Gio’s

Great food; excellent service. Joe is fantastic and will make you feel right at home.

One of the best Italian restaurants in Tampa. On par with what you’d find in Little Italy in NYC!
Food was superb and the service was excellent. Our server, Joseph, was attentive and friendly.
You can order off menu, so if you want something special just ask. We got some Fettucine Alfredo and it was delicious!

A hidden gem thats worth seeking out. Been there numerous times for both lunch and dinner and always spot on. The food is as good as there is in Tampa when it comes to authentic Italian. Friendly family run with great personable service.

The food was fantastic as well as the service! Highly Recommend this place. I had the lobster ravioli

Love this place. The wait staff is very attentive and friendly. The food and wine is amazing. Cozy and intimate atmosphere, great for groups or dates!

I was not a fan of this place and actually contemplated 2 stars but there were some reasons I decided to give it three. The atmosphere in general is very nice and the night that we were there they were playing music. I was not very favorable of the server Joseph. We felt that his objective was to up sell items on the menu even after we ordered the things that we want. The food was decent but my chicken parm was not breaded and was just a chicken with a sweet red sauce and cheese. I can get very good Italian good at a lot of different places so when the overall experience and interactions are sub par, it made for an overall poor experience.

This Italian restaurant is a hidden gem. Located in a small little corner of this strip mall. Authentic Italia food with really big food portions. Atmosphere is super nice, sometimes they have live music. No issues with parking since it has a huge space in front. If you are in Carrollwood you need to give this place a try.

My husband and I recently had dinner here with another couple. It has a small, intimate setting and an attentive staff. We especially liked Joseph who waited on us. He was well versed as to the menu and specials, and was very patient with us as we struggled to make our dinner selections (a couple of us can be a tad undecisive.) we were checked on frequently to make sure we had all we needed. we had 3 different pasta dishes between the 4 of us and all were pleased with their choices. The pasta was perfectly cooked. Fresh roses on each table. If you want great food, solicitous waitstaff, an intimate setting, and reasonable prices, come to Gio’s.

There’s never been a time that I’ve walked out of this restaurant without saying it’s in my top 5 in Tampa. The food and service is always great. Their specials are wonderful. Tonight’s special was a seafood pasta dish with a Maine lobster, scallops and calamari sautéed in a pink sauce over linguine. The mussels appetizer was perfectly seasoned, leaving a scampi-​like sauce left over for bread dipping. And the is osso-​bucco was tender and full of savory richness.
This place is a hidden gem. With plenty of Italian standards playing softly in the background, you realize that the acoustics are really perfect, allowing easy conversation. There’s a really cool pianist on Friday and Saturday nights as well. Make an effort to try out this place. You may regret you didn’t know of it sooner, but better late than never. Mangia.
By the way, I’m heading back soon to recall the butter brand. The best butter, hands down. Even beats my Kerry Gold.

I’m not sure what all the hype is about.
Place is cute and clean looking upon arrival. They play live music in the evening. We went with good company. Those were the only pros of the evening.
Staff was attentive when it was only us and one other table in the restaurant but once there were 4, 5, 6 tables of people they barely came by and we had to flag them down to put in our order, refill drinks, etc.
Biggest let down were seeing such great reviews and then getting our meals. There were 4 of us dining and we all ordered very different dishes. No one even ate half their meal.
First dish… the steak was overcooked, and the veggies that came with it were soggy they were so overdone.
The chicken parm breading was also soggy, and the chicken was rubbery.
I had some dish sounded great, so I subbed the veal for chicken. The sauce was super bland, and the chicken was so tough I couldn’t eat more than a few bites. The pasta was overcooked.
The 4^th person had alfredo, and she only ate a few bites. She also said her chicken was rubbery and the alfredo wasn’t good to her.
I don’t know if they microwaved our meals or something to warm them up, but we all had the same complaint… overcooked food. We all left hungry, and I ended up cooking when we got home so we could have a decent meal.
We will not return.

Me gusta mucho! Para los que leen en español y para los de ingles: you have to try this piZZA IS Very GOOD, and great service. You wont regret. The man on the front desk is very Kind.

