Gio

We come here a lot and have always had good service and the food has always been excellent. You don’t want to come to this restaurant without a reservation, especially during NU weekends/​games.

I discovered this restaurant by accident. It was a Saturday night and our group of 8 had been turned away at 2 other restaurants. The bartender helped me secure this table and I totally forgot his name. I could tell the waiter did not want to give it to me, but her persistent and we got a lovely table.
The food was surprising good. They give you this sun dried tomato spread with bread. I don’t know if it was because of my extreme hunger that night, but the spread was delicious. I proceeded to put it all over my food for the other dishes.
We ordered a lot of food, but there were some notable winners. OMG the seafood pizza with shrimp and octopus was out of this world. I did not want to share, but I had to… they give you so much seafood for a $ 10 pizza, the octopus was very tender. The seafood linguini was also very good. The octopus appetizer was so tender. Notice a trend here? I like seafood.
On a sour note, my drink was kind of weak (that’s coming from someone who gets tipsy after 1 drink). The waitress was MIA for most of the night. Okay, I get that she’s going to get her guaranteed gratuity since there were 8 of us, but it was as if we weren’t there. We waited forever for drinks. This was 3.5 stars due to the service.

As my hubby and I entered; the owner was just plain rude as he swaggered behind the bar. No «Welcome to Gio» or «Can I help you?»…nope; the only acknowledgement I received was «How Many»? (In an annoyed tone). He was very gruff and stand-​offish, and gave me an all around unwelcoming impression as soon as I walked in the door. Without even looking at us, he barked to an employee to show my husband our table. This may be why the food left an underwhelming taste in my mouth and made for the worst date night dinner experience in a while.

I had purchased a Groupon to Gio long, long ago. I realized that it was expired, but expected to be able to redeem it for the 20 bucks I paid for it. No such luck.
My wife and I headed here for dinner on a Friday night. With our babysitter running late, I called to inform them that our 6:30 reservation would probably be closer to 6:45. No problem. When we walked in, the owner came to the end of the bar and we informed him that we had a reservation. He was not at all friendly or welcoming.
We sat down and after a few minutes were approached by a waitress. We told her we were trying to catch a movie and would like to order everything at once. She was very nice and accommodating. We ordered the Pear Salad, Mussels, a bowl of soup, and a Nino pizza. She asked if we wanted the food as it came up, and we said that was fine.
Salad came first and was pretty good — had a nice vinaigrette. Pizza was the next to come and was not very tasty at all. It had some sort of fig butter on it with gorgonzola, prosciutto and arugula. I would not recommend it. Soup was next — an eggplant and goat cheese soup. Meh. Mussels were probably the best thing I ate. Not the best I’ve ever had, but not the worst either.
Now here’s the kicker. The waitress approached with our bill and said «no hurry, but I know you’re trying to catch a movie.» I explained that I had an expired Groupon, that I would like to use for the value paid for it ($ 20). She said no problem and took our bill and my iPhone over to put the Groupon though. After a few minutes, she came over and placed the phone next to me and mumbled something about «He’s going to talk you about this.» Up walks the owner.
He told me that he wasn’t accepting Groupons any more. I tried to explain that my Groupon specifically says «The amount paid for this voucher ($ 20) with Gio Itaian Restaurant NEVER EXPIRES.» He wasn’t having it. He said he had put up a sign stating that they weren’t accepting Groupons past the 1^st of the year. He was not at all apologetic, and really came off as downright rude. He told me to «take it up with Groupon.» He kept saying «I don’t even have the list anymore.» I don’t know what said list said, but he seemed to think he could not discount a bill by 20 bucks without said list.
Our poor waitress was downright embarrassed. She apologized and said that she «thought that would work.» I asked if that was the owner and she said yes, seemingly embarrassed at the way he was acting. She seemed like she had just been yelled at, although I may be speculating. She asked if we wanted our pizza to go and I told her no. She seemed surprised by this answer (we had only eaten 2 slices). Bottom line — it wasn’t very good, and I didn’t want to bring it home just to end up throwing it out.
We paid our bill, tipped her well (hey, it’s not her fault that her boss is a total A-​hole), and left. I have contacted Groupon and will likely be refunded my $ 20. I’ll know in a couple of days.
Someone else summed it up perfectly for this restaurant — the owner obviously cares more about making 20 bucks than he does about his customers having a good experience at his restaurant. For that reason alone, I will not be back.

