I admit to having a real soft spot for neighborhood-y restaurants. And the lower end of Kingshighway has begun to sprout them, almost astonishing on quiet residential blocks that hardly seem related to their brethren holding Barnes-Jewish Hospital or the Royale saloon, for instance. But popping up on corners here and there are little spots to make the passer-by curious.
Pizzeria Tivoli is one of the earliest arrivals. They've been around for about two years. And it pretty much is just a pizzeria; there are two pasta entrees, but the true focus is the pizza from their wood-burning oven and bites to tide you over until the pizza is done.
Plenty of seating outside, which is nice; it's a little snug inside, or perhaps the word is cozy. One night the air conditioning had died and it seemed as though they'd gotten every fan on the block to provide breezes for folks seated on the east side of the building. Around the corner of the building, they've built an overhang so those tables are protected from the sun or rain. But in addition, they've put in something I've never seen in St. Louis before that I can recall. They have misters, as in "blowing a fine mist" to lower the ambient temperature with evaporation. Seen them in Hawaii, seen them in Las Vegas. And now here. It'll be interesting to watch how St. Louisans react to the cool mist and its effect on hair and clothes.
Salads are quite large, big enough to split,. The Tivoli salad had fresh greens, a little red onion and feta and a couple of wedges of toasted pita. It wasn't overdressed, and while the vinaigrette had just a little hit of sugar, it wasn't enough to turn this into a dessert salad. What turned out to be very worthwhile were bruschetta, slices of toasted baguette generously topped with good tomatoes dressed with garlic, olive oil, a little basil and plenty of Italian parsley. This too is a generous serving, and like all bruschetta with tomatoes, a little messy to eat, but the bread, particularly as the final pieces are being consumed, has soaked up the juices nicely, and the result is excellent, the sort of grandma-made-it-like-this dish that shouldn't (and didn't) fail at this time of year.
In other cities, Tivoli's pizza would be considered thin-crust, but in St. Louis, of course, it's medium-thin. One size, 12", and some interesting options along with the more usual choices. The quattro stagione, or four seasons, here wears mushrooms, green olives, anchovies and prosciutto with its tomato sauce and mozzarella. It's a fine combination, and prosciutto on a pizza is an idea that we should have come across earlier. The crust is not blistered as heavily as some of the other wood-fired ovens in town produce, and for many people that's an additional draw. It's got a nice chew without being exhausting, and satisfies on several levels. Another option, called the Villa d'Estte, presumably named for a palatial residence in Tivoli outside Rome, puts gyro meat, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions and what the menu calls taziki sauce on the crust. This is mostly a pretty tasty dish, the components of a gyro sandwich on the hot crust, the cool vegetables giving some contrast in temperature as well as crunch. That sauce, though, was a little surprising. At times, it tasted as though there was a little blue cheese in there with all the garlic; other times there might have been just a hint of cinnamon. Still, pretty good, although much less worthy than the quattro stagione as a leftover the next day. About half a dozen vegetarian options, by the way.
Allowing for leftovers the next day is the way to leave room for dessert; one night it was a lemoncello-mascarpone cake doing the luring, moist and lemony and creamy, although, happily, not annoyingly alcoholic as some alcohol-soaked cakes can be.
Service was a little chaotic the night of no air conditioning, on a following visit, it was fine, very attentive, beverage refilled quickly, and smiles even though it was busy.
It's surely good for the neighborhood.
Pizzeria Tivoli
5861 S. Kingshighway Blvd
314-832-3222
on Facebook
Credit cards: Yes
Wheelchair access: Fair
Smoking: No
Pizzas:$9-$15
Comments