Chef Jerry Navarro brings 30 years of gourmet cooking to the Onesti Dinner Club in St. Charles, which he is reshaping into an Italian steakhouse.

He gets a little divine inspiration from the dramatic setting, originally a church built in 1851.

“I came aboard to bring new items to the menu and a little twist to Italian,” said Navarro, an award-winning chef who credits the mentoring of his mother, Theresa, part of a long line of restaurateurs.

Because dinner club owner Ron Onesti also operates the city’s Arcada Theatre, celebrity visitors lend their own spice to the culinary experience. Special dinner and show packages have included meeting such artists as Martin Short and Rick Springfield over dinner.

Prime steaks, seafood and Navarro’s homemade pasta specialties are featured, along with fresh gelato for a sweet finish.

“We fly in the fish every day,” Onesti said.

The wood-paneled dining room recreates a 1940s ambiance, while live entertainment is featured on two levels every weekend. The music ranges from swing to Rat Pack to “The Other Three Tenors” and genres in-between.

Trivia note: Seating in the downstairs O Lounge includes couches that once belonged to Beach Boys great Brian Wilson, who briefly resided in town.

WHAT TO TRY
ITEM Grilled Vegetable Platter
PRICE $9
ITEM Mussels Marinara
PRICE $12
ITEM Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail
PRICE $9

TITLE Chef Jerry Navarro
RESTAURANT Onesti Dinner Club
ADDRESS 18 N. 4th St., St. Charles
PHONE (630) 584-1888
WEB onestidinnerclub.com