Wow, I couldn’t even make it past the entrance. As soon as I walked in the owner said «There is a 30 minute wait» and walked away.
*Tip for Owner
— You better check yourself before you wreck yourself.
— Customers are more willing to come back to a place that has mediocre food but good customer service rather than a place that has good food and bad customer service. You sir, have neither.
Two thumbs down.

The food was fine, good even. They have this sundried tomato tapenade dipping oil that is ridiculously addicting.
But hot damn, the service is ATROCIOUS. Just a few quick highlights of what we had to endure during a group dinner to celebrate a friend’s birthday:
1. One girl made a birthday cake but was then told that if we had the cake at the restaurant we would be charged a $ 1.50 cutting fee per person (with a ~20 person table) for every single person in the party. Even if only one person actually ate the cake. Threats to carry our business elsewhere fell on deaf ears. That’s just stupid. What restaurant would forego a $ 500+ dinner bill over a birthday cake?
2. Our waitress clearly hated her life and was taking it out on everyone around her. She rushed us to order, didn’t ask us if we wanted anything to drink (those of us that wanted wine had to specifically flag her down to request a glass).
3. One friend ordered a salad as his meal and was served about 20 minutes before anyone else. Rookie mistake.
4. When our entrees were finished, our waitress fairly tossed the dessert menus on our table and relayed snottily, «well, if you *want* dessert, here are some menus». I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how we were inconveniencing you by having you do your job instead of standing by the bar with a perpetual scowl on your face.
If you want good italian food in Evanston and are immune to inconsiderate service, then Gio will hit the spot. I can’t say I’ll ever be returning to this establishment!

I have to say that our experience of Gio was quite different from the other reviews on Unilocal.While attending a conference at Evansville, one of my friends said he was craving Italian food. I, of course, being the «foodie» of the group did some research. We decided on Gio (just walking distance from the hotel next to the Northwestern University campus). We made a reservation at 7 (on a Saturday night) for 7. We ended up having a party of 10 and the restaurant was very accommodating.
The selection of food was diverse. I had the beet salad with goat cheese and pistachios (one of my favorites). One of my friends ordered the beef carpaccio (quite good). Another ordered the prosciutto with melon (a nice combination of flavors). For my main course, I ordered the linguine with seafood (clams, mussels, shrimp, calamari). I was quite happy with how much seafood was included on the plate. Additionally, it had a light tomato basil sauce that was perfect. And because I have such awesome friends who share, I tried the risotto with spicy sausage (also a yummy dish). For dessert, I ordered the panna cotta. It came with a side of apricot sorbet which was an interesting combination, although I’m not quite sure if it was my favorite. I do know that it was a consensus when it came to the flourless chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. (Lots of «ohmygosh this is amazing!»)
In terms of ambience, the place was very classy with good, warm lighting. The wine and drink selection was good. The prices were reasonable for an upscale restaurant. And the service was wonderful. Our server was inviting and did an excellent job helping us break down the check at the end of the night (among 10 people). Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable experience! Would definitely return for another round of food, drink, and conversation.

What we have here is a very standard, straightforward, middlebrow Italian restaurant, so as long as you do not set your expectations too high, you will probably come out satisfied.
A few noteworthy items from our visit last Saturday night:
1. No mushrooms. (!) I wanted to order a mushroom pizza and that was apparently the only variety that they couldn’t make. How on earth do you run out of mushrooms?
2. The beet salad was very tasty, if trite (goat cheese, roasted pistachios, sherry vinaigrette), but too stingy with the beets.
3. The grilled calamari was fine, but the salad underneath it was beyond boring. Zzzzzzzzzz…
4. Did I mention that they ran out of mushrooms?

