Review Gioia Cafe - Leichhardt

Great service and even better food. It was so good I ended up going twice in 1 weekend , once for dinner then again for lunch. Onsite parking available with 3 different seating areas available depending on your vibe.

Ordered pasta for delivery and it's hella good. One of the best I have ever ordered and service is top notch. Add notes for parmigiana cheese and they follow the note to a T, every detail accounted for. Had to thank the chef by making an order and putting it in the notes and got back a very big surprise, the chef and wait stuff had doubled my order for me to enjoy their awsome pasta. Thank you chef and stuff, ì well defintly continue to order here and visit some time to eat inside the Cafe.

Food was ok but fairly pricey. The food came out super quick which was great.

We were quickly seated without a booking and the service was prompt and friendly. The gnocchi was top notch, but we should have ordered two pasta dishes as the pizza was very average, bordering on poor. Where was the tomato sauce? The topping was a sloppy mess covered in oil which was a bit strange. Would probably get takeaway pasta again, but will give their pizzas a miss.

We think that this restaurant is more catered for takeaway than an actual sit down restaurant with service. The waitress asked whether we wanted salt and pepper. I thought she will bring back salt and pepper grinders but she ended up bringing salt and pepper sachets...like the ones given at McDonald’s. Parmesan Cheese was given in plastic containers. Pizza was a little dry. Pasta was okay. We ended up taking half the pizza home and they wrapped the pizza in foil... this is the first time I have ever been to a restaurant which doesn’t provide a pizza box. Service was average... seems like the staff are a little disconnected.

First time here, came for lunch as my brother in law wanted Pizza for his birthday. Really good dining experience, Pizza and Pasta were delicious and the servers were all really accommodating. Pricing is also reasonable and portion sizes are spot on. Good job Cafe Gioia. 👏

Poor service, main meals were served with entrees. Waitress said most customers wanted their main meals and entrees served at the same time. Mains were the re-served after being reheated. Steak ordered rare, was brown and rubbery Over priced and poor service, will not go back. This used to be a good family restaurant not any more.

Came here tonight because most places weren't open. Kind of weird vibe with drink coolers in the seating area and plastic containers of parmesan cheese. Food came out super quick which was a bit suspicious. I ordered the pizza and it was pretty average. Service was great but my boyfriend ordered the salmon pasta and got food poisoning a few hours later. Won't be coming here again.

I really enjoyed my experience at Cafe Gioia. We were served almost instantly and the food came quite quick and was very hot! <br/><br/>I loved the napoletana gnocchi. It tasted very authentic and had a rich tomato flavour. The gnocchi was also cooked close to perfection. This was definitely a stand out for me and I would come back just to order this dish! <br/><br/>We also got two pizzas, the four cheese and vegetarian. The four cheese was pretty nice, strong cheese flavours were evident. I did not seem to like the vegetarian much but I think that’s due to my personal taste as my friends quite liked it. <br/><br/>This restaurant is perfect for big and small groups alike as there is food that’s perfect to share and a lot of seating. I really loved it and looking forward to going back for that gnocchi.

I’m not happy about our orders.<br/>Carbonara did’t taste well, it was full of oil and it was made with egg white.<br/>We also wanted to try calzone with salmon because I like calzone and I like salmon, but after eating it I think it’s not a good combination of flavours.<br/>The only acceptable thing was the sandwich.

Came here for dinner with friends on a Saturday night. The mushroom pizza was delicious- fresh and full of flavour. Portion size was also very generous which is always a bonus when you're hungry! The restaurant also has a nice atmosphere. Our waitress (Rebecca) was super friendly and even helped us pick what dishes to order despite the place being busy. Will definitely be returning!

We have been going to Gioia for the past 20 years.  We visited last Sunday for early dinner before the movies.  We had 2 pizzas - Europa and seafood, both were soggy and disappointing.  The food was way below their usual standard.  It will be a long time before we return.  We used to love this place.  Tonight we will try the Greek restaurant down the road in Norton Street.

