Cuisine: Italian
Restaurant Features: Bar, On-Site Parking
Location: St Paul, MN
Address: 425 West 7th Street, St. Paul, MN 55102 - (651) 291-7105
Links: Degidio's Website Google Map
Atmosphere: Located less than a mile from downtown St Paul, DeGidio's is a large family-owned restaurant that has been operating in its original location since 1933. The restaurant is very big, with at least two dining rooms and a large bar area with additional tables and booths. The ambiance of the restaurant was one that seemed very relaxed, with several parties enjoying the weekend night. Decor wasn't anything special.
View of the Bar area
Menu: Appetizers include Pizza Calabrese, Crostini Plate (olive tapenade), Pizza Olivino, Baked Goat Cheese, Bruschetta Dip Pomodoro, Garlic Cheese Bread, and Chicken Wings.
Salads offered at DeGidio's include Greek Chicken, Chicken Strawberry, Caesar, Godmother Salad, Godmother Lucera, and Sirloin Caesar. The Dinner Salad, Strawberry Salad and the Caesar are all offered as sides as well.
Italian specialties offered are the Spaghetti, Mostaccioli, Old-Fashioned Hot Dago, Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo, Linguini Salsiccia, Spaghetti Neapolitana, Beef Ravioli, Cheese Ravioli, Olive Tapenade, Mostaccioli Salerno, Italian Sausage Dip, Italian Meatball Dip, and Spicy Penne Arrabiata.
American Favorites include North American Walleye, Shrimp Platter, Sirloin Steak, Chicken Platter, Hamburger Platter, Steak Sandwich, and Italian Chicken Breast Sandwich.
DeGidio's dessert specialties are Spumoni Ice Cream, Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cake, Lemons & Cream Shortcake, Tiramisu, and Triple Chocolate Pinstripe Cake.
Price guide: Appetizers $7-10 Salads $4-11 Italian Specialties $8-11 American Entrees $8-14 Desserts $4-5
What We ordered: My companions and I started with the Pizza Calabrese, which was made of a thin crispy flatbread, and topped with a thin amount of olive oil, melted mozzarella and provolone, sauteed bell peppers and Italian sausage. I thought this was delicious! The sausage was spicy and slightly on the salty side, but had good flavor. I loved the crispiness of the crust in combination with the cheese. I would have liked a side of sauce to dip the pizza in, but it was good enough without it.
We also received this basket of garlic toast when they brought out our meals. The bread was thickly sliced, buttery, and flavored with a decent amount of garlic. I liked that the bread was just slightly crispy yet still somewhat soft in the middle.
I had been debating whether to order the cheese or meat ravioli for my meal, and took the server's suggestion to get the Cheese Ravioli with a Meatball. The raviolis were stuffed with ricotta cheese and then topped with DeGidio's Homemade Tomato Sauce and Mozzarella. I liked the standard-ricotta ravioli, but nothing fancy stood out about it. Same with the sauce...I thought it was good and liked that it had small chunks of tomato and onion in it, but it didn't set itself apart from many other red sauces that I have had before (including varieties found at the grocery store).
One of my companions ordered the Meatball Dip. This dish consisted of three homemade meatballs served atop a plate of mostaccioli and then smothered with sauteed bell peppers and mozzarella. The meatballs were very good, but the peppers could have been sauteed a little longer to make them a little softer.
Another companion tried the Hot Dago after seeing it served to others before we ordered. The patty was made of Italian Sausage and then served between two thick slices of bread and then topped with sauce and cheese.
Service: We arrived at the height of the Friday-Night dinner rush without a reservation. We were told we would have to wait about ten minutes, so we went into the bar area and ordered drinks. Less than five minutes after we arrived, the host came to tell us our table was ready. Our server was friendly and prompt when taking our order and refilling drinks. We ordered the appetizer at the same time as our meals and they were spaced just perfectly so that we were just finishing the appetizer when the meals were served. Our server was happy to give us more bread to take home with our leftovers.
Overall Impression: I thought the food was pretty good, but nothing about it stood out as anything truly special or unique in my eyes. Being that DeGidio's has been around for 75 years now, there are obviously many people who would disagree with my opinion. I also thought the menu was kind of limited but I was pleased with the service and thought the prices were very reasonable.
You must try their walleye! It is delicious. :)
Posted by: Julie | January 13, 2009 at 01:11 PM