This restaurant is SO underrated!!! BEST SERVICE AND DELICIOUS FOOD :):):):) Joe is an amazing server, like family. Visit Sun-​Tues to see him. Raphael is the best Italian chef I’ve ever encountered. Highly recommend the tagliatelle and carbonara! Also the homemade house dressing is so fresh!!!

Veal Bella Vista was excellent. Our server was Joseph– he was excellent too! We even got to meet the chef! We were in the neighborhood and decided to try this place and so glad we did! Will definitely be back!

While looking for a place to enjoy a date night, I stumbled upon Gio’s. I’m a big fan of Italian food so it seemed like the perfect place! It was a little difficult to find the restaurant since it’s tucked in the back of a large/​oddly shaped strip mall. From the outside, Gio’s doesn’t appear to be anything special. However, inside it was decorated to give the impression of a real Italian café. An impressive collection of wine bottles line the interior and our server was quick to give us recommendations.
We started with the fried calamari appetizer. I thought it was very good and the portion was generous. For the main course, I chose the Spaghetti Grouper Mediterraneo and my boyfriend went with the Pollo Scarparella. I thought the spaghetti was decent, but he really enjoyed the chicken dish. I did appreciate that I had enough leftover to have a second meal though!
One thing that I didn’t love was the seating arrangement. The restaurant was really quiet (and also empty) during our visit, so we were seated at a table for two in the center of the restaurant. Once a couple other diners were seated, we were placed beside each other and it felt very awkward having a conversation. We felt the need to speak in hushed voices in order to have any sense of privacy.
I enjoyed my meal at Gio’s and might go back if the prices were a little more reasonable for what you get. It is a nice alternative to a commercial chain Italian restaurant though!

Gio’s was such a pleasant surprise!!! I didn’t even know this place existed as it’s hidden from Dale Mabry if you’re just driving by, but I learned about it though a groupon and am so thankful that I’ve found this place! It’s a very romantic, smaller restaurant with absolutely delicious food. WOW. I got a bottle of wine (which all the wine was very reasonably priced) and the pesto pasta. That was some of the BEST pesto i’ve ever had! It was so rich and nutty I could probably eat it every day!!! The veal was so tender and delicious as well. Sadly I can’t remember our waiters name… he was a younger Italian man and was so inviting and kind! He was one of the best waiters I think I’ve had, so between the service and incredible food, they easily deserve 5 stars. And to top it off, I am a college student so have a UPromise account, and this restaurant qualifies as one of the participating restaurants for students so I got almost $ 10 back in my account for just eating here. SO awesome I will absolutely be back!!!

I don’t give out 5 stars easily, but after our experience here I was dumbfounded by how I’ve lived in Tampa for 7 years without hearing about this place. I’ve traveled through quite a bit of Italy in my life and my overall dining experience here was the closest thing I’ve had to being back there.
The ambiance is on the casual side, but very intimate, there might be 10 tables in the whole restaurant. It has a very romantic feeling to it as well, dimmed lighting and faint music being played.
They start you off with a small loaf of freshly baked bread cut into medallions which was addicting to say the least. I had the rigatoni tutto buono; the pasta was cooked perfectly, the sauce was rich yet smooth and delicate, and each kind of meat in the dish was tender and juicy. My wife had an off-​menu special item, pasta with lump crab meat and fra diavolo sauce. She was nice enough to let me try some, and while the sauce was spicy and tasty, it was just delicate enough to not overpower the crab meat. Both portions were quite large, not skimping at all on meat in either dish.
What really sealed my 5-​star rating was the host, he was an absolute delight. I am quite disappointed in myself for not getting his name; he was a shorter, olive-​skinned gentleman of Italian descent. He was so charming and made us feel very welcome and relaxed. As if the food weren’t enough to make us return, we definitely will be going back in hopes that he is working again.
5 stars for Gio’s, they earned it.

Authentic Italian a must if looking for good Italian food. Wait staff was pretty spot on and attentive. We all had tiramisu and it was homemade and perfecto!!!

Ich bin Aufgrund der guten Bewertungen in dieses Restaurant gegangen, es sieht von außen nicht wirklich einladend aus und auch innen könnte es eine Erneuerung gebrauchen, aber das Essen ist wirklich sensationell.