Having this pizza at cafe Gioia.The pizza is good to eat.The pizza bread is so delicious with cheese and we are enjoying the food.We ordered the carbonara fettuccine and we share among 3 people.Price is reasonable as well.

I really like this place. Maybe Because I love pasta and pizza and also the fact it's open quiet late. It's really big and if you go on a quiet night you feel like VIP. The portions are big which is great!

Busy restaurant but staff were quick and friendly. Had their signature Gioia pizza. The pizza was not bad, lotsa cheese and big enough for 3 person. The taste was alright but not too fantastic.

After being told 15mins for pizza we ended up waiting 45 mins. I can get over that if the pizza was actually good. Pretty much the worst pizza I have eaten and ended up throwing it in the bin as it was burnt and a quarter of the pizza did not have any topping. Definitely not worth a visit as there are better places to spend your money on better food.

This was the worst pizza I have ever had. Got the beef gourmet, absolutely tasteless. Tasted like bland cheese bread! sent it back and the manager Admitted it was disgusting so at least we didn't have to pay.

Sarah's Sydney<br/>'s review summed this restaurant up perfectly! <br/><br/>I wouldn't go out of my way to come back but I wouldn't completely ride it off either.

Gioia is one of the very few late night Italian pizza outlets around the area. Consistency is sadly off, and as a result my experiences tend to vary. Sometimes service speed is quick, even with a full house  dining in, other times when quiet, pizza takes some time. Pizza size itself is huge and the toppings are decent, although in no way the best available.

Been here a handful of times. Meals and service are of a pretty high standard. Reasonably priced mains and not a bad ambience with the outdoor setting. One of a couple of great Italian cuisines on the Norton strip

Really terrible food. It's a shame as the staff are friendly and it's a nice cosy place that's kid friendly but the pizza was revolting. It was basically just oily cheese on dough. I couldn't tell the difference between the ones we ordered as the other toppings were scarce or indiscernible. One we ordered was supposed to have basil but had none so and the other with salami had a funky off meat taste, so I immediately stopped feeding it to my son. I'm not particularly fussy about pizza and let's admit it, Leichhardt's restaurants don't have the reputation they used but I expected something remotely edible. Dominos would've been better.

Average at best probably worst pizza I have had in Sydney let along Leichhardt. Zero atmosphere and feels like nobody there really cares. I have always wondered how they get people there now I have been there I am really confused.

Really really really love the penne Lena. Even typing that just makes me want to eat it. Very reasonable prices, good value for money for the size you get. Also like the Four Seasons pizza. Reliably good :)

I've walked past this restaurant about 500 times but never gone in because it looks like a dismantled petrol station ( which I think it is). there are cars driving in an out too close to the outside tables.  It always looked like dining in a car park driveway.<br/><br/>Anyway, we went in for dinner and were served promptly. The menu is extensive. I had salmon that wasn't sufficiently cooked and I asked for it to be cooked further.  When it came back it was a bit drier of course but still good.  My husband had veal and mushrooms - a huge serve.<br/>Definitely not a romantic venue, but very family friendly evidenced by the many kids here.  I give it 3 and 1 /2 as it was quick, good value and had good service.  A good place if you don't want to be waiting for ever for a surprise meal.

Fantastic service and delicious pizza and pasta; felt home made. Went on a Monday night and was quite busy and homely. <br/>The Tiramisu was heavenly, and a huge piece at that!<br/>What a great restaurant, with fantastic Italian food.

Everything that we ordered was great! From the perfect crust pizza, the invigorating Antipasto to the admirable Gnocchi! To top it off, the waiter gave us the perfect night with his positive personality.

... the crust was superb. I enjoyed the plethora of toppings, however felt the ham was of inferior quality :( With both pizzas, wish they would have cut the olives in half as they kept rolling off and onto the table! hehehe I made my way through seven slices or so...Mr Trout finished off for me...so I guess that means he ate more than one pizza! lol so full....

Rude staff, Very average coffee, food i wouldnt feed my own dog with. Had the worst experience in this place yesterday.<br/>Ridiculous coffee, i wouldn't recommend this place to anyone.<br/>Poor service, attitude filled waiters.<br/>AVOID!

