Gioia Pizzeria

Had the weirdest experience here.
I asked the manager why we hadn’t been seated an hour after our quoted time.
«These women won’t stop talking. You know women.»
With several tables open he still wouldn’t seat us. What upset us the most were the disparaging comments against women and how he was blaming them for the reason he couldn’t seat us.
Food is ok, but honestly, not worth it.

Great food. Friendly staff. I’m all about the ambience of this place– modern rustic décor and they play hip hop beats. Well played Gioia.

Very cute restaurant for dinner! Even though we didn’t have reservations, we were seated right away. We definitely beat the crowd by arriving around 6:00. I saw the line pile up while we were having dinner.
DINNER
Pork belly and clams
Jullian pizza– sausage and broccoli rabe with white sauce
All was good. Great food and a very nice ambiance. Everything on the menu sounded tempting, it was hard to make a decision. I definitely want to come back and try the salads and pasta, or even come here for brunch.
The service was very friendly, but we did have a strange (not bad) experience. Towards the end of our meal, the server reminded us that we were approaching our 90 minute time limit… but that was the first we had heard about having a time constraint. He apologized and let us carry on. It felt odd because we were being rushed, but not.
We quickly wrapped things up anyway out of courtesy, especially cause there were people waiting outside… in the rain! If there are people willing to to wait in the rain, then it’s gotta be good!

The secret in this restaurant is the small plates
Food that is made with care. Everything is brought in and made fresh daily
And it’s all about the taste and quality
The olive oil is quality and tasty as are all the ingredients
For 2 we like to get 3 small plates for dinner
The meatballs (the only ones I ever eat) perfect texture and sauce
The fried chicken is always a favoutite if it’s on the menue
Love the octopus when it is on the menu
For 3 of us we will add a small white pizza to the small plates
For price and quality Gioia are in the sweet zone

Great neighborhood pizza place with a selection of seasonal salads, creative pastas, and limited selection of main dishes.
The highlights of the meal were ‘autumn salad’ with roasted butternut squash and carrots and ‘mushroom tagliatelle’. Yummm.
The pizza was good, but for me it didn’t meet my expectations — it was a bit too much ‘American’ crust, sourdough based… I thought a place would serve Neapolitan style pizza… Formaggio pizza was very simple, way too simple… We also ordered Julian (without pork sausage), which turned out a bit too salty but very decent overall.
Definitely want to come back and try their crudo and some other mains!
Another disappointment was their dessert-​only 2 to choose from?! And no espresso???

Not too bad! :)

This is my absolute favorite brunch spot in the city. Great micheladas or Bellinis to start, a breakfast pizza for the table (must have), an order of lemon ricotta pancakes, and hangover pasta. It doesn’t get better. Great service, never as crowded as some of the other over-​rated brunch spots. Highly recommend.

We live a few blocks away and used to come here at least monthly. Last time we went we found their prices had increased so that a pizza is now $ 20 or $ 30 and salads are $ 12+. An order of $ 21 ravioli left my husband starving. We also had a very nice waiter who mentioned they had an open bottle of great wine that wasn’t normally available by glass. We said great, we’ll take 2! Get the bill and each glass was $ 20. It was very good wine, the waiter was right, but we felt completely scammed.
I don’t think we’ll be back.

I’ve been here for brunch quite a few times and tonight was my first dinner experience at Gioia. The hubby and I shared the persimmon salad with burreta and prosciutto, the pork belly appetizer and the pizza with sausage, broccoli rabe and ricotta.
The two appetizers were standouts. I’m a big fan of persimmons and the balance of the sweet and crunchy persimmons, the slight spice of the fennel, the creamy burreta and the saltiness of the prosciutto was the perfect marriage. I also loved the pork belly fritter. Calling it a fritter is a bit of a misnomer because it’s basically breaded and fried to a wonderful crisp. The pork was so tender and the fat perfectly melts in with the lean parts of the meat. With a bit of tang from the lemony sauce and the sweet Asian pairs, I was in food heaven.
The pizza was good, too. I think if they used marscapone instead of ricotta, it would have been a lot better. Also maybe use the more tender parts of the broccoli rabe because the leaves on ours were a bit too tough.
All in all, this is becoming a top 5 place for me. Can’t wait to come back again.

I am not a frequent visitor to this part of town, so when I was invited to have a dinner at this place I was excited.
We had:
Heirloom Beets salad — delightful!
Pork Belly Fritters — excellent! And perfect for sharing as it’s a deep fried pork belly. We did not finish it and saved the last bite for my dog, but ended up giving it to a homeless person.
Seared Ahi Tuna — Loved the grilled fennel and tomatoes. As for tuna, I liked it but would like it more raw next time.
I enjoyed everything! I wish I tried their pizza especially knowing that the owner is from the Italian part of NJ and started this restaurant because he was missing the taste of home.
With two glasses of cabernet each, the bill was about $ 100, which I think is average for San Francisco.

