, burnished glow. The bar bustles, the TVs above it keeping diners abreast of the latest scores. Chairs and banquette seating are amenable for the kind of leisurely dining that you expect in an eatery like this. Classy and cool tabletops are made of a marblelike synthetic stone. Despite sound-dampening efforts in the walls and ceiling, the decibel meter registers as “lively.”
That slick, substantial menu runs the gamut of familiar Italian dishes. Just close your eyes and point—you’ll be delighted. The veal selections alone are a beguiling excursion in excellence. OK, it’s baby cow, but your guilt is tastily assuaged after a single bite of the piccata, a pounded shingle of sautéed meat that’s more tender than a Hallmark movie ending. The lemony butter sauce is restrained; the capers add a spark of piquancy.
The traditional fallback at any upscale Italian joint is a steak. Skip the fussy modiga; the charbroiled New York strip, served with a side of pasta, is a hunk of simple, beefy worthiness.
Eggplant Parmesan is another reliable choice when dining cucina Italiana Bartolino-style. Here it gets a particularly extravagant treatment; two enormous paddles of eggplant are basically a pleasantly textured vehicle, wrapped in a toasty brown breading redolent with basil and oregano, melty burrata blobs, and shredded basil over swirls of angel hair pasta. The house’s pomodoro sauce is that fine combination of sweet tomatoes and tangy acidity, with a base of slowly reduced vegetables. It’s exquisite with the eggplant.
If you’re more inclined toward pasta, then Bartolino’s has you covered, with more than a dozen choices. The cream sauce is too overwhelming; go with the olive oil and garlic option with angel hair tutto mare, which is really really tutto, with shrimp, sweet clams, mussels, squid, and lots of other stuff of the mare persuasion. Request a spoon or use a slice of bread to scarpetta a delectable broth at the bottom of the tureen that tastes of summer at the sea.
The dimensions of a square of lasagna are intimidating. Less a helping than a geologic formation, it’s a masterpiece of the genre, a steaming stack of noodles, sausage, and sauce. And you’ll appreciate the temperature—not molten when it arrives but thoroughly hot.
Although rare for a St. Louis Italian restaurant, the seafood here gets arguably the most entertaining attention from the kitchen. Although Bartolino’s serves steak modiga, that local dining stalwart, its sole modiga is unique. Combining cheese and fish, especially the delicately flavored sole, is offbeat but succeeds. The breaded fillet is fried and tucked under provolone in a white wine and mushroom sauce. Shrimp scampi charbroiled with garlic and lemon, on the other hand, is entirely traditional.
A bed of flash-fried spinach cushions battered calamari. Slivers of poppy-red carpaccio are spiked with a lovely mustard aioli. The arancini also doesn’t disappoint: The crust and texture are perfect, though it was under-seasoned on our visit, and the ground beef added nothing. Speaking of risotto, the best bet here is the house version, with sausage and saffron in a wine sauce with just a hint of cream. Bartolino’s also offers its signature “St. Louis–style” pizza. Make of that what you will.
The wine list more than fills the bill; there are several Italian vintages, and all are fairly priced. The Le Pich cabernet sauvignon goes with the strip steak like a sofa nap and a rainy afternoon. Bartolino’s is justly proud of its cocktails, including those smoked Manhattans, with a woodsy aroma.
The menu says it all. Bartolino’s Twin Oaks is an instant major player on the metro area’s fine Italian dining scene.
