Gourmet Italiano rest & cafe — Restaurant in undefined

Very nice Italian restaurant. They have newly opened and so the staff doesn’t appear to have all their roles and processes down yet, yet they were still very attentive, professional and polite. The pizza was very fresh and well made. Their in-house made gelato is quite delicious combined with good coffee and espresso selections. Overall, I would recommend it. You should come check it out and taste some of the amazing food. Be sure and try the bread dipped in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The dining area is a bit small and therefore a little too crowded with tables, therefore I’d suggest trying to get a table against the wall somewhere to avoid having foot traffic all around you. The only thing that really bothered me was where and how they handle the dirty dishes they remove from the tables. They are quick to remove them, which is great, but they pile them and clean them off on a counter top and trash can that is adjacent to the dining room and very near other food prep areas. I’ve never been to a restaurant where the dirty dishes are processed so visibly and near dining patrons. My advice to the restaurant management, move the entire dirty dish piling, dumping, and cleaning into the kitchen behind a door that is not visible to the dining customers. Additionally, even though many of the food prep staff wore plastic gloves, they need to remember to change them often and everytime they touch anything not sanitized, such as door handles, utensils, bags,...

Visit Date: July 01, 2025 - Lunch

Location: Empire Diamond - Erbil

Parking: Free parking spaces available.

Design: The decoration and design are beautiful, however, the chairs are not comfortable and you will be sitting straight up all the time.

Food: Parmegano (3.0/5.0) the eggplant did not taste good and it was kinda raw, Gnogi Vegetarian (3.5/5.0), orange juice (3.5/5.0), ice-cream (4.0/5.0).

Time: 7.5 minutes to get the orange juice Another 3.0 minutes to get the Parmegano Another 15 minutes to get the main meal (to be fair they waited to finish the starter then serve the main meal which was very nice of them).

Price: for the above items and a bottle of water, and a can of Pepsi the bill was 36,500 IQD (nearly 26 USD).

Service: The service was good and the waiter was very polite and friendly and they served everything in order (Drink, Salad, then main course).

Atmosphere: It was really nice and enjoyed the vibe, the music was not loud and overall it was clean.

Overall, my rating is 4.0/5.0, it is worth trying and maybe the other...

We wanted to go to bela cio restaurant which is behind this restaurant, but they said we need to have reservation. And the atmosphere was not family friendly as alcohol is served normally. So we exit and were hungry. Then we saw this restaurant "The Italian Gourmet" my wife said let's give it a try. We are so happy that we tried it, it is absolutely delicious and very very fresh food. It takes only 5 to 10 minutes for your food to arrive everything is cooked fresh and very delicious. The chef is Italian for real, The pizza options are just absolutely amazing, the crust the fresh topping OMG. You must try this place, I can't recommend this place enough as much as it's delicious, and the staff are wonderful, very friendly and the atmosphere is very family friendly. We have already went back 3 times and every time we are amazed with the food. And the best part is the price. It's very very cheap, they have pizza options which is only 8K IQD! I mean where you can find an original Italian pizza in that price. Just give it a try one time, you won't...