Cafe Gioia Leichhardt — Restaurant in Sydney

If you’re looking for Italian warmth and hospitality in Leichhardt, you won’t find it at Cafe Gioia. What you will find is arrogance, disorganisation and the sort of service that makes you question how the place is still in business. I stood with my 9 year old son for 20 minutes without being acknowledged. The so-called hostess managed to spot the couple behind me and went to seat them first. Only when they pointed out I had been waiting did she bother to ask how many were in my group. I said four. She said nothing, turned her back and walked away. She returned, ignored me completely and seated the couple behind me anyway. Then she came back again and did the same with another group who had just arrived. By this point it was laughable. I wasn’t being overlooked, I was being actively ignored. While I stood there like a fool I watched a steady parade of customers complaining about missing food and drinks. A man waiting for takeaway turned to me and said, “good luck with your wait, I’ve been here an hour.” That about summed it up. When I finally asked the hostess what was happening, she rambled about seating me after everyone else, threw in a fake smile and called me “darling” being condescending. I told her communication would have been enough. She shoved her hand in my face and said, “fine whatever.” and walked away again.

That was the end. I walked out and went two doors down to The Grumpy Italian where I was greeted properly, served immediately and happily spent $200 on great food. Cafe Gioia might serve nice plates if they ever get to you, but the service is disgusting. Rude, dismissive, unprofessional and flat-out disrespectful. I came to Leichhardt expecting a taste of Italy. Instead I got treated like garbage. Save yourself the humiliation and eat literally...

Any establishment in Sydney that hasn't at this point been turned into a fly-by-night tobacconist should be given some kind of award or government grant. By that criteria, Gioia should be granted UNESCO world heritage building status or something. A relic of a bygone era, when Norton st had an identity, It's like going to Pompeii but you can sit in it and drink a Pepsi.

With each passing year as Sydney slides further down into a landscape so devoid of culinary identity that all it takes is someone to come along like recipe Bin eats, who has the flavour sensibilities of a toddler at a pre school party mixing all the different sodas together, to be lauded as some kind of hero, you have a civic duty to support businesses like this. Instead of jury duty you should get a letter in the mail telling you to come here. You deserve better than poke bowls and GYG. Don't accept culinary mediocrity, come get educated. Institution is a restaurant industry buzzword that didn't exist when Gioia first opened and anywhere that has the legs to last that long must surely be doing something right. Trends come and go but Gioia remains.

Foods...

I'm disappointed to have to give this review as the food is spectacular when you get what you ordered! I order from here a lot however have to say they miss the finer details so consistency is off. We regularly order the Margarita Pizza with added Ricotta which is $4.50 extra. Happy to pay this but not happy when missed which is approximately every 2nd order. Tonight happened again. I called the restaurant and he asked the Chef who said he did put it on. I offered to send a photo which I did and then no response till I called to check they received the photo however and he said "Haven't seen it I was with a customer" to which I thought "I'm sorry am I not a customer simply trying to get what I paid for?" Anyway without acknowledgement that in fact the photo showed missing paid for Ricotta. They offered to send another pizza but asked for wrong pizza to be given to the driver. Now I'm suspected of trying to dupe them and eat the pizza I didn't order. Wow considering as a food service they can write off THEIR mistake as food spoilage/wastage, but yeah let's get the wrong pizza back. So anyway despite how good the food...