Not sure about the bad reviews. We had good service (not awesome but not terrible) and were very pleased with our meals. Having lived in Italy for years, it was nice to find an authentic Italian restaurant in Evanston. We’ve eaten at all the Italian restaurants in town and none are awesome but this is by far the best. The service was average but didn’t distract from the great dining experience.

Nice little Italian spot in Evanston, often the site of recruiting events for Kellogg.
I had the chicken marsala dish, which was good, but not stellar.
Gio is a decent look for a random Italian dinner, but you can probably find better.

Nothing too special — typical Italian restaurant with a small selection of dishes to choose from. As a starter they gave you a small loaf of bread (smallest loaf I ever saw in my life and it was not warm). We ordered the bruschetta which was decent — four slices with plenty of cherry tomato’s and cheese — this was the only thing that I actually liked and would order again. Next I ordered the seafood linguine which was a little too acidic, but manageable. There were clusters of mussels, clams and squid — the portions were on the small side for the large price tag.
Tip: Free metered parking on Sunday — that was the only plus on this trip.

I asked for lamb chops, cooked at medium rare. I got 4 small burnt chops. To my surprise, my fork is bigger than the chops. Service was below par. The waitress did not even give us bread as promised nor did she fill our glass with water. The place is empty on a friday night. Now I know why no one is here. Sorry, it was a big disappointment for a date night.

Gio,
You heard us complain to the waitress twice about the 5 fish bones in the whitefish dish (including the one I swallowed), yet you turned a blind eye and failed to comp us that dish or even offer us free dessert. Not good for business buddy. Not only would I never return, I will also tell everybody about my horrible experience. When I pay good money for a fish dish, I shouldn’t have to worry about if I’m going to choke and I’m sure as hell hope I don’t have to search every single bite for a bone. I guess $ 20 means more to you than customer satisfaction. Also, our water glasses were NEVER filled, and our food was sitting on the adjoining table for 10 minutes before it was served to us. By the time it got to us, it was warm, not hot. Go learn how to manage a restaurant. I would give 0 stars if I could.

My friends and I came to Gio on a Groupon whim. I was actually very surprised by my experience, likely because my mind had this prejudged as a «3 star Unilocal» restaurant.
We started off with the Antipasto Misto, which had some very nice flavors for everyone at the table. I had ordered the risotto of the day, with fennel sausage, broccoli, and Gorgonzola cheese. It was a pretty fantastic flavor profile, though I expected the risotto to be slightly creamier.
My friends had ordered the duck ravioli and their «house special» veal maccheroni. The ravioli was very rich, and I’d probably only recommend if you were in the mood for duck. The maccheroni had a nice, balanced combination of veal, cheese, and sauce. I’d highly recommend it.
We finished with a Semifreddo for dessert, which was pretty elegantly crafted with white chocolate and hazelnut flavors, but I couldn’t fully appreciate it with such a full stomach.
The service was very good, albeit slow in the beginning. I will say that this will be my go-​to Italian place if I have a hankering in Evanston.

Gio continues to be at the top of my list for a nice place to go for dinner. Excellent food, terrific atmosphere (even better with the recent change in the seating that make it more intimate yet maintains an open atmosphere) and very good service. TERRIFIC service this evening because the server told me that Groupon has a great deal for Gio today. Can’t beat that.
I think I’ve got a cold coming on so I wanted something light. When I asked I could get fettuccine with garlic and olive oil, the answer was «Sure.» I asked if some broccoli could be added, and the answer was yes again, and the server suggested rappini. A great suggestion, and a terrific meal. Had the spinach salad with goat cheese and pancetta, hot tea. Lovely.
Looking forward to using those Groupon coupons soon.

