We went to Casa Gio on a Friday night in the end of May of 2019. Located deep in Pedersgata, it is one of many restaurants that have appeared in this street over the last few years. Maybe I shouldn’t do this review as I still feel that Casa Gio is a hidden gem – but I choose to share it as I think that more people should experience this great Italian restaurant.
When you enter Casa Gio, you walk into quite a small restaurant and you can look right into the open kitchen. The restaurant has maybe 20-25 seats so remember to book in advance to make sure to get a table. The menu changes frequently and based on access to ingredients but the menu of the day is written on a blackboard – there are usually 2-3 starters, 3-4 main dishes and a couple of desserts. Now if you are looking for a standard Italian restaurant that only serves pizza, lasagna and pasta carbonara, Casa Gio might not be the place for you. Yes, there are pasta on the menu (handmade) but it is usually not the traditional ones that you find in more traditional Italian restaurants. To give an example of the menu, this very night we had the option between Orecchiette alla Pugliese, saffron risotto with lobster, linguine with mussels and saffron ravioli with ricotta and spinach.
Nikki ordered the mozzarella salad with grilled vegetables while I decided to have the veal. And for mains we decided to have the risotto and the ravioli. Our waitress also asked what we wanted to drink and when we said that we preferred red, she brought over 3 bottles in various price categories that she thought would fit our menu choices and we decided to go for a wine made with primitivo grapes which is quite common for the Puglia region in Italy.
Our starters came after a few minutes. My veal was sliced in thin slices and had been lightly fried by the looks of it and it was served with solid slices of Parmesan cheese, king oyster mushroom, tomatoes and green. A lovely starter with fresh flavors and like I think Italian food should be: simple, with good ingredients and with amazing flavors. Nikki was also happy with her starter with the grilled vegetables that were served with slices of mozzarella on the side. The mains were served thereafter and they did not disappoint either. Nikki’s risotto and lobster were great! If you have followed me on Instagram for a while, you know I love risotto. It is very few places I get a great risotto like the one at Casa Gio! My ravioli was delicate with hints of saffron and filled with spinach and ricotta and topped with a butter sauce and pine nuts. I wrapped it up with tiramisu (yes, so they do have some classical dishes on the menu after all) which is always a treat!
Conclusion: Casa Gio is our go to place when we want a good meal and still a hidden gem in many ways. It is not cheap, but you do get fresh handmade food made with love and passion. I hope that this place stays in business for many, many years so that we can keep on going back to experience a slice of Italy – in Stavanger.
Facts: Homepage: https://casagio.no/
Location: Pedersgata 48 – see this Google map
Price: The food (excluding drinks) listed above was 1200 Kroner (140 USD)
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