Gio is the delicatessen market of Rabieh, known by the region’s residents from the day “Black Pepper” used to occupy the space. Today, Gio has opened a restaurant on its closed terrace. Gio serves Sushi and Pizza in a bright space at the market entrance.
The first impression looks awkward: space is too white and too bright more like a kitchen. It lacks warmth! The noisy, wood or a carpet are needed on the floor at once! I also recommend covering the ceiling with absorbent material used in sound studios. A white space, white papers, a white menu... please add some colors!!!
Now that I opened the menu, my opinion changed. I loved the clarity and purity of the menu, the proposed items and the beautiful photos. Since every single item has a photo, why not add a photo of the pizzas?
Order the pizza while the sushi are being prepared: a little bit chewier then I expected but don’t judge too quickly. Excellent ingredients take time to tickle your taste buds. A rich aroma of yeast and bread. A fluffy border. A feeling of lightness at the end. I’ll cook it a little bit more next time for a perfect result.
Sushi is next: high-quality ingredients.
- Sashimi roll salad: thin slices of salmon wrapped around fresh arugula leaves, and set on a bed of Gio special sauce.
- The Gio salmon salad made of diced salmon, lemon, Japanese mayonnaise, and crunchy crisps is good but needs soy sauce to be even better.
- I adored the temaki! This was the first time a waiter asks me to start with the temaki while they’re fresh. Very fresh and crunchy temaki the way “SO” makes them. Yummy!
- The rolls: Small-sizes rolls, presented on a wooden board. They’re good enough, some chewy, some crunchy but all fresh and without an excess of sauce.
After dinner, I couldn’t leave without a dessert from the Gio cakes collection: mango tart, lemon tart and blueberry cheesecake. I fell in love with the mango tart.
For a casual restaurant in a supermarket close to home... Interesting experience when feeling like enjoying a casual non-complicated dinner.
