Gia Vin & Grill — Restaurant in Montreal

There's always a first for something, and last night, at Gia, was the first time leaving a restaurant angry, feeling cheated and wanting to write a really long post like this one. Every few months we go as a group of 8-12 guys for dinner at different restaurants. One of our friends suggested Gia. The restaurant was nice and the staff appeared pleasant. It all went downhill quickly. The waiter informed us that since we were a group of 8 or more, we had "agreed" to their policy of forcing guests to have the $85/person tasting menu. After we said we never agreed to such a condition, he kept insisting that we did, and that it is their policy for groups of 8 or more.... it was already 8:30pm, we were hungry, so we just agreed. I asked what we'd be eating for $85 and the waiter just answered "a whole bunch of different dishes", he had no clue what the actual tasting menu consisted of. To his credit , he did ask if anyone had allergies to make sure no one died from anaphylactic shock ... so there's that. The food started coming out and they just plunked it on the table with no description of what it was, we had to ask them every single time or we wouldn't know. Aside from the bread which was really good, out of the 7 or 8 dishes they provided, only 1 of the appetizers was something I would have ordered (the grilled eggplant, which was actually delicious). All the other dishes were ok, but nothing special, and definitely not what I would have chosen if I had a choice from the menu, for example the main meat dish was duck and only half our group likes duck so most of it went uneaten.

Now the fun part.... When the bill came it was one big bill for the group. We divided our share of the bill amongst ourselves and asked to pay individually. The waiter then said that he'd be willing to do it this one time, but in the future, only one card can be used to pay for groups of 8 or more "as we agreed to". I looked at him and said that this is a completely unreasonable expectation to have one person pay for $1000+ on a bill and then try to collect from all their friends. He reiterated that we "agreed" to it when we made the reservation and that when people call to make the reservations for groups of 8 or more they are "very clearly" told about the 2 conditions of the tasting menu and the payment method..... but we didn't call to make the reservation, it was on OpenTable. That's when the person who actually made the reservation had enough, and told the waiter to stop saying that crap. He pulled out his phone and showed him the reservation on OpenTable that had absolutely no mention of either of those two things, as well there is no mention of it on the Gia website. The waiter did not even apologize, instead he motioned to the manager to come over and said that he felt like he was being 'attacked'. I said quite clearly that he is not being attacked, he is being corrected... he didn't seem to appreciate the difference. The manager was just as bad if not worse. She went on to repeat the exact same thing even after herself being shown the proof the policy is not written anywhere. Then she did something extremely foolish..... she asked if we're from Montreal, because she said in Montreal this is common and other people come in groups and are quite happy to have one person pay for everyone (which is nonsense, nobody would be 'happy' doing that and it's possible they were corporate groups where the company card pays). She was quite surprised to find out we were ALL from Montreal and we told her that we've been to dozens of the top restaurants in the city, as groups, and this is the first time we've encountered this. She kept insisting it was a common and accepted practice in Montreal.

Conclusion: Average food, high prices, staff who don't apologise or admit they're wrong after being shown 100% proof of their errors. They lost multiple customers in one night, all of whom recommend restaurants to their friends and colleagues on a regular basis. We'll all be recommending other places. We're all owed a...

Nice casual dining place.

Very friendly waitors and amazing service.

Ambience was great, and the decor was amazing.

The food is where things get shaky. We were a table of 4 and ordered: 4 entree, 3 mains, 1 side and 2 dessert. In general, the food was great, but was very salty.

For entree, we had the porc and lamb skewer. Although it comes in 3, they did give us 4! The lamb was great, but the porc one felt a little "smelly" (I only know the chinese term as : sow). Seasoning was great, but salty. We also had the pollenta fritto. This was nice, crunchy outside and soft. Not too oily, with a nice tomato sauce and with ton of cheese. Finally, the peaches was not my favorite. It does have a wow factor as a unique dish, but nothing crazy in terms of flavor. It's a play on peach yoghort.

For mains, we had their 2 special of the day and 1 pasta from the menu. The specials were a crab tagliatelle and a 1lb steak (to share). The pasta we chose was the tonarelli. Both pasta dishes were salty, very salty. Since we were sharing, we did could not just return the dish as we finished the dishes quite quickly. The flavors combinations were great, but the salt really took over. Pasta was cooked perfectly, al-dente. The steak was also cooked perfeclty. They did not ask for temperature (waitress told us to trust the chef), which was fine. Meat had good flavor, well seasonned for one!

For the side, we had their fries which was great. Big potatoes, well fried with a nice sauce.

Finally, for dessert, we had their rice beignets and honey sorbet. Their sorbet was amazing, smooth and great balance of flavor! The beignets were also great! They had a great crunchy exterior and soft on the inside. You can never go wrong with blueberry dip either!

All-in-all, great place to dine with friends for a casual hangout. Small menu but decent amout of selection. Big wine selction and a bar. Food was too salty to our taste, but flavors were amazing.

Overall, 4 stars as the saltiness really got the better of the last star.

Disclaimer: We did notify the waitor regarding the salt, and they did remove an item...

5 stars- really 5

Gia feels like the kind of place you stumble upon and instantly hope never changes. Tucked just off the beaten path, it gives new meaning to hidden gem, the kind of restaurant you want to share with everyone, yet selfishly keep to yourself.

We sat at the bar, soaking in the retro Italian beachside vibes even if it’s smack in the middle of a concrete jungle no beach in sight, yet that’s the vibe I got: warm wood, marble counters, stacks of bicchierini, old-school tunes and a gentle hum of conversation. It’s effortlessly stylish, unpretentious, and buzzing without being loud. A place that invites you to stay awhile.

The food is thoughtful and beautifully balanced. From the fresh pink grapefruit fish crudo to the perfectly grilled duck spiedini and rich, fall-apart lamb belly, each plate celebrates bold ingredients with subtle finesse. The orange wine was a perfect pairing bright, structured and just funky enough to keep things interesting.

Dessert? Gia doesn’t just “do” dessert…they mean dessert. The tiramisu was easily the best I’ve ever had; creamy, delicate with a decadent ganache and crisp brittle on top. The chocolate torta was pure comfort, dense and dark with a dollop of fluffed sweet cream to lighten the guilt.

John looked after us with grace and ease, rounding out a night that felt entirely special from start to finish. Gia’s been open for a little while now, but it still feels like a secret and I truly hope it stays open for everyone to experience evenings like the one we had.

And for those wondering about price: we've dined at our fair share of ristoranti and can honestly say Gia delivers exceptional value. For two; cocktails, wine, 5 dishes and through dessert, no holding back—the bill came to around $220 before tax and tip. For the quality, creativity, and quantity (designed to share), it’s more than fair. It’s giusto. We even were treated to a house limoncello, cin cin!

Thank you Gia for the amazing hospitality...