I went here for a small school party. We had pizza, which I really liked because it was thin and not super greasy. The service was a touch above average. We had a back room. The weird thing was that they brought out like three pizzas for every table but then one table had zero… you would think they would have kind of spread them out. Overall, not bad, I probably wont go back but its ok.

Gio is right next to Dave’s Italian Kitchen. Dave’s gets a measly one-​star from me, and I’d like to think I’m lenient in my reviews. :) Gio is a tiny bit better than Dave’s, as it’s less bland, but it’s still far away from anything special. How weird that the two lamest Italian restaurants in E-​Town are right next to each other. Maybe they’re feeding each other symbiotic waves of average-​ness? (Just nod and smile.)
Gio was not very full when I went with the then-​boyfriend. But the service was still very slow. I got spaghetti bolognese, and it was wholly unmemorable. It was served piping hot, which was nice, and I enjoyed the flat noodles, but the sauce was filled with carrots, not something I expected, and very orange. The date’s pizza was average. Of course, if I were at Campagnola or something, I’d remind myself that high prices are worth it given the quality, but I could not use this reasoning for a place like Gio.

i liked it and i hate italian.
I went here on a date and was pleasantly surprised. I hate italian food but liked Gio. The server was attentive without being overbearing and brought the drinks right away. The ambiance is decent. Dim, the tables are spaced far apart so you feel free to flirt or talk intimitely. It was comfortable without being contrived. Most of the other tables at night seem to be couples or yuppies, no screaming kids.
To start we got warm, crusty bread and three or more olive oil parings to dip the bread in. It was actually yummy. I got the ravioli and he got the veal. What I liked was the portions were modest — a rarity in an italian restaurant. The veal was tender, I had a nibble. The ravioli was decent, maybe I’d rave about it if I was a pasta fan. The tiramisu was good, im used to olive gardens or whole foods so it seems less custardy and more sweet– maybe that means it was more authentic, give it a shot if you want italian in evanston.

Italian food= Life.
Oh Gio you fantastic fantastic people! I was at my wits end to find Italian worth eating in Chitown or thereabouts, Spiaggia bored me, Rosebud was a tourist trap, and La Scarola was always too full… and then… I found you.
Dark and intimate, what was that sauce tapenadey thing you served with the warm and delicious bread basket that you refilled promptly? It was supremely good.
And that antipasto misto plate? Incredible. The eggplant tasted like some sort of Italianized Indian pickle. The artichokes had just the right amount of fire. The roasted red peppers were perfectly garlicky and didn’t make me throw up as they usually do.
And then you brought out the insanely good rigatoni without sausage. Holy moly Gio… I was disappointed that you didn’t have a vodka sauce for your pasta, but one forkful of this carb-​laden slight sweet saucy piece of sass, and man, I forgot alll about that vodka whatsit.
And then, even though I couldn’t eat a bite more, you brought out my pear crostata with a vanilla bean sauce and cinnamon ice cream. I don’t even like pears… OR cinnamon… yet somehow, despite the fact that I couldn’t breathe, I finished that sucker and could barely restrain myself from licking the plate… how…how did you make that so good?
And yet, I still found space so that everything was washed down with that lethal 14.2 percent Argentinian malbec. Which made sure I sure as hell didn’t mind forking out my $ 48 buckos (including a solid 20% tip for great service) for an evening full of absolutely excellent food.
Thank you Gio, thank you for restoring my faith in Illinoisan Italian places…

I was extremely disappointed in Gio. My friend, who had gotten the pasta with bolognese sauce before and raved about this place, got the same dish. It was really delicious, and that’s why I’m not giving this place 1 star. If you have to come here, get that because it is flavorful, not too heavy, and well cooked.
I got the seafood ravioli, and it tasted like barf. On top of that, my cup had a lipstick mark on it and the table cloth had a stain on it. The service wasn’t very friendly either, though not rude. Worst of all, their prices definitely do not justify their food. Their pasta dishes average $ 15. You’d be better off going to Dave’s Italian Kitchen down the block for better pasta at a better price.