After numerous issues with the place - pretensions of glory not matched by kitchen, service and setting - we decided to give it a try after avoiding it for several years.

Time does not heal all wounds.

Five dinners, all okay to excellent if you don't count mediocre salads and stale-tasting desserts. A variety of veal, chicken and fish entrees were worth or nearly worth the cost, given the middling decor and unfortunate table placed between the kitchen and the toilets. Overreaching always has been one of the problems with St. Louis Hill restaurants, and LoRusso's has suffered from it more than most. However, the quality of the food, such as it was, was completely undermined by a terrible server who got orders wrong, didn't serve beverages as requested, didn't bother to return for what felt like hours - oh wait, it WAS hours, since we arrived at 6:45 and didn't get released until 9:15. He couldn't bother with bringing cream for coffee, dropped off espresso without accoutrements, returned two checks FINALLY and kept another for an additional 15 minutes. It was absurd. The busboy attempted to remove plates still being dined from FIVE TIMES - overeagerness is one thing, but this was indicative of something more fundamentally wrong.

None of us will be returning. At that point it really didn't matter that the hostess shouted at us as we were leaving because she didn't like the look on one of our faces. A family atmosphere at a pretentious restaurant is fine, but who wants to be treated like a poor relation when you're forking over few hundred dollars. Capisco?

Nice atmosphere; warm; inviting; good food and service; would go there once a week if we lived closer;

We had decided to do a family trip to the Fox Theatre to see Wicked and wanted a good Italian meal for a party of 6. We chose LoRusso's on the recommendation of other St. Louis residents and the online reviews. We found the food good but not any better than other restaurants on or near The Hill. Our evening was made less pleasant by the lack of attention from the server. He was curt while taking drink and meal orders, unapologetic when the incorrect salad was served, and difficult (near impossible) to find for bread or drink refills. We had to ask another server about the available desserts after our waiter swept by our table and asked if anyone was interested in dessert then quickly left before we each had time to consider and answer. For a restaurant with great reviews for food and an early evening weekday reservation (5:30 pm) when the restaurant was not yet super busy, our evening was disappointing and we will probably try a different restaurant the next time we are in St. Louis. We have experienced equally good food, ambiance, and much better service in other Italian restaurants in much nicer neighborhoods in this city.

Decided to try LoRusso's based upon reviews on TripAdvisor. Was not disappointed. The food was fantastic, from the ceasar salad, to the fresh pasta w/meatballs, to the Creme Brulea. Service was excellent. The waitor knew and could explain the specials, and constantly checked to ensure everything was ok. I have ate on the Hill mutiple times, this is by far the best my best meal.