Gioia - Salem

We thoroughly enjoyed our delightful dinners at Ristorante Gioia on Mother's Day. Each dish we ordered was unique, prepared exactly as requested, and all were served piping hot simultaneously. Our waitress was cheerful and efficient, enhancing our experience. The atmosphere was very relaxing, accompanied by soft background music that made it easy for our party of five to converse. We will definitely be returning!

We chose this restaurant for my son’s 14th birthday because he had a craving for veal. The menu offers a wide variety of veal, pasta, and fish dishes, and we all enjoyed our meals. The restaurant features a classic, traditional Italian menu that appealed to everyone. My only suggestion for improvement would be to enhance their selection of wines available by the glass.

We made a reservation through OpenTable a few hours before our arrival, but when we got there, they had no record of it and no available tables. They seated us at a couple of small bistro tables by the front door. The restaurant seemed understaffed, with only two servers handling a full house. They did their best, and we weren’t left waiting too long. Unfortunately, the bread was undercooked and doughy in the middle. After we mentioned it, they brought us another loaf, but it was also raw inside, which was disappointing. The food—pesto gnocchi and lasagna—was no better than something we could make at home. The dessert, a chocolate mousse cake, was decent, and the wine list was good, but there are certainly better options nearby. We won’t be coming back.

Asked for a romantic table and a simple birthday treat! All was done very nicely. The owner, Vito, very pleasant and inviting.

Went on an off night and were the only ones there. The service was terrific, the menu was great and our selections were wonderful. The super cheesy garlic bread was delis. We had the gnocchi pesto and eggplant pram...both really good, piping hot with plenty to take home. Nice wine selection too. Will go back!