Awesome server Joseph took great care of us, food an wine were outstanding! Great date night

Today I wanted to enjoy the wonderful weather that Tampa offers.
For once I had not pre selected a place. Just hit the pavement. It’s not like there were many directions I could follow in this area of town.
Walked into this strip centre, granted following the big Marshalls sign that beckoned. Was thankfully stopped instead by a sign that said Italian, peeked in and it was cute and smelt delicious.
These are the texts I sent to my BF while inside:
«Salad was crunchy and fresh and bread warm and crusty! But was good took a piece and sent the rest back „
“.Fresh, pasta is al dente. Tomatoes are tangy and fresh basil zesty.» That is about the Penne Vodka
Overall totally impressed by this lil neighbourhood joint. Service was awesome.

I love pasta. I am not ashamed to admit that I like to satisfy my craving at Olive Garden. I know the OG gets criticized for its «Italian» food, but I still like it, so get over it already. Anywho, I have been trying to expand my restaurant repertoire, so I decided to research some authentic Italian food restaurants.
I looked here on Unilocal for the highest rated Italian restaurants, and came up with a few options. After looking at reviews, menus, and location, I was most interested in Gio’s. I read that the location was tucked away in a strip mall and a little hard to find, so the tip to look for Gold’s Gym was helpful. I just took I-​275 to Busch Gardens, turned right on Florida, then right on Waters, and it is on the right before Dale Mabry.
The outside of Gio’s has an awning and a little bit of outside seating. Once entering, we were greeted, and promptly led to a table. It was lunchtime, and there was only one other table occupied. The dining room is fairly small, but makes good use of the space. There are wine bottles lining the wall, and a piano at the front, which is played on the weekends. The atmosphere felt a little classy actually, with dimmer lighting, a flower on each table, and nice tablecloths.
As I always do before going to a restaurant, I checked out the menu online to see what I would order. I had narrowed my choices to two pasta dishes, the Linguini Di Mare (Seafood linguini. Linguini with shrimp, calamari, clams, mussels and scallops in white or red tomato marinara sauce) and the Linguini Alla Vongole (Linguini with clams. Linguini with fresh clams in a red or white wine sauce). However, when I heard one of their specials was lobster ravioli, I promptly changed my mind.
While waiting for our entrees we were brought bread and house salads, which come with lunch entrees. The bread was soft thankfully, because I hate getting bread where the crust might break my tooth. The house salad was very good, containing mixed greens, carrots, and their homemade dressing. Additonally, we ordered the Bruschetta Al Pomodoro appetizer (Thinly sliced fresh baguette brushed with olive oils and garlic and topped with fresh chopped tomato and basil). I really liked my lobster ravioli, which was done in their princess sauce, and contained a nice amount of filling. There were five ravioli, which was a good portion for me. My boyfriend ordered the Vitello Millanese (Veal dish. Pounded veal lightly breaded and topped with homemade bruschetta), and came with a side of bowtie pasta.
The lunch prices are pretty reasonable, I think our entrees were about $ 13-​$ 15. We took a peak at the dinner menu, and those items are quite pricey for us (in the $ 20s). The service was very good, and we had several different people remove finished plates and refill drinks. We will definitely go back for lunch.

Why haven’t I been here before? I’ve known of its existence for quite some time, but have never ventured inside.
I had a
gift card to use and the hubby and I were looking for a new place to try for dinner. Perfect combo.
Upon entering, it’s hard to tell how big this place is. You enter to a little hostess/​bar area. Around the corner is a long dining area. There was a live piano player and the colors were warm and inviting.
We arrived around 730 and they were pretty packed. So packed we were sat at the table right in front of the piano player. At first I thought it was going to be really loud, but I was wrong. We could still have a conversation and listen to the music at the same time.
We shared a Gio’s salad which was tossed mixed field greens, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, bacon, kalamata olives all tossed in their house creamy Italian dressing. It was very very good.
For our entrees I chose the spinach linguine with chicken, mushrooms, pancetta, all tossed in a princess sauce. Patrick decided upon the buono pasta. It was rigatoni with sliced sausage, chicken, red peppers in a marinara sauce. Both were equally as good and something we would order again.
I’m glad we found this place and I can see ourselves coming back again.