Adriana’s

Wow! Stopped by this place for lunch while driving through St. Louis. The line was long around noon on a Wednesday but moved very quickly. I had the Franco’s choice and asparagus soup.

Y’all y’all y’all. We are from Texas and this place is GGGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDD. YES GOOD. We were only in St Louis for two days but made it here both days for lunch.

I love going to The Hill on Satuday to shop and eat lunch. There are so many great places but Adriana’s is one of the best. I’ve been eating here for 15 years and I have never been disappointed. We each ordered the ½ and ½ with the salad and ½ sandwich. I got the Big Jack, Mortadella, Provolone with Olive Relish on Garlic Bread and my wife got the Gorgonzola Dip, Italian Beef with Gorgonzola Cheese on Garlic Bread with au jus. The fat from the Mortadella and the olive oil from the relish make the Big Jack a messy delight and the creamy half melted gorgonzola and the hot beef is incomparable. Get here early as it fills up fast. Adriana still mans the cash register and is one of the nicest people on The Hill.

One of our favorite places in STL for lunch. Family owned. Such a treasure. The food is fresh, authentic and delicious. And reasonable for the quality. I always get the Mary’s special with a side of pasta and red sauce. So, so, so, so good!

Delicious food always. The pizza is well worth the wait. The staff is always friendly. You can check out their daily specials on Facebook. They always have a soup of the day, lunch specials, great sides and fabulous desserts. Today was a beautiful day to sit outside and enjoy lunch!

I’m sorry but I don’t see what all the fuss is about. Maybe I didn’t order the right thing but I would think that everything here is suppose to be good. Majordomo said his sandwich was delicious but then again, he’s not writing this review. If you plan on dining in, get there early so you can get a table. The place is packed which makes me think they weren’t on the ball with my sandwich.
My better half ordered the Italian beef with potato salad and I ordered the Charlie’s special. The potato salad was pretty good as was his sandwich. Mine however, was a different story.
The Charlie’s special is mozzarella and provolone cheeses on GARLIC bread with black olives, tomato, two small pieces of onion and lettuce. I was so looking forward to this. After taking a bite, I had to open my sandwich to make sure there was some cheese on it. Yep, one piece of mozzarella and I think there was one piece of provolone on it. If it was on garlic bread, you could have fooled me. No garlic flavoring whatsoever. I was so disappointed.
Would I come back here? If I was in the area and the other restaurants were closed, I suppose so.

I have been coming here since I was little. This place is awesome. From the atmosphere to the food, I love this place. The woman behind the counter makes everyone feel like family. My favorite menu items (although you can’t go wrong) are the nana’s favorite, the caponata (to die for), and the pizza! Yum.

Love this place! I always get take out. It’s always busy! I’ve tried caponata, sunny veggie and the house salad. Everything is delicious and the staff is so friendly it makes you want to go back even more!

honestly, i’ve never been to adriana’s when it hasn’t been jam packed full of people! around lunch time the line is always out the door. BUT, don’t worry… adriana’s has been in business for years and years, and they know how to move people through the line quickly.
for lunch my favorite option is a half & half with Mary’s Special and the House Salad. Mary’s Special is a hot roast bead sandwich on cheese garlic bread. the bread is so fresh and flavorful. the House Salad is also great! some would say the salad is over-​dressed, but I love their Italian Dressing. you can’t pass up dessert at this lunch spot. if you have never tried Gooey Butter Cake, grab a slice! the Everything Chip Cookie is also fantastic (and it’s the size of my face).
the biggest down side of Adriana’s is that they are not open for dinner.

I’ve been looking for a place that makes a great sandwich and my coworker told me about Adriana’s. I got ‘The Hill Boy’ and have to say it as pretty good! They made it on a sesame hoagie roll and the mayo spread they put on it was slightly sweet. Also, they cut all of their meat fresh in the morning. Definitely will go back again.

Adriana’s is in my top 5 favorite lunch places in St. Louis. I just don’t get there very often because I’m not around The Hill at lunchtime but I managed to get there today. My very favorite thing is the Gorgonzola Dip (Hot Roast Beef and Gorgonzola Cheese on Garlic Bread). I like a lot of other things but I just don’t get there that often and hate to miss my favorite thing. So today I got the Half & Half with the Gorgonzola Dip and a cup of Potato and Prosciutto soup. YUM. Love the soup and the sandwich. My father got the special of the day which was a Chicken Parmigiano Sandwich and a side order of the penne with marinara sauce. We both enjoyed immensely and said we want to come back more often. I should have gotten an order of caponata to take home but didn’t think about it until later. Don’t miss Adriana’s if you are going to be anywhere near The Hill at lunchtime. As far as I’m concerned there are no other sandwich places on The Hill. This is the one.

