Frank & Helen’s Pizzeria

Not only affordable, inviting, and delicious, BUT a 60 YEAR-​OLD ST. LOUIS LANDMARK! Just think of about it…60 YEARS!!! It’s NOT smaller portions for cheaper prices. It’s NOT corporate or franchised. Frank & Helen’s is genuine. A real… «one of a kind», that St. Louis should treasure. I love to see owners mingling with the people they care about. I love knowing menu items are made from scratch and delicious. I love restaurant employees who are invested in their workplace. I love that Frank & Helen’s isn’t trying to be something it isn’t. I love the LOVE I feel when I eat there. I LOVE FRANK & HELEN’S!!!

They are always so personable. I have only had the pizza, but it is my favorite thin crust in Saint Louis. Toppings are always fresh. I love their unique way of packaging them to go! Love this place.

I’ve had the broasted chicken recently. Decent fried chicken. We stopped by for lunch, today, though. The service was just pitiful. We walked in and were told to take a seat where we like. It was after 1 PM so there were like 4 other tables with people seated. It took about 7 minutes for anyone to come up and ask for our drink order. The woman stood behind me, facing my tablemate but talking to the back of my head. When I asked her to move where I could see her, she made a snide remark or joke or something. We ordered drinks. She then went to the next table and engaged in a prolonged conversation. She made a trip around the room and then went to the back. A few minutes later she came back and talked with the table after ours again. Not wanting to have a terrible service lunch and being really frustrated, we left. Sad, I recall the food being above average.

One of the worst pizzas I have ever eaten. we ordered the special salad with creamy garlic italian dressing and it was delicious. But the pizza… which I was told was the best. aaaghh it was awful. We ordered a thin crust and when we got it the cheese was barely melted and the crust was doughy. We won’t be going back. Very disappointed.

Great place for Italian and american comfort food (pizza, meat and potatoes). Inexpensive, casual, cozy and completely out of date atmosphere.

We went to Frank and Helens for dinner and the dining room was pretty empty. The service was friendly, but very slow, especially considering there weren’t many tables left. A few minor mistakes (wrong entrée served, forgetting to bring napkins, etc.) are understandable in my book, but some things are not. For example, we all had dessert, but our silverware was removed with our dinner plates, so we had to wait for the waitress to finally return to bring us some forks while we stared at our dessert for several minutes. It took 14 minutes to get a glass of wine. Like I said, it was just extremely slow service and the dining room was not full.
The food… okay, this is where it goes from a 4-​star review to a 2-​star review. My dad was so excited to go to Frank and Helens because they’re apparently legendary for their great food. He ordered fettuccine alfredo — a pretty basic dish, pretty difficult to mess up. I ordered cannelloni. The red sauce on the cannelloni tasted a lot like Ragu — it wasn’t very flavorful and tasted very… is synthetic the right word? It tasted like it was from a can or a jar, not fresh. The cannelloni were described as being filled with cheese, meat, and spinach, but it was clear that these were not fresh because all these ingredients were (I’m guessing) pre-​mixed together into a meat paste consistency. I was expecting ground meat, fresh spinach leaves, and cheese, but there was no cheese inside the cannelloni except it seemed like it was mixed into the meat paste, which had wilty strings of spinach (probably from a can) mixed throughout. It was not disgusting to eat, but it was not what I was expecting from Frank and Helens (maybe from a Fazolis this would be the norm, but we were expecting food that reflected the price, and this was not even coming close).
The fettuccine alfredo was hands down disgusting. It was very disappointing. The noodles weren’t quite al dente so they were actually very stiff and chewy. The white sauce was just that — white sauce. Absolutely no flavor whatsoever. My dad was pretty bummed about it and ended up switching plates with my sister and eating her chicken parmesean, which she did not want because she didn’t like the red sauce (and I couldn’t blame her). It was completely flavorless and we put a lot of salt and pepper into it, but it didn’t really help. It was embarrassingly bad.
Bottom line is that we were pretty disappointed because Frank and Helens is an establishment that has been around since the fifties in St. Louis. We thought this place stayed in business because they had high standards and delicious food, but unfortunately it seems like it’s more about the nostalgia now than the actual experience. It would probably be wise for them to limit their menu to their few specialties (chicken and pizza) and forego the high-​dollar Italian food they aren’t pulling off.

