Gia Gelato & Cafe — Restaurant in Jersey City

I had really high expectations for this place, mainly due to all of the awesome Yelp reviews it got. Sadly, I was disappointed.

My boyfriend and I came in on a Sunday at around 1. The place had a smattering of people, most who seemed like they were for the free wifi more than anything else. After I tried the food, I could see why. It wasn't horrible but it was just mediocre, at best. It's nothing I couldn't get at a random deli somewhere.

The way Gia Gelato works is you go in, order and pay at the counter, grab a table, and someone will bring you your food. One thing I should mention about the ordering is that their menus say 10% student discount. But when I mentioned it, they didn't honor it because they said it was an old menu, which I think was a tad shady. They did honor the 10% off Yelp check-in though so in the end, it made no difference.

I had the philly cheesesteak, which had grilled onions and peppers, and mozzarella cheese. But what the menu failed to mention was that it also had some weird creamy ketchup mixture in it (or maybe the cheese just made it have this weird consistency?) It was not a good surprise. I'm okay with ketchup but not really with my philly. However, the seasoned fries I ordered on the side were pretty good. I actually liked this better than the sandwich.

My boyfriend had the Gia Metro (grilled chicken breast, applewood bacon, avocado, mixed greens, chipotle sauce). This was just a regular chicken sammie. Nothing I couldn't make at home, if not make better.

Their coffee was not bad but they're kept in thermoses similar to those of a gas station, so not really sure how long that's been there. But then again, I guess that's not really speaking volumes of me if I actually liked it.

The main reason why I bookmarked this place was for their gelato, which they didn't have any of (which is okay, because I wasn't really in a gelato-y mood that day). Maybe that's what they're really known for and why they earned all of the Yelp stars. I really do want to go back and try it, but I think I'll pass on the...

I really, really want to love Gia Gelato Cafe -- I loved, loved, loved the place under the previous owners and was a regular here. for months now I have been trying to become a regular again. But now, while the staff is friendly and I like them and I really do want to love the place, the food is never really cooked properly and the service is slow. After many repeated tries, I think I may have to admit to myself this is no longer the place for me. They NEVER toast the toast -- only slightly warm and dry our some pieces of bread and they most often don't provide butter for the toast (though if you ask for it they will bring some. They often don't cook bacon well enough either. I just recently had the breakfast quesadilla and it was cold. I don't mean it just wasn't hot and only a little warm. I mean it was cold. So cold the shredded cheese didn't melt at all and some of the bacon was actually 100% raw. It's like the cook/chef is afraid to actually cook things. Also depending on who is there the service is slow. The staff is SUPER nice, but hardly speedy and some seem not quite on-the-ball. I am very sad to say this is not nearly the place it used to be a few years ago. Such a shame -- but basic cooking skills and speed of service are key to whether a place is good or not -- and this place struggles...

I ordered from them one day on Uber eats, I was so impressed with the food and presentation! It's soooo fresh, today I decided to go down there and check it out myself I got take out and to my surprise, when I got home and opened my food the avacado toast had tomatoes and onions on it. It was so delicious! I think they didn't have too much avacado left so they substituted to make it more full. This place is deff gonna be on my top for breakfast for a while thank you!

UPDATE: The owners have changed but the food and service is still very homey. I walked there on a cold and rainy day, it was super warm and cozy. The ladies that work there are so sweet and sell Argentina Cookies they’re so amazing. I had a ham and cheese croissant and a chai latte, both super delicious as always. They didn’t have Gelato this time but there’s always so many other...