Quick business lunch. Order at the counter, grab a seat, listen for your number. Pretty standard.
Sandwiches are huge. For me, the half & half makes the most sense. Half salad plus half sandwich is plenty enough to fill me up. I went with the house salad. Very good but a bit long on the dressing. The acidity in the dressing also gave the lettuce a slight wilt. All in all, a very good house salad. For the sandwich I went with an Italian beef on Italian bread. The combination was very flavorful but slightly dry. A bit of au jus on the side or drizzled on the sandwich after baking would hit the spot. I really liked how baking the sandwich caused the sesame seeds to brown slightly, enhancing their flavor.
I’ll certainly give these guys another shot. Next time around I will ask for less dressing on my salad and more au jus on my sandwich.

Ok, this place rocks! Ran by family members who still are very involved to keep the tradition.
The staff is happy and the food is superb!

Friendly little neighborhood sandwich shop with the charm of a small, locally-​owned corner café. The neighborhood seems to love and support this place and it was busy even for a late lunch hour. Our sandwiches were tasty and well-​prepared. Our server was friendly. But this is not a 4 – 5 star Unilocal location. They miss a few things that could use attention. For example, there were no lemons left for iced tea and they had one type of sweetener, Sweet & Low. Most cafes focus on quality tea and always have fresh lemons and 3 – 4 types of sweetener. Giant plastic cups were also still wet, which is not ideal. Breads could be more unique or fresh-​baked tasting or maybe toasted. Ours felt a bit store-​bought (not sure if it was.) Very limited side selections and each looked like a picnic dish. Tables and chairs are a bit cheap and décor could use more attention. I am glad to find this little café in the area, and I would return if I were in that neighborhood. But 4 – 5 star Unilocal restaurants typically are great enough to command people to travel some distance, this café is pretty much a spot for the neighborhood.
The Good: Food, Hill Location, Fast, large sandwiches, fair prices
The Bad: Lacking iced tea items, cheap décor, needs many upgrades

I wouldn’t say the quest for the best sandwiches in St. Louis ends here, but it’s one great place to start. Or like me, who is on the never ending quest, just added Adriana’s on the rotating schedule of deli’s that don’t disappoint. This was only my second time here.
Seriously, I don’t know what took me soooo long to find Adriana’s, but damn I’m glad I did… shout out to the local Unilocalers around these parts for sure… because it was really hard to decide on what to eat. Even thought they have the build your own option… you gotta stick with the trademark items on the menu… you know?!
Within this round, my kid’s split the pepperoni pizza, and some garlic cheese bread. Yea, I stole a slice… wasn’t bad. Really cheesy, I like that… I know for sure my kids liked it. One of the few times they ate all their food when we go out. My wallet was glad for that.
The wife had the Ben’s Special half sandwich and half house salad. She’s also half the reason why we came back to Adriana’s. On our first visit me and her both had the Gorgonzola Dips. Hot Roast Beef with (of course) gorgonzola cheese, on garlic cheese bread (genius by anybody who does this) with a side of Au jus. Now this Italian beef of a sandwich is amazing on it’s own, in fact I believe the hot roast beef varieties are what makes Adriana’s a staple here in the Hill… But that first time we came, the kid’s had the Ben’s special and she took a few bites and was hooked on that cold sub. It’s a good sandwich, but to her she just loved it. Hey Adriana’s, what is in that special sauce?!
This time I got Nana’s favorite and I upgraded the bread to the garlic cheese bread (highly recommend for any hot sandwich you get)…because screw calories right?! It’s loaded with hot roast beef, i think there was a sausage in there? Covered in marinara, and topped with provel. I can taste why it was Nana’s…favorite. Side note, what I really like about the Adriana’s is not just there signature Italian sands, but it’s the fact that they won’t skimp you on the product. They’re loaded, you’re gonna leave with a full, happy belly. If you’re wanting in on the lighter side, they accommodate for that too… at least what I’ve seen on the menu.
One last thing to account for. I’ve only been here twice. There’s a lot to still try, but the very first time I came here… the line was out the door and I waited (reading Unilocal reviews, clues, and news), but when I got up to the register to take my order the owner was behind the register. She engaged me in small talk, complimented, made me feel like family. I felt comfortable, like I was a regular local there. That was awesome. Best part… a little over a month later. I come back and she remembers me… same thing. Same passion. I support this deli.