Poor pizza and overpriced. The pizza is very reminiscent of something I've bought from a supermarket and cooked in my oven at home. But the supermarket one didn't cost $25. They say the Italians are leaving leicchardt. and I suspect No italian has ever been near this pizza.

Rude people who have no respect for paying customers!. The pizza used to be good but with such rude customer service, it's sure to leave a bitter taste in your mouth! You can try avoid the rudeness by getting take-away but they don't hold back on the dose of incompetence, bad attitude and sloppy behavior when you come to pick up your order. I'd rather eat 3 day old pizza hut pizza than step foot in that pathetic excuse for a restaurant ever again!

Took my daughter and her boyfriend here, food was of excellent quality and service was good too. Price was ok considering but will return..

Lousy food and overpriced. The only thing going for this restaurant is the space it offers families but even that won’t see us return. There are too many other friendly, good eateries in Leichhardt to suffer the woes of Café Gioia.

Most appalling treatment of customers I have ever heard of. Massive Fail. As a longstanding Leichhardt resident, and parent of 2 children at Leichhardt Primary, Café Gioia has often been the default choice for many a quick pizza for the kids as well as large groups in P&C catchups. The service and attitude from staff has almost universally been pretty bad, but location, location, location and plenty of space. Food...meh.....kids eat the pizza that's about it<br/><br/>The treatment of a very close group of friends (who we together have many an occasion spent our good earned money at this establishment), banning for life no less, due to "impost on one of proprietors own children/relatives birthday party", after appalling behaviour of such child has been an astonishing own goal.<br/><br/>As a previous poster pointed out, life is tough on the Norton street strip for restaurants. The strong will survive through outstanding food, superb service, and REPEAT custom. This place doesn't get it.<br/><br/>News of this appalling treatment is sweeping through the Leichhardt community, and I for one (and one of many) will never eat at your restaurant ever again.

From bummer to Hummer .. this place is toxic!. What sort of restaurant manager reduces a nine year old girl to tears, and a customer at that? Appalling treatment last Friday night guarantees a group of Leichhardt parents and their children will never return to Cafe Gioia.<br/><br/>Be warned, you may be subject to vile treatment from the terrible tots of the house before they depart in their Hummer (vulgar!).<br/><br/>This joint may have set a record for the number of Food Authority busts for their filthy kitchen.<br/><br/>Norton Street is already stuffed so this customer "service" is suicidal.

Disappointing in the extreme. Living in the area I have tried this restaurant half a dozen times and always been disappointed with the service, quality of food and the price. Definitely the last time I will give this restaurant my patronage. A lot better on offer along the strip.

Always dissappointed.... Been here over a dozen times... food is alright, but doesn't feel worth it given the price. Honest Italian food maybe worthy of a pub, although most pubs are stepping up these days.

Bought takeaway pizza for first time. Fast service, extremely friendly staff and delicious pizza. Ate it in five minutes! Will definately go back.

Poor value in a charmless locale. This restaurant has occupied the former site of a petrol station for a number of years and seems to be taking its culinary cues from truckstops. We ate in a large, tiled space that was open to an outdoor area where smoking at table was allowed, or perhaps even encouraged, to corner a specialty market. Windy conditions brought whiffs of stale smoke to all. Service was prompt but I suspect the food was prepared with a hastiness born of indifference.<br/><br/>My main was 'Scalloppine John': the menu describes this dish as 'Tender veal pan fried in a rich red wine, black olives, spanish onion, fresh tomato and a hint of fresh Oregano'. John should be fired. The veal was rubbery and dry. Whole black olives straight from the jar sat in a sauce that looked and tasted like Leggo's tomato concentrate. A few sticks of steamed zucchini and carrot had been shoved beneath the veal, perhaps to give a sense of plenitude, absent from the actual portion served. No hint of oregano was evident. I am not even sure the onion was Spanish. The dominant flavours were of hot oil and salt. This meal would have been doubtful value at half the listed price of $24.50.<br/><br/>My fellow diner fared no better. He had chosen 'Penne Lena: Flamed with chicken breast, prawns & sun-dried tomatoes, finished in a light sauce.' The sauce was more bright than light, a fluorescent curry-yellow. My friend was increasingly pensive as he chewed his way through the oily, yellow penne and what looked like three prawns. He then rechecked the menu. Incredibly, the dish had been prepared without the chicken breast. He reported no flavour of any kind.<br/><br/>We ended the night nearly fifty dollars down for a vile meal that was partly fictional, and probably would have enjoyed the experience of huffing petrol fumes from the bowser somewhat more: I hear that sniffing the stuff curbs your appetite.