I have been eating here my entire life. Both of my parents grew up eating here. It was never gourmet or amazing but I feel it’s gone downhill lately. On a Saturday night when they weren’t busy the chicken came out terrible and took forever. It was greasy and not crispy. Also, there was no light on the porch between the outer door and the front door and I was concerned for my 87 year old grandmother and held her hand while walking through slowly.

This old mom and pop style pizzeria is fantastic. I have tried a number of items on the menu and have been satisfied with everything. My personal favorite is the broasted chicken. The chicken is very moist and and delicious. Portion sizes are large so bring an appetite.

Well not impressed. I use come hear because of neice tyrsin. And then they had great food and service. But have gone now hill the last few years. It took 20 minutes to make a BLT Sandwhich with bake beans. Wow slow for having on 14 people doing lunch. Just wow
Not impressed for a BLT and a glass of wine 15.52

Great food! The broasted chicken is absolutely delicious. The pizza is also great. The only reason I didn’t go four stars is the wait staff. While very nice, they seem a little short handed whenever I go for lunch.

Been awhile since I’ve been able to provide a five-​star rating for a restaurant in St. Louis — but I am truly thrilled to do so regardign Frank & Helen’s Pizzeria at 8111 Olive Blvd., in University City! Home of our friend Mary Wyss!
We were at a party Friday night to kick off Labor Day Weekend at our friend Faye’s beautiful home and met two of her friends there — one of them went to Parkway Central — Class of 1981 — Steve Goldberg. He was telling us about Frank and Helen’s Pizzeria in University City not far from their home. Once someone tells me about a great place to eat that I have not been. .. I cannot remove it from my brain.
Decided to try the Frank’s pizza — with 11 ingredients — but I opted to have the anchovies and black olives removed from the pizza pie. Truly delicious — the place is a retro throw-​back to the 1950s but well worth your time to go and get their pizza — because. .. I love pizza and this pizza was about as good as I’ve had in quite a while.
So when you are wanting a throw-​back environment in University City and delicious pizza on top of your dining experience, please head over to Frank & Helen’s Pizzeria. You will NOT be disappointed! Guaranteed.

Went for my actual family birthday dinner. Having turned 42 and never going here, I thought it was time. Got a table right away however had no waitress for 10 minutes to take our drink order. It was busy for a Sunday evening. So we over looked it. Placed our order. Took well over 45 minutes just to get our pizza. If your in a time crunch you might not want to try this on a night when u have other plans to get to. Food was good!!!

The st louis style pizza was OK at best. The dough wasn’t cooked all the way through, but they did put in back in the oven for us. The highlight was the toasted raviolis and the service was good. I still cant figure out who would give this place 4 stars or how these even made national list for best pizza. There are way better places out there.

Love this place! The menu is so eclectic but we always order the pizza (although my hubby sampled the fried chicken last time and said it was very, very good). Fortunately, you can order items a la carte if you want to sample an array and/​or have diverse tastes among your group.
In addition to the pizza and fried chicken, their creamy garlic salad dressing is worth mentioning. They also have great toasted ravs. I would pass on the cheesy garlic bread and the mashed potatoes were just ok (I really want to try the mac n’ cheese sometime).
In addition to the food, I love the character of this place. It feels like a family owned and run establishment and even the patrons feel like regulars — you just look around and get the sense that everyone dining has been coming to the place for years.
Make no mistake, fancy this ain’t. The restaurant has a dive vibe to it with a high probability that absolutely nothing about the décor/​atmosphere has changed since they opened and — honestly — I hope it never does.

A friend with perfect taste recommended Frank and Helen’s Pizzeria. On a weekday night a little after 5 p.m., we were the only ones in there. My friend and I had a fabulous feast of garlic cheese bread, ½ cheese and ½ veggie pizza and wine in January.
The décor is a little of this and a little of that from various decades. It’s not going for a unified look. That makes it charming. It was a little drafty and some of the booth seats are a little busted. Our server was a competent, quiet young lady who was not in uniform. Yes, it definitely looks and feels like a family business.
The food at Frank and Helen’s is as good as anything you’d get from the Hill. I am looking forward to returning with other friends/​family.