Eat here. You have to try the pizza. Good STL style.
Food: ⁴⁄₅ Good pizza. Not roll your eyes back in your head better than sex good, but solid.
Atmosphere: ³⁄₅ Light and bright. Vinyl tablecloths. Very Diner-​esque.
Cleanliness: ⁴⁄₅ The place wasn’t immaculate, but clean enough that I had no worries about food safety.
Service:5/5 Everyone went above and beyond. Singing praises from the heavens.

Got to try the Mary and Ben’s Specials. Solid solid deli place. Not the best but definitely good.
Mary’s garlic bread is supa good, roast beef was alright. add em together you get the Mary’s, a roastbeef on garlic toast sub. I’d definitely ask if you could add some other stuff; maybe like the things on the italian beef and see if you can get some peppers and stuff on the Mary’s and that would probably make it da bomb.
The Ben’s Special is straight up just a solid big sub with lots of veggies and meats on a white bread. There isn’t anything too unique or different about the Ben’s special so next time I go I would try a different sandwich.
Definitely a good place to grab and go or dine in, they have a pretty big dine in area.

Half and Half combo: Italian salsiccia and pasta.
It was so delicious. It’s one of those things where it’s simple in ingredients, but very complex. You would think it’s easy to make it taste like that at home, but I don’t think I’ll be ever to do that.
The red sauce was awesome and pasta perfectly cooked. The sausage was great and juicy. Perfect combo with St. Louis provel, onion, and red peppers. I added a bit of red peppers to spice it up, but it was great by itself. Definitely going back!

Don’t let the minimalistic atmosphere fool you! Adriana’s is a true gem. It was one of the first restaurants I tried in St. Louis when I moved here, but it was the people, as well as the food, that really made my experience at Adriana’s memorable.
First off, I love their sandwiches. Each one is delicious and fully customizable. The pasta side and side salad are also very tasty. My vote is always for pasta, though! I could rave about their food all day. At the end of it, however, it’s something you really just have to try for yourself.
The staff were also incredibly helpful to me. If you have any questions — let’s say that maybe you (much like myself) were a newcomer to the city, and you wanted to know the difference between Provel cheese and the other cheeses they offer. The people who work here will happily and thoroughly explain the difference to you so they can help you make the right choice.
Not only did the woman behind the counter graciously answer all my trivial questions about cheese, she actually wound up giving me a free drink as well! I asked for a water cup, but absent-​mindedly got soda instead. When I went up to the counter to pay for it and explain my mistake (I really felt terrible about it after she was so kind to me), she smiled and said to me, «Aw, you don’t have to do that, Sweetie,» as she waved a hand in a brushing-​off motion. «Don’t you worry about it. It’s on us.»
It was a small act of kindness, but it’s something that’s really stuck with me, and I still think about it whenever I think about this place. Adriana’s is a no-​frills, quality Italian deli-​style restaurant, run by great people that make delicious food. They not only go out of their way to make sure you’re going to be happy with your meal, they go the extra mile to make you feel like family.
5 stars for having both excellent food and excellent service. Highly recommended.

This is one of my new favorite spots located on the Hill. Adriana’s is a great lunch spot and provides sandwiches, pizza, salads, and pastas. Such a great variety of choices!
A few of my co-​workers and I went for lunch not too long ago. We knew about the line starting around lunch time, so we skipped out of the office a little earlier than usual and arrived right before the «lunch rush» began. We only had one other group ahead of us in line so it worked out perfectly! Once we placed our order the line began forming, but it was moving pretty fast.
We placed our order quickly and we were excited to see Adriana herself at the register! She was taking orders like a champ! I opted to order half a sandwich and half penne pasta. What a great choice-​both tasted so fresh and delicious. The bread my sandwich was on was crunchy and still warm from being toasted.
She gave us a number to bring to our table and when our food was ready we picked it up and enjoyed every last bite. The girls at my table were all impressed and we already made plans to go back soon.
Service was excellent and the food was just as good as everyone has described. I was not disappointed.