DO NOT GO HERE. This place is the worst restaurant I have ever been to. The female manager that works here is extremely rude. The food is bland and is over priced. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!

Horrible food... Absolutely terrible experience.. Bad service.. Never going nsck

Hit & Miss. Been going to Cafe Gioia for a few years now and while the pizza is still good, the other dishes are a bit ordinary. A case of trading on reputation alone. <br/><br/>Place could do with a re-fit, staff could do with training, and I realise it's up to parents to control their running, screaming children but at times, it's like a pre-school.

Enjoyable birthday dinner. Had my birthday dinner here with my 20+ friends a few nights ago. We had a set menu $40 per head. We had antipasto & bruschetta for entree, followed with marinara fettuccine & Boscaiola penne. The main course was the veal parmigiana & chicken with prawns & asparagus. My friends really like and enjoyed all the food that we ordered. I understand tha we all have different taste buds re: foodies as myself is very adventurous re: food. But Gioia is very good one. Good food, good customer service and the best thing about it, is, the $40 per head were drop down to $35 how nice of them to do that. Amazing...I, we difinately come back @ GIOIA :-) love to try their pizza as we don't get it on a set menu.

Very Ordinary. Pizzas were OK. Pasta very bland with some thin packet ham sliced on it for decoration-could have made it myself in 5 minutes and saved $16. Cake was stale and probably defrosted frozen sara lee or similiar. Service slow.

Pizza's were really good, short brunette female waitstaff bad! Rude with attitude, male waitstaff picked up slack for her. Pizza's arrived before drinks, it took 3 requests for an ordered mineral water to arrive, it arrived un-opened & handed to the customer with no apology, rather a scowl instead.

Awesome pizza! Only trouble was we ordered garlic bread and it never showed up, but we weren't charged for it. Beautiful iced tea! Avoid going on mothers day, etc, as very crowded with families with noisy out of control children!

Worst Cafe In Sydney!. Went here for the first time today with two other friends. Waited a ridiculous 40 minutes for food which waitstaff didnt even apologise for being late. I had the canelloni which was bland and tasted like packet stuff. My friend's pizzas were disgusting with barely any toppings. One asked for caramelised onions and didnt get any and we counted FOUR tiny pieces of eggplant on the pizza. The artichoke was tough and old and the tomatoes and mushrooms were not fresh. <br/>Took another 15 minutes to get their attention when we wanted to pay - and it wasnt busy! - the manager then argued with us when we said we did not want to pay for pizzas that werent edible she threatened to call the POLICE! And said she'd take $10 dollars off the bill. <br/><br/>I can't believe how rude that woman was. She argued and patronised us and was not apologetic at all when it was their fault. They obviously dont believe in customer service. Don't go here unless you want to be treated like this!!! Pathetic

Avoid this place at all costs, worst pizza I have ever eaten!!

The pizza is great. Have had it take away before. We went there the other day for dinner. We both had a different risotto and they both tasted like something out of a Westfield food court. I will never go back here to eat in. If I was the chef on that day I would truely be ashamed of the food I was serving.

I eat here quite regularly (mainly pizzas) as if is close to home. The 4 cheese pizza is definitely the highlight and when we have dined in the service has always been good! Don't expect too much and you won't be disappointed. Good food at at s reasonable price.

Poor service, plus mistakes on both the order and the bill.

Fantastic! Try 4 cheese and Europa pizzas! Delicious.