Caf‚ Manhattan

Rating: 4/5
511 South Hanley Road
Clayton, MO 63105
314-863-5695
$7-10

This past weekend, we embarked on our first restaurant review. We wanted to find a place that wasn’t too far from campus, was reasonably priced, was different and, of course, served excellent food. Luckily, we managed to accomplish all of these goals during our visit to Caf‚ Manhattan.

From the outside, Caf‚ Manhattan doesn’t appear to be especially exciting. It has a plain brick fa‡ade with a discreet sign above the door. Upon entering, however, we found ourselves inside a classic 1950s-style diner with bright light fixtures, mini-shrines to Elvis and old Coca-Cola signs. We easily found a comfortable red booth and were soon greeted by our waitress.

Manhattan’s soda fountain seems to be one of the features that sets it apart from other St. Louis restaurants. They offer floats, phosphates, egg creams, malts and milkshakes. We tried a Dreamsicle and a mint chocolate chip milkshake. The Dreamsicle proved to be sweet and refreshing, especially when the vanilla ice cream began to melt and blended with the orange soda to create a creamy mixture of deliciousness. The mint chocolate chip shake was served in a glass reminiscent of the 1950s and was topped with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. To our delight, we were also provided with an old-fashioned tin cup filled with two or three serving’s worth of extra milkshake. In fact, the shake was so expertly blended that we ended up drinking the whole thing.

Unable to choose between toasted ravioli, toasted cannelloni or bruschetta for an appetizer, we decided to ask the waitress if she had a recommendation. She suggested that we try the toasted cannelloni, which proved to be a wise choice. A large white plate soon arrived with eight cannelloni, generously sprinkled with Parmesan cheese and accompanied by a large cup of marinara sauce. Fried to perfection, each cannelloni was lightly breaded and filled with a satisfying, savory mixture of beef and spinach.

Deciding on the main entr‚es proved to be the most difficult decision of the night. In addition to appetizers and drinks, Caf‚ Manhattan offers soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, pastas and desserts. We elected to go ahead and order some of the caf‚’s specials, Bob’s Pizza and baked lasagna. The lasagna came with a house salad, which came out first. We were pleasantly surprised when we tasted the fresh romaine lettuce sprinkled with parmesan and St. Louis-style provolone. The house dressing was zesty, but not overpowering and tasted similar to Caesar dressing. The salad was just the right size: large enough to be satisfying, but small enough to allow room for the main course.

Soon after the salad was finished, our entr‚es arrived. The menu described the lasagna as having a spicy sauce, which at first made us apprehensive. Once we made it past the thick layer of cheese melted across the top, though, we realized that the lasagna wasn’t too spicy at all. On the contrary, the ricotta cheese was baked perfectly into the soft layers of noodles and while there was a great deal of sauce, it actually provided a substantial amount of appeal to the entr‚e. The parmesan, ricotta and provolone cheeses were perfectly blended.

The pizza arrived piping hot on a metal tray. It was topped with shrimp, hamburger meat, bacon and green onions along with provolone and mozzarella cheese (it also typically comes with jalapeno peppers, but we opted to order it without). The shrimp on the pizza were quite small but tasty. Half-strips of bacon were generously distributed on the pizza and the green onions added a surprising extra sweetness, which complimented the meaty flavors. Caf‚ Manhattan makes their pizzas with whole ground garlic and fresh spices. Customers can choose between four different kinds of crust, 26 toppings and four types of cheese.

Our stomachs full, we were unfortunately unable to try the desserts. In the future, we will have to return to taste the Manhattan ‘Works’ Sundae, which is a fudge brownie topped with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, caramel, whipped cream, nuts and a cherry. We also hope to try their New York Style Cheesecake- another specialty.

Our main piece of advice for those who want to venture to the caf‚ is to be aware of the large portions. Typically big eaters, we were only able to finish half of the pizza and three-fourths of the lasagna. All in all, Caf‚ Manhattan was a delightful excursion away from Wash. U. The environment was welcoming, fun and relaxing. We would recommend Caf‚ Manhattan to anyone who wants to step back in time to get a relatively inexpensive meal just a short walk away from campus.

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