I really enjoyed this place. It has a nice ambiance and is perfect if you just want a chill night out and some good pizza.
My husband and I started with the Heirloom Tomato salad which had a great blend of fresh vegetables and flavors! Then we shared the Casareccia pasta — the spicy pork ragu in the pasta is what made it taste amazing! But the best part was the pizza! We shared the Salsiccia and the crust was the BEST. It was buttery and crunchy and the toppings on the pizza blended great together. I would definitely come back for their pizza.
The only bummer about this place was that the service could be better. We felt like we had to look for our server when he should have simply checked in on us. It took a long time to get our drinks. We had to ask a couple times to get water because they never brought us any. This place could definitely improve on service and make their customers feel taken care of.

Love love love this neighborhood spot. It’s great for brunch AND dinner, and great for bringing the pup to dine al fresco. The hangover pasta is delish and serves its intended purpose. The pancakes are crazy decadent but sooo good (perfect for sharing). And the sausage pizza with jalapeños is the bomb (super spicy, though — consider yourself forewarned).

I’m surprised to see that this place has only 3.5 stars. I think it has a nice, lively ambiance and the staff has always been friendly in my experience. I also think they serve pretty good, high quality, fresh ingredient food. Started with the Hamachi Crudo, which was melt-​in-​your-​mouth buttery, complimented by burst of flavor from the radish. Got the Julian pizza next, which was equally flavorful and delicious. Finished with creamy, fabulous gelato (1 scoop Butter Pecan, 1 scoop Peanut Butter). Crudo + pizza + gelato… That’s three of my favorite things. 5 stars.

Love the thin crust pizza here. We tried a classic pepperoni and the fig+blue cheese one. Pair the fig pizza with a sparkling rose, and you won’t be disappointed!
Also, apparently, you can bring your dogs inside?! There was a large dog sitting behind me on the ground, which provided some entertainment.

The staff/​management are incredibly rude. Both times I’ve been there they’ve seemed more concerned about babysitting customers’ behavior and discussing/​managing their alcohol consumption than serving them pizza. To be clear, in both cases my friends and I were coming from happy hour, but we were by no means out of control.
The pizza is OK so I’m tempted to give it a second star, but that kind of condescending service is inexcusable. There’s a trail of similar reviews about bad service stretching into the past, many with the same repetitive «we always try our best» response from Karen. Completely out of touch.

This place is really great and underrated in my opinion. I recommend the breakfast pizza — it is fantastic. Big enough to share for two (or three if you also get the burrata salad — delish as well).
I will also add that the service is incredibly friendly — came here once with two babies (not mine) and the waiter kindly brought out hot water for their bottles to be warmed in, even checking to make sure the temperature was right. That’s an awesome waiter! Thank you and see you again soon!

I thought this restaurant was super fancy as a pedestrian walking by, but once you walk in it’s pretty casual and down to earth — I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve had their pizza at their original Berkeley location but it had been awhile.
My gf & I shared a salad w/​burrata which was ok and I believe the meat lovers pizza with jalapeños (can’t remember the name). Anyway it was ok, definitely a specific style. I’d go back.

The perfect brunch place!
Get the burrata ($ 14) with a side of toast ($ 2). The toast is warm and buttery, and is the perfect base for the creamy burrata and prociutto. Best starter ever.
The broccoli pizza — my sister and I were inspired by the movie, Inside Out, and decided to opt for the broccoli pizza. The broccoli is more stems and leaves, with a ton of creamy ricotta on top. The cheese is a little overpowering, but we just removed it from the pizza and used it as a dip for the delicious crust.
Will be back again and again to try other pizzas… and that amazing burrata.

The atmosphere, the beers on tap, the pizzas!
Thank you, Gioia, for being such a gem on Polk! Though a little pricey, this place is worth every penny and the wait. There are usually a lot of people here who feel entitled to a seat (or so has been the case on Friday nights) because they make it their regular spot. Try to get here on a weekday night, and it’ll be a more comfortable evening

The beef and pork meatballs were excellent. There are three good sized balls in a serving. The accompanying sauce was flavorful and the hard crust bread was a perfect tool to use for dunking. There were seven of us and we ordered four of these… at $ 13 each.
I decided to have the Rigatoncini as my main dish This $ 22 pasta was served with a spicy lamb ragu, pecorino cheese, mint and Calabrian chili. The rigatoni were cooked al dente and the sauce itself contained more meat than tomatoes. Even though it was listed as «spicy», I would rate it as «mild». The dish itself was very, very good.
We also ordered two pizzas for the table – both were dressed with Molinari pepperoni, Grana Padana and mozzerella although we added Calabrian chili and a Coastal Hill farm egg to one of them. We all thought the pizzas were reminiscent of an east coast style which we enjoyed completely. They were $ 19 each plus $ 3 extra for each additional topping like the chilis and the egg.
Dessert was a trio of gelati: Stracciatella, Meyer Lemon and Tony Spumoni. $ 7.25
All in all, Gioia Pizzeria was a new found, pleasant surprise. It’s pricey though.
Service wasn’t bad at all.
The wine list is extensive and the beer offerings include quite a few local breweries.
Side note: It got a little warm in there with all of the cooking going on, but once the doors opened and closed a few times, things did get more comfortable

Excelente pizzaria. Uma das pizzas mais saborosas que já comi. Além de pizza serve alguns outras pratos que também foram excelentes. O preço é bom.