Reviews of Gia Vin & Grill describe a standout Italian dining experience defined by delicious, inventive dishes and a strong wine program, with highlights including fresh seafood, house pastas, grilled meats, arrosticini, focaccia, and standout desserts like tiramisu or chocolate tart. The atmosphere is repeatedly praised as warm, stylish, and unpretentious, with a lively bar area that still feels conducive to conversation. Attentive and knowledgeable service is often noted, particularly for wine pairings, though a few comments mention occasional slower service or a busy night that can feel rushed. Some critiques mention small starter or main portions and a higher price point relative to plate size, and one tasting-menu incident that led to frustration, but overall the sentiment emphasizes quality, creativity, and value. Many reviews call it a hidden gem in the area, a go-to for special occasions or memorable nights, and several repeat visit claims underline consistency across dishes, drinks, and ambiance, making it a top Italian option for food and wine lovers.
We dined at Gia during the Roscioli pop-up & were completely blown away! It was our first time at Gia but will certainly not be out last.
Inside the nondescript concrete building that houses Gia is a warm & inviting atmosphere that is just loud enough to create a vibe, but not too loud where you can't share an intimate conversation with your date.
We were greeted warmly & the server answered all of our questions with a smile, while making some excellent meal suggestions.
We started with cocktails, a white negroni, which hit every note, & a Paper Plane, which my wife enjoyed from the first sip to the last.
On the food front, we began with the fried artichokes, which were crisp & cooked to perfection & a delicious squash dish which had cheese, pears & hazelnuts -- equally tasty!.
We moved on to the Carbonara, which was utterly perfect. Cooked to al dente deliciously crisp guanciale scattered throughout. We also sampled the mezze pasta in a spicy, rich tomato sauce with crisp guanciale (can never have too much). Exceptional.
Next we had the braised short rib, which fell apart at a glance, served with some balsamic glazed cippolini onions which cut through the luxurious richness of the dish. We paired this with the braised puntarelle, a unique bitter green which was coated in a delicious dressing/sauce & was an excellent match with the beef.
The server & sommelier were both very knowledgeable with the wines & made some excellent suggestions which proved to be lovely pairings with the meal.
Needless to say, we were stuffed, satisfied & had an overall amazing time at Gia. 10/10.
Accueil chaleureux malgré la pluie & malgré mon retard. J'ai été pris en charge par le sympathique barman & je ne l'ai pas regretté. Cocktails délicieux, arrosticinis au boeuf & à l'agneau,
divine foccacia, arancini au homard, morilles farcies, onglet de boeuf hyper tendre, torta au chocolat,etc. La carte s'inspire de plusieurs régions d'Italie. A mon avis, un des meilleurs restaurants italiens de Montréal.
Jun 2, 2025
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Gia feels like the kind of place you stumble upon & instantly hope never changes. Tucked just off the beaten path, it gives new meaning to hidden gem, the kind of restaurant you want to share with everyone, yet selfishly keep to yourself.
We sat at the bar, soaking in the retro Italian beachside vibes even if it's smack in the middle of a concrete jungle no beach in sight, yet that's the vibe I got: warm wood, marble counters, stacks of bicchierini, old-school tunes & a gentle hum of conversation. It's effortlessly stylish, unpretentious, & buzzing without being loud. A place that invites you to stay awhile.
The food is thoughtful & beautifully balanced. From the fresh pink grapefruit fish crudo to the perfectly grilled duck spiedini & rich, fall-apart lamb belly, each plate celebrates bold ingredients with subtle finesse. The orange wine was a perfect pairing bright, structured & just funky enough to keep things interesting.
Dessert? Gia doesn't just'do' dessert…they mean dessert. The tiramisu was easily the best I've ever had; creamy, delicate with a decadent ganache & crisp brittle on top. The chocolate torta was pure comfort, dense & dark with a dollop of fluffed sweet cream to lighten the guilt.
John looked after us with grace & ease, rounding out a night that felt entirely special from start to finish. Gia's been open for a little while now, but it still feels like a secret & I truly hope it stays open for everyone to experience evenings like the one we had.
& for those wondering about price: we've dined at our fair share of ristoranti & can honestly say Gia delivers exceptional value. For two; cocktails, wine, 5 dishes & through dessert, no holding back-the bill came to around $220 before tax