Osteria GIA Surabaya — Restaurant in Surabaya

We booked a private room for 8 people at this restaurant however when we came, AC were broken and the table and the lamp above our table was filled with flying termites. I was personally okay with the broken ac however the flying termites thing were disgusting and when asked them to get rid of it they kinda don’t know what to do about it. Just when my friend came she complained about the ac and the host kinda dont know what to do about it, all she’s been telling is is that the ac were broken from the central mall’s ac and they are currently still fixing it but they don’t know when will they finish fixing it. So instead of having the private room to ourselves (we already had a decor as well inside the private room), we were placed outside. My friend asked the host what would they do to compensate this? And the only thing that they can give us was their manager’s 10% discount which for us that doesnt compensate what had happened (the insects, the broken ac, how we ended up getting out of the private room) . Like 10% is just basically the amount of food taxes 😤🥲. Ive worked in the F&B industry before and when insects happened to be around food, the restaurant had to earnestly apologise to their customers and (either) bring out new free dishes for the customer / give out free vouchers 500k / or if the situation were really bad sometimes the restaurant gave full free charge. Like hello? At least give out a minimum of 30-40% discount or free food vouchers for everything that had already happened. Furthermore the waitresses use of words while serving the customers weren’t formal… it’s like they are talking to their close friends instead of serving a customer properly. The management needs to give proper hospitality lessons for the waiters/ waitress to properly serve their customers with professional manner for couple of weeks before they can enter their jobs. None of them were actually rude, I genuinely think they are nice people but very lacking of professionalism in medium / upper class restaurant type of customer service. First of all, this restaurant is not cheap (its not like some sort of like pasar or below 30k priced restaurants like hawkers) so please educate your hosts, waiters & waitresses properly before letting them work. None of them were bad people, really. However, very lacking in professionalism and professional manner in customer service. So i don’t think its their fault its more of the management’s fault. Food was okay. The pastas and tiramisu were the only thing thats quite good. Beef had no taste, we ordered a medium well beef but turns out most part of the beef became very well done (more than well done id say). Opening bread were mediocre as well. The pork that were in the pasta also did not have a good smell. Moreover, i was having dinner with my friends who came from Jakarta and one of them said that it is very different from the one in Jakarta ...

I recently visited Osteria Gia with my friends for a lunch/dinner. We came around 4 PM hoping for a less crowded place since we hadn’t made a reservation. While the food was good, it didn’t quite live up to the hype. We ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara, Spaghetti Aglio with Prawn, Pizza Carnivora, and Tiramisu. While all the dishes were tasty, they didn’t stand out as exceptional and didn’t match the excitement surrounding the restaurant.

The Spaghetti Carbonara was creamy and flavorful,though it could have used a bit more seasoning, so nothing extraordinary. The Spaghetti Aglio with Prawn was pleasant. The Pizza Carnivora was hearty and filling. The Tiramisu was decent, with a good balance of sweetness and texture, but not something that left a lasting impression.

We began feeling uncomfortable when we asked for the recommendation to order our food. It was essentially just a repeat of the marked dishes already listed in the menu book. There wasn’t any new or exciting recommendation to elevate the experience, which was disappointing given the restaurant’s reputation.

The real downside was the service. The staff lacked warmth, and the hospitality felt very superficial. For instance, when we asked for photos, though it is not peak dinner time they rushed on helping us and seemed unhappy when we asked for another take. When we asked for more cutlery, it was placed on the table without any communication, leaving us feeling ignored.

However, there was one staff member, Figo, who truly made a didifference. Too bad we only met him after we paid and about to leave. Figo was attentiveness, offering to take our photo multiple times, suggesting great photo spots, and even providing us with an umbrella and escorting us to the car during the rain. So it was the highlight of our visit and helped redeem the overall experience.

We were a bit surprised by the other reviews, which seemed okay with the service—perhaps we visited at a "wrong" time. We didn’t discuss our feelings about the service until after the dinner and tried our best to not complain, and it turns out we all shared the same impression.

In conclusion, while the food was good, it didn’t meet the expectations set by the hype. Coupled with lackluster service, it felt like an underwhelming experience overall. For the amount charged, I had hoped for a more memorable...

Went here for an anniversary dinner with the wife who made the reservation. Biggest mistake of the night. The atmosphere of the restaurant was warm and fancy enough; however, the service was subpar with the host being quite arrogant (saying there's a 2 hour time limit as if the restaurant had lines out the door) and immediately rushed us to our tables. Plenty of menu items were ready as we ordered 3 things that weren't available. Eventually we ordered 5 items and 3 drinks and costed us (IDR 1.2 Million) and here's the review of each item we received: Welcome bread: served cold as if it's been out for a long time Caprese Salad: was the best item of the night, fresh and tangy and made us expect the meal was going to be good (it wasn't Truffle Pasta: pasta was al dente, sauce was way too buttery, you get 4 slices of truffle that didn't really add anything to the dish (can't even taste the truffle since the sauce is overpowering) Roast Chicken: Served cold, overcooked, dry, sauce was cold and just overall terrible Signature Carbonara Pizza: Worst Pizza I've had in a while. Under-seasoned, dough was undercooked and pale, egg on top was overcooked, and the pork had no flavor, supposedly had truffle but was overwhelmed by a creamy mess of a sauce Tiramisu: Had high expectations due to stellar review. Worst tiramisu I've had in a while. The mascarpone cheese had no flavor, the lady fingers were thin and overall it was disappointing. The ciao probably should've been a warning for me to leave the restaurant instead of eating the Tiramisu. Earl Grey Cocktail: Filled only 1/4 of my glass and made me wonder whether this was a cocktail or a shot (despite good combinations).

Overall, Ismaya group did it once more to deliver a sense of mediocrity onto a restaurant advertising as an Italian restaurant but is clearly an amalgamation of fusion ideas with terrible execution. Not worth the $$$ (I don't mind the price if the food is good) and certainly if you're looking for Italian, there are better options...