The other week my oldest son (the younger son stayed in Milwaukee this Summer) looked at me and said he wanted Italian for dinner. I asked him to recommend a place. He said that his phone app recommended Il Bel Lago off of Olive in Creve Coeur. "Good grief"…I told him that was in West County in a strip mall. We tried it anyway. It was a delight….so good….I am craving another trip. The service was also very attentive.
"After 30 years of dining excellence at Giovanni’s On The Hill, Giovanni’s sons Frank and Carmelo branched out and brought a taste of The Hill to Creve Coeur in 2004 in the form of Il Bel Lago."
Check out their website HERE
Funny that you mention the Creve Coeur strip mall thing as this is actually history repeating itself.
Waaaaay back in the very early 70s, there was another strip mall on the very site where Il Bel Lago sits ( it was anchored by a Kroger, later to become Omni Sports) and that site housed another upscale Italian joint – Rinaldi’s.