Trattoria Branica

I always enjoyed our meals here. Unfortunately, it has closed its door for business.

We went here to eat. The food tasted great!!! You have to try their lemon desserts!

The ambience was nothing to be desired. We went there on a Friday night and it was basically empty. Service was below average. Food is alright, nothing special.

This place is tucked away and so doesn’t get the traffic that it should. It has great food, ambiance and service. You should definitely try it. Kids would be o.k. for lunch and older kids or adults only at dinner. We had made it a regular family «go to» place for lunch on the weekend and were sad to leave it when we left St. Louis. the desserts are good too!

We went here for our anniversary and had a great meal. We each had the beef filet mignon. It was fork tender and cooked perfectly. The service was great and the ambiance was very nice in the atrium area. When they found that it was our anniversary, they brought us tiramisu. It was a great meal. Definitely will return!

Friendly mainstream Italian in this Frontenac pseudo-​mall offers a relaxing and upscale environment. Atrium seating creates a friendly patio feel, or the dining room is a bit nicer (albeit dated). Our server was excellent… friendly, fast and intuitive. The menu features your typical Italian pastas, steaks and chicken. While I would not rank Trattoria Branica in the top 10 St. Louis Italian restaurants, it was good and in a great central area with easy parking and a comfortable atmosphere. The dinner crowd during the week was a bit light and the price was a big higher than we expected – but overall a nice local restaurant. Nearby Sugo might be more fun and flavorful, but for a more fine dining experience, this is a nice choice. Good convenience central location for a group or family gathering.

My girlfriends and I went here with a Groupon. They treated us very well even with the Groupon; our service was great even though the restaurant was busy. That being said, I was surprised that the restaurant was busy because my food was frankly bad. All of our dishes were bland and dated. My lasagna was obviously made with store-​bought noodles and was soft enough that I could’ve eaten it without chewing. That texture may be good for the restaurant’s many edentulous patrons, but not for me. I don’t think I’ll ever go back unless they start making more of their food fresh.

I was here for an event with a group. The appetizers were very flavorful and had interesting taste. The dishes were also very good.
We had a group of 25 people and the service at first was a little slow. They had to pour wine and bring out salads and appetizers with just two servers. But they quickly picked up and everyone was served main dishes at the same time.

BF and I went here the other week with a groupon. The location of the restaurant threw us off a bit. It is set back off the road in a big office building. When we walked in we didn’t know where to go, it was a foyer with stairs to go up or down and a door around the corner. We were correct in choosing the door. There is a «patio» that sits out in the mall/​business area with a black iron fence around it. The «inside» dining area looked nicer. Having a groupon, they seated us on the patio. Throughout the meal we felt like we were eating in an old run down office building filled with lawyers.
The waiter was older and was very enthusiastic and polite. The younger waiters were rude and uppity. The waiters were mainly male and would stand and complain to each other and one even walked by dropping a few 4 letter words. If we went back, I would definitely try to be seated by the waiter we had.
The food was pretty good. We both got the filet in a sauce with cheese and mushrooms. Though it was good, it didn’t taste like it was prepared on a grill. It was also a bit strange the steaks did not have a uniform/​clean cut shape. Also, the BF’s was a little overdone. The mashed potatoes were decent, nothing special. The mixed veggies (squash/​zucchini) were a bit soggy and were just in a butter sauce. The asparagus was al dente and just had butter and salt/​pepper.
Overall, the meal was decent, but would never go back without a groupon. It was not worth the price for the quality of food and service. It came to about $ 80 without a groupon (2 steaks, 2 cheap house wines), they also added in gratuity automatically.

They will automatically charge u 20 percent gratuity to 2 people, i’ll never go there again.

This is one of those odd restaurant locations that can throw you off because it’s inside a odd business location, the only other one like it I know is the Barn at Lucerne … when you walk in with various businesses located there and then there is «patio» with a businesses meet up type thing and you go this way to enter the restaurant, it’s just odd, with an older décor feeling. Not sure what to expect I was then actually surprised the food was as good as it was. You do have that Italian service that goes with it, not anything high end, more like being served by your family or neighborhood friends but good service regardless.
On our plates this night were the house salad (pretty good) Tilapia (very good), the strip steak (pretty good) and the tiramisu (very good, which is hard to do with tiramisu).
Overall it’s closer to a 3 than it would be a 5 so it was a decent experience and not outstanding but I am glad I had the chance to try.

Last night hubby & I couldn’t decide where to eat so we once again pulled out our deck of Taste Cards ($ 10 off coupon) & at random selected to visit Trattoria Branica & I’m glad we did.
The restaurant setting is very nice, the menu is priced reasonable, the food & service were exceptional.
The waiter started us out with hot rolls and butter which was very good. We started out with Branica Salads which were again very good and arrived fairly quickly.
I ordered Tortellini De Pollo and hubby ordered the Lobster ravioli. Both dishes were amazing! Our bill total was just $ 38 before we used our Taste Cards coupon $ 28 with the coupon which is a bargain for this place!

Experienced this restaurant 8-​04-​2013 with friends. We decided to sit in the courtyard, which had a lovely ambiance. However the the square table for four was much more suited to a table for two, really felt cramped.
The wines we chose were really good we had the cabernet sauvignon and our friend had the malbec which she really enjoyed.
For Dinner I chose the Salmone Campagnolo, the mash potatoes were great however the salmon was definately overcooked and very dry and lacked flavor. Everyone else chose the Saltimbocca, which was also nothing special, have had better on the hill.
Visited August 2013

Consistently good food and service for both small and large parties. Lobster ravioli is excellent. Salmone campagnolo is very good too. So is the veal al limore. In most other cities this place would be a true standout, but the competition for excellent Italian food in St. Louis is extremely high.

