We went to Casa Gio in Pedersgata in Stavanger for the first time in 2015 and we were blown away! We had found a place that could take us back to Italy without even leaving Stavanger! We returned to the restaurant on a Saturday night in February 2023 and we were very pleased to see that the concept is still the same: a small Italian restaurant with just a few dishes on the menu and all the food is made from scratch and with passion.
We started with a glass of wine based on Arneis (a typical grape used for white wines in the Piedmont region in Italy) while owner/chef Giovanna Ordonez (hence the name Casa Gio) presented the menu. The menu changes according to season but it usually includes pasta and risotto. It did not take long before we got the starter: tagliere misto (also known as cold cuts and cheese), some bread with a good quality olive oil and grilled bell peppers with mozzarella. The combination of bell peppers, melted cheese, capers and basil was delicious. Among the cold cuts, it was great to get a piece of Soppressata Toscana as it is not that common.
The wine selection has gotten better at Casa Gio and this time we decided to have a Barbera from Dacasto Duilio winery . This was a full body, rich and intense wine as the wine maker dries the grapes a bit like when making Amarone wine. The mains were served and Nikki enjoyed the gnocchi with a ragu based on a recipe from the Marche region while I had tagliatelle with duck ragu. Our conclusion was that this was a match made in heaven with the rich wine and we slowly enjoyed this comfort food in the dim light of the restaurant!
All in all: Casa Gio has not changed much, and there is no need to change it! You get delicious food made with passion in a bustling restaurant that takes you back to that trattoria experience that you remember from that Italy vacation. Thanks again for a lovely dinner experience Casa Gio.
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