Cicero's

nogoodreason

Missouri

4.18/5  rDev +5.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Cicero's used to be THE beer bar in the city. Alas, they've fallen off and no one has arisen to replace them.

The place is nice, with a pretty broad selection and some good food, though the service is seemingly entirely untrained in the beer department. While they have some great choices, they're often not fresh and rarely, if ever server the way you would want them. If they bring you a glass without you having to ask for it, it's almost always frosted.

It seemed some time ago, that they really cared about their selection. At this point it almost seems like a simple gimic to get people in the doors.

Still, it's worth a stop from time to time, simply to see what's on tap and for the food, which is always decent.

12-14-2004 18:29:06 | More by nogoodreason

AtLagerHeads

Ohio

4.03/5  rDev +1.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4

This is a very happening spot near Wash U. on Delmar. The place was packed and hopping on our Saturday night visit here. The on-street parking was tough to find and we had a 20 minute wait for a table. But the entertainment was good, the crowd mixed but primarily college agers, and the food was good enough though a bit pricey.

The food is heavily mixed toward pizza and pasta, both of which were quite good. Service is a bit distracted especially on a busy night. My initial beer order was completely dropped. Thankfully the food order was not.

But Cicero's is more about beer than food, as any good BA will attest. The glass front coolers and taps hold an amazing array of beer. Many Belgians and great craft beers in evidence. You'll satisfy your beer thirst here and then some. One of the best I've yet seen for selection. A must stop for BAs in St. Louis.

09-15-2003 13:46:46 | More by AtLagerHeads

Ave

Iowa

4.58/5  rDev +15.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5

What can I say? Cicero's is the place to go for beer in St. Louis. There are other places for sure, but none have the voluminous selection that Cicero’s dose. With more than 40 taps, more than half of which stay in rotation, & typically more than 100 others available in bottles, there is more great beer in this building than in any other public address in town. The staff at the bar is always egger to talk to beer lovers. Pull up a stool & ask for something unique, & unless there swamped, you will likely end up in a conversation about it. Tony, there current beer buyer, is a beer nut of the highest order, brews at home, knows & loves his work.

The food is excellent as well. Though not the best pizza in town, it is easily in the top 3. The wait staff in the restaurant are generally nice & helpfull. Mostly it is what you would expect from a joint that charges college students & other mid-west hipster types $12 for a pasta dinner. Some of the staff have shown, or at least convincingly faked, a good knowledge of their beer selections. Though with the range the do have available, few know it all, all the time.

Not always the cleanest place in town, certainly not the dirtiest. I have heard ill of the cleanliness of the kitchen in the past, but the great Cicero’s fire of 2000 & its subsequent remodeling in 2001 hopefully killed all those stories along with the germs. I of late have not seen any signs of poor kitchen management in recent years.

Selection alone sells me on this place. Pool & a few vids are available. & there is a band room that hosts live music most nights of the week. Always worth the trip. Take a beer menu home, & plan ahead.

Ave

03-06-2003 18:34:49 | More by Ave

Realale

Missouri

3.88/5  rDev -2.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

I'm fortunate that Cicero's is only a few blocks from my house, so a quick trip for a pint is easily accomplished. The highlights here are two for me: (1) the beer; and (2) the pizza.

The atmosphere is generally friendly, and the smoke does not get too bad, even in the bar on a weekend night. A very mixed crowd of locals, families, and, on the weekends, a lot of college students.

The servers in the dining area are all competent wait staff, but their beer knowledge ranges from rudimentary to impressive. I don't see tons of turn-over in the staff, so I would expect improvement, but it never seems to come.

The beer menu was truly impressive, but has been dumbed-down considerably over the past year or so (01/18/05 update). A wide range of micros and imports on tap. They largely do a decent job of rotating seasonals through, but I have had an occassional pint or two that was past its prime. These have been always exchanged with a smile, but rarely do I see the keg changed as a result.

A very good selection of bottles as well. You can check out the beer menu on their website, but the menu in the restaurant is updated much more frequently than the website, but not frequently enough. Its better to simply eye the tap handles and the cooler before taking your seat than to rely on the menu.

The bar staff have, in my experience, a pretty good handle on the extensive list, and seem to really appreciate people interested in beer. When I've ordered something interesting, I've frequently been sent a small sample glass of something else that the bartender thought I might like as well.

The food is good, but the pizza is truly great. I go for the thick crust, and its always delicious. They also do all you can eat lasagna on one night (Thurs.?), and all you can eat spaghetti on another. The rest of the menu is solid and filling, rather than making any attempts at culinary honors.

01-02-2003 08:09:22 | More by Realale

MJR

Missouri

4.35/5  rDev +9.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5

Atmosphere: For the most part, it's a young, college crowd, but there's every type of demographic mixed in there. Good place to grab a beer, something to eat, and have a stimulating conversation.

Quality: Overall quality of everything offered is very good. Great food and a fantastic selection of beer are Cicero's strong points.

Service: Ranges from good to outstanding...I've never had a bad server there. They don't always know the beer all that well, but you can't expect all the servers on staff to be all-knowing.

Selection: Beer selection is awesome, probably the best in St. Louis. Better than Growler's, which somehow get's more word-of-mouth. They've not had a beer on the menu I wanted only once. The menu is varied and interesting as well.

Food: The food is quite good, but if you eat here, get the pizza: it's amazing!

12-30-2002 08:34:00 | More by MJR

UncleJimbo

Massachusetts

4.1/5  rDev +3.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 3.5

Revisited Jan 02, 2004

The service was OK on this visit. The number of beers offered is still impressive, though the selection of beers on tap was good, but not fantastic. The Anchor Christmas on tap was great. The Bell's Porter was OK. I sampled a burger which was OK, but not great. Overall this is still a very good place.

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This place has a very impressive selection of beers in bottles and on tap, perhaps one of the largest in the St. Louis area. It can get pretty busy and crowded here, especially on the weekends, and at these times service can suffer. They provide a beer menu, which is nice. The atmosphere is typical bar/restaurant with a mixed crowd, but with many college age customers (this is University City, afterall). The food is pretty good. On street parking can be a challenge.

12-20-2002 14:16:45 | More by UncleJimbo

maxpower

Missouri

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4

This is a great place to visit, great selection of draft and bottles. A very diverse crowd, the staff doesn't know much about their beers and parking sucks, otherwise they have good food and music, the pizza is killer.

12-19-2002 05:57:49 | More by maxpower