First time here last Friday evening. Had a Groupon for dinner for four, which I told our waiter (Luigi) about first thing. Had a really wonderful meal. The calamari was excellent (and I’m really picky about calamari), and the house wines by the glass were really nice (a Cab., a Merlot, and an S. Blanc… I had at least a sip of them all). My wife’s steak was excellent (mushroom demi glacé) and my halibut (one of the specials) was very good. Luigi was really great, very old school Italian professional waitstaff, attentive to our needs without too much attention when not needed.
We’ll definitely return. Would go back for the calamari, and I’d love to try their linguini with clams. And we’ll ask for Luigi!

Slightly above average food and strange service.
The place was completely packed and had an older crowd at around 6:30 on a Saturday. Food took a long time to come out of the kitchen, probably for the reason just mentioned.
The smoked trout appetizer was good; I liked my seafood frettucine even though it looked like it had been sitting as the sauce was a bit congealed when the plate came onto the table. My dining partners didn’t care for their lamb (you know when you get a lamb that isn’t cooked exactly right, it tastes chew-​y?) and lasagna, but I heard the trout entrée was decent.
Service was… odd to say the least. Our waiter almost sounded condescending at times (I suspect it was because there was some sort of coupon involved… I had no idea what kind as I was invited by the person with the coupon). He was stumbling all over the specials; later, when one of the people in my party asked for more bread, he snapped back at him with a «hold on!». I overheard him snap at other tables when they tried to flag him down with a request. Jeeez. what was with the attitude. In the end of the meal when he asked if there was an occasion (probably because there was a little bag that we exchanged sitting on the table), we mentioned it was two people’s birthdays. He responded with «Do you want a cake or something?» Eh… we’ll pass if you put it that way. I have never heard a waiter ask me that before. You either bring it out or you don’t say anything. That was just… strange.
Overall, meh. For Italian, it was pretty cheap. My fettucine was $ 17 I believe and the portion was pretty big. I just didn’t find it all that special, especially given the strange, borderlying-​rude service we received.

First time for dinner. .. all my other visits have been for lunch. And as it turns out, lunch is a bargain compared to dinner!
We had a 5:30 p.m. reservation, and I was the first diner in the place. The hostess offered the dining room or the indoor patio. I selected the patio — with all the festive Christmas decorations around in the four-​story courtyard.
I settled in at the nice, roomy table for two, was served water, rolls and butter, and a beverage, and read my book while waiting for my college chum. I did arrive a tad early.
There wasn’t too much happening. There was one couple in the dining room, and that was about it for a while.
We both got the Branica salad ($ 4.50), which is a lucious combination of greens (no iceberg), mozz, halved cherry tomatoes and onion with house vinaigrette. It was a beautiful presentation of a composed salad. And it tasted fabulous.
For entrees, we both got the Tortilloni de Pollo ($ 14.95) — Chicken and prosciutto tortelloni in a thick, rich cream sauce with peas and mushrooms. We both asked for extra mushrooms, and there was a upcharge, of which we were not apprised.
The tortilloni was absolutely grand! Sooo rich, neither one of us could even get through half of it.
We had a Groupon for $ 30 of food (for which I paid $ 15), but I thought it was still kinda pricey for a pasta dinner.
We both had huge to-​go vessels.
Service from Larry was spot-​on!
And the rolls were spectacular!

I must disagree with the negative reviews. I am a frequent traveler to St. Louis and the Trattoria Branica has been consistently good. I’ve never had a bad meal or bad service. I’m talking four years of experience.

Dining out is entertainment. So if Niche is our Michael Buble and Tony’s is our Frank Sinatra, I’d say Trattoria Branica is probably Jerry Vale or Mike Douglas. Good singers, yes, all but forgotten. On a recent evening visit, I don’t think there was even one guest who wouldn’t remember both Jerry Vale and Mike Douglas. Gray hair was definitely the order of the day. For the middle of the holiday season and smack in the center of the St. Louis population, it sure was quiet. They’re in the middle of a pretty exclusive little mall, so maybe they do a good lunch business.
I asked myself after leaving: if I was from out of town and stumbled in, would I recognize this as a place that’s been around and lost whatever buzz it’s had? The old awning over the entry is telling. Other than that, though, the ambience isn’t particularly old school. The menus seem kind of old, yes, but service is friendly, if not all that polished, and they’re cranking out some pretty good food.
We had Tenderloin Broschettes and a seared scallop special. Both were pretty good, around $ 20, with salads about $ 6 or so (also good). Louis Martini cabernet was $ 32 a bottle — not bad for a good bottle of wine.
No complaints really, but it was just so quiet and kind of sad. In the world of entertainment, «kind of sad» doesn’t draw raves. If this restaurant ever had buzz, it predates Unilocal (3 reviews before me). Maybe a makeover is in order. If you’re looking for a trendy hot spot, try Sugo’s about 100 feet away. If you want to take grandma to dinner without reservations, and you want some good food at a fair enough price, and you want to hear every whisper of the conversation, this is your place.
Probably great and a lot more lively for lunch.

Absolutely love this place. Unfortunately I only seem to get there for lunch, so I haven’t been able to enjoy their wine selection, but I have to tell ya. There isn’t much better then this place.
The Spinach salad is unbelievable and the tortellini is the best I have ever eaten. All tortellini, in my mind, is compared to the taste of this place.
It also has a very unique atmosphere sitting in an atrium like setting watching the older looking elevator run up and down the wall.