Gusto Ristorante — Restaurant in Hilton Head Island

My wife and I wanted to go Italian, but wanted to try a place we had not yet tried. So Gusto’s it was basing our decision on Reviews and ability to get a reservation that night.  In the reservation I noted a request for a quiet table away from any large groups.  Arriving, I could tell that could be a challenge.  There were not many options, we sat at a tiny tiny table right by the entrance.  The option was to sit at two seats at the bar.  In hindsight, we should have picket the bar since our table was right next to busy foot traffic from everyone. Our waiter, Abby, was very friendly.  Only complaint was we asked for something not on the menu, my wife just wanted simply Spaghetti and Marinara, she said all they have is Spaghetti and Marinara and Meatballs… so, I guess they don’t have the ability to keep the meatballs and charge us less.  It was two big meatballs, I took them on my plate with the Spaghetti Carbonara I got.  Meanwhile, they offer another dish that has Spaghetti with Marinara on the side… We got an app of the Tomato Bruschetta which was very good, diced up like I like on garlic bread. The waitress then asked, would you like some bread for the table, and said they have plain or garlic… I said we’d do the garlic. I assumed this was complimentary given the way it was offered and what you tend to see at most Italian restaurants.  It was really good Garlic Bread, I was just surprised to see a line item for it on our receipt at the end, about 8 bucks.  I did not complain, but that was kind of a sneaky tactic in my opinion.  The Carbonara itself was not bad, It could have used some more Parmesan Cheese and perhaps salt.  It was actually very good as a leftover the next day.  All in all, we’d eat there again, but now we know the deal.  Picture of the app and the Carbonara with the Meatballs from the...

This restaurant located on William Hilton Parkway just a mile or so north of the Sea Pines gate in the Fresh Market shopping center is a bit underwhelming from the outside. The inside is on the small side with about 15 tables and 5 or so seats at the bar. The decor is very nice and reminiscent of restaurants in Italy. We were greeted warmly, taken to our table. The menu is generous in its selection and my wife and I both commented that every single appetizer was to our liking. The menu is a wonderful mix of classic Italian favorites and adventurous twists on classics. We got a wonderful Bruschetta and several delicious, silky smooth meatballs. Both were fantastically seasoned and perfectly prepared. We though we were in for a five star meal. Our main courses were a slight miss. I had the Salsiccia alla Toscana which is Grilled sausages, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, roasted red peppers served with vegetables. The sausage was tasty and well prepared, the odd part of the dish was that it was served with mashed potatoes. Why? Why not pasta. The dish had potatoes in it, so it seemed very odd. My mashed potatoes were very salty, definitely over salted before arriving at the table. My wife ordered a special of fresh Mahi Mahi with clams, mussels and shrimp in a light tomato sauce. She felt the dish was good, but the large fresh filet of Mahi Mahi was under seasoned and overall a bland dish that could have been spectacular. Service was very friendly although at times our waitress disappeared. I do not think the main dishes lived up to the appetizer, and our return is questionable. Italian is good, but when it is not...

Quite possibly the best dining experience on the island! The food was insanely tasty and the service was incredible. We were warmly greeted by Mario when we walked in and as he showed us to our table, he really made us feel welcomed and how much they appreciated us coming in. We then received another warm welcome from our Italian-speaking waiter, Antonio, who provided us with a delightful experience throughout the evening. He gave great food recommendations and our wine glasses were rarely empty as he was extremely attentive...while also giving us privacy to enjoy our dinner. Their wine list was full of Italian and American selections with price points that would fit just about anyone’s budget. We went with a bottle of Red Schooner Voyage 8 (a Wagner Family wine) and started with the Bruschetta do Pomodoro, which was a perfect combination of chopped tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and basil. For our entrees, we ordered the Lasagna alla Romana & the Gnocchi Gorgonzola e Noci...both of which had an immense amount of flavor! Their dessert options looks great although we opted to have the rest of our wine for dessert...but not much longer after they took away the dessert menus, here comes Mario with a plate of two cannolis that looked incredible and he mentioned they were on the house. This made our incredible dinner even better as it was very unexpected. Every staff member here really goes the extra mile to make sure you have a pleasant experience and we can’t wait...