Gio’s Italian Grille (Tampa)
A restaurant review without photographs is like mediocre, overpriced Italian food.
I had a meal at Gio’s Italian Grille and was rather disappointed in the food for the price. I their defense, my companion and I ordered a few things that are easy to bungle.
The fried calamari was innocent enough, with a pleasantly simple tomato sauce that seemed to be made from actual fresh tomatoes rather than some canned specimen. The salt and sugar content were well below the norm, and in this case, it worked well.
The Caesar Salad was a disappointment, especially for $7. The dressing was like an overly rich paste with no hint of anchovy or real flavor beyond the creaminess. The croutons were crumbly, and the salad was a great big blah, with the only other ingredient being iceberg lettuce— water suspended in a leaf. Glad we split it, as i didn’t eat much.
The eggplant parmasean was eq2ually disappointing: a stack of naked eggplant smothered in a heap of tomato sauce, mozzarella, and ricotta cheeses. No pasta. No vegetable. And the thing cost $18. What a joke.
The only highlight of the meal was the filet with black peppercorns and brandy sauce with a hint of cream. The flavor of the steak and pepper pleasantly punched through the smooth, simple sauce. The accompanying vegetables were fresh and cooked perfectly. This was a treat, and the only decent thing we ate that night.
The bill for this muddle: $64 before the tip. My only consolation was that we had arrived with a coupon that hacked $25 off the price, but $50 after tip, it still felt like a waste of money.
In these troubled economic times, restaurateurs need to level with us. We catch on fast, and we won’t come back.
I should have taken the coupon as a warning sign.
December 17th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
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