Great service, good food and seeing pizza delivered in a bag made me feel like a young man back on the South Side of Chicago!
Just ordered a thin crust cheese pizza and small salad. Salad was very good and fresh (and a for small quite generously sized), got the house homemade garlic Italian dressing which was quite good, not too garlicy.
Pizza was very well made, good crust sear on the edges and nicely done.
Seeing pizzas going on in bags rather than pizza boxes made me recall the small delivery place on the South side of Chicago where I grew up and would order pizzas after work. All in all a very nice experience. Would go again when I visit the area next trip.

I had no intention of going here tonight. My son and his Mrs .K. wanted to go out and invited my Mrs. K. and myself. I have not been in almost 45 years. That is correct 45 years since my last visit. I wish I could remember what I had 45 years ago but I don’t. I do remember what I had tonight. Broasted chicken. Which is kind of a pressure fried chicken. It was moist and very flavorful. I loved the breading they used and they marinate the chicken for 17 hours before they cook it. I don’t know why 17 hours and not say 18 which is divisible by two and makes total sense to me. It was not overly seasoned so the 17 hour marinate did not hurt the flavor.
I normally don’t get into pricing too much but $ 12.50 for two breasts of chicken, a salad, and a side order is a deal. I would think that the chicken is the play here. I had a taste of their pizza and it was average at best.

Not being from this area (St. Louis) has its advantages, for one, the food i eat i haven’t had at those places before, so every taste is a new experience. being a pizza snob because i come from the NJ/​NY area is a good and bad thing. on one side i have something to base my comparison to but also i expect a certain level of quality in pizza. i had to eat this pizza as its done st. louis style and i have not been able to find this style made outside the st. louis area.
its actually good. i thought for a bit the lack of yeast and the substitution of provel for mozzarella would have negative consequences, but i was wrong. the pizza was paper thin (the way i like it) with a crispy crust and the provel gave it a unique taste. it also helps to mention this F&H was featured in a comparison of the top 33 best pizza places in the US. indeed an experience to be had.
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on another occasion i tried the broasted chicken — very juicy — tastes like a better version of homemade KFC.
so far thats two different items from their menu and haven’t been disappointed with the great taste and quality of their food. I’m a frequency comer when i find myself working in this area now.
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the waitress suggested to try the chicken pesto pizza — so that will be next.

Great old place. A real wonderful family place.
Got a big ass pie and it was cross-​cut and thick with cheese. It came in a bag so i think that kept the crust crispy though i think it didn’t stay hot.
The toasted ravioli were tasty too.

I hadn’t been to Frank & Helen’s for years and I do mean years. Then the other day, I saw one of my good Unilocal friends checked in on their smart phone and it brought back memories of the broasted chicken and the fabulous creamy garlic house salad dressing. So when I got off work Sunday, I knew I wanted to a traditional Sunday night chicken dinner.
We arrived about 6:00 PM and the dining was half full or half empty which ever view to take. Either way, it didn’t stay that way long. In a New York minute, it was packed.
As we waited for our waitress, we glanced over the menu and watched other tables be served their pizzas and the famous broasted chicken. I giggled as I looked around, the place hadn’t changed since my last visit. Oh, did I mention my last visit was in the late 1980’s? Yes, it had been that long and trust me it still looked the same. The same tacky plain Jane ambiance, but you don’t come here for ambiance you come for comfort food.
The Creamy Garlic house dressing was as good and amazing as I remembered. As I’ve aged, I do not like my salads made with only Iceberg lettuce, but when Frank & Helen’s house dressing is drizzled on top all Iceberg is okay.
What is so cool about ordering chicken here, is they let select various combinations in your half chicken. I went with the traditional mix, but the BF loves thighs and went with the three thighs. My side was Steak Fries and the BF with with Mashed Potatoes with Chicken gravy. The mashed taters were awesome, you could tell they were truly made from scratch. The steak fries could of been a little crispier, but I always enjoy a big meaty fry over a crinkle cut.
As an appetizer we stayed with the chicken theme and choose chicken wings in their Original Spicy. They were tangy, but I found them to be a little too greasy or too much sauce. I’d skip their wings and try something else.
The service was a team effort. Since they got slammed with a full restaurant very quickly, everyone was helping and making sure things continued to run smooth in the dinning room.
I’ll be going back to try the pizza.