This Missouri Restaurant Is Famous for Deep Dish Pizza

Sure, Missouri's been making headlines lately for everything from Super Bowl rings (hello, Kansas City Chiefs) to Taylor Swift sightings at Arrowhead Stadium. There are lakes for days, hiking trails that rival any national park, and enough live music venues to keep weekends booked through next year. But let’s pivot to something equally important—something hotter, cheesier, and frankly, more filling: the food.

Missouri may be best known for barbecue, toasted ravioli, and gooey butter cake, but here’s a question that might not come up often: Is Missouri a deep-dish pizza hotspot?

If the answer is a hard “no,” allow me to gently re-route those assumptions. Introducing Bono’s Pizzeria Restaurant & Bar in St. Louis, where deep dish dreams are alive and well... and absolutely covered in cheese.

Just a short drive from Forest Park in St. Louis, Bono’s Pizzeria is a cozy, welcoming local gem that knows how to do pizza right. It's the kind of place where regulars are greeted by name and newcomers are welcomed with a smile and a slice. Inside, the warm wood tones and unpretentious vibe feel like your favorite neighborhood hangout: casual, comforting, and delicious-smelling in all the right ways. The staff is friendly, fast, and clearly proud of the food they’re putting out. It’s a relaxed, come-as-you-are kind of joint, with a menu that means business.

Pizza lovers will find no shortage of crust options here: St. Louis thin, New York thick, gluten-free, and the real star of the show: Chicago-style pan crust. The Chicago deep dish here is not for the faint of appetite. Think buttery, golden crust that holds its shape like a champ, an avalanche of gooey mozzarella, and a thick, savory tomato sauce that sits on top like a crown. It’s hearty. It’s satisfying. It’s the kind of pizza that demands your full attention and possibly a nap afterward. No, definitely.

At Bono’s, diners can build their own deep dish creation from a serious list of toppings. Options include everything from pepperoni and sausage to jalapeños, pineapple, shrimp, and prosciutto. Me? I'd be going after a meatball deep dish with some mushrooms. Not exactly traditional, but there’s something about juicy, well-seasoned meatballs snuggled into a cheesy, saucy pie that just hits different. Add mushrooms for that earthy depth, and it’s basically pizza comfort food at its finest.

For those who’d rather not play pizza architect, Bono’s has several specialties that make ordering easy and satisfying. The Meatball Pie is a standout. It's got sliced meatballs on a rich marinara base, covered with mozzarella, and baked until bubbly. There's also the Sicilian, for those craving old-school simplicity, or the eggplant pizza, which features crispy homemade breaded eggplant, marinara, mozzarella, and Parmigiano. It’s like an eggplant parm met a pizza and fell in love.

There are also Neapolitan-style options, like the Shrimp and Crabmeat pizza with mozzarella, fontina, and pesto—a bold, seafood-forward choice that delivers on flavor. The Old School Pizza lets you throw it back with a thin crust and your choice of classic toppings, made just the way pizza used to be.

Of course, this being Missouri, toasted ravioli is on the appetizer menu. Other highlights include mozzarella sticks, eggplant parm, potato skins, and garlic bread, which comes cheesy or classic. These are the kinds of starters that are meant to be shared—or hoarded, no judgment.

Not into pizza? First of all, who hurt you? But secondly, there are plenty of other options. The menu includes fresh salads, calzones, a strong selection of sandwiches, and a handful of pasta dishes that go way beyond the basics. One standout is the Tutto Mare Pasta: shell noodles, shrimp, crab, clams, and mushrooms in a Parmigiano alfredo sauce. It's like grown-up mac and cheese for anyone on a seafood kick.

Dessert is also handled with care here. Choose from a slice of creamy cheesecake, Oreo mousse cake, or a classic tiramisu layered just right. Nothing fancy, just well-made and satisfying.

This is the kind of place that doesn’t just feed people—it gets them thinking about good food in a whole new way. The more items that get sampled from Bono’s menu, the more one starts mentally recreating them at home. Which is why it might be a good idea to grab a copy of this pizza and pasta cookbook and start experimenting. Try making a Margherita, give that eggplant pizza a go, or attempt to recreate the Tutto Mare. Just make sure to come back to Bono’s Pizzeria in St. Louis, Missouri, for a little taste test comparison. Purely for research, of course.

Feeling inspired? Try planning your own trip using Only In Your State’s itinerary planner.