A Saint Louis Legend: Failoni’s

“Only at Failoni’s” is more than a catch phrase for this excellent restaurant located on the edge of Dogtown on Manchester Road. For over one hundred years, the Failoni family have been welcoming hungry and thirty patrons ready for an outstanding meal.

The first time Big Guy and I went we arrived on a Friday night in a boisterous room ready to celebrate the end of the week. “Mama” was in the kitchen cooking up the week’s specials and the live music was slowly working into a dance party like nothing we have seen anywhere in St. Louis. The website describes Friday nights as “a throwback to the days of Chicago’s Villa Venice Café, New York’s Copa, and other popular dinner/nightclubs of the 1940’s, 1950’s, and 1960’s.” This description nails it as the Friday night vibe especially when we noticed there may have been a “Lola” and “Tony” at the bar.

We decided to stop for lunch and enjoy a quieter time with our fellow diners, and their dogs, on the patio. It was the perfect day for spinocci, a delicious wonton filled with spinach artichoke dip, and salads. You can bet we will be back soon for another Friday night of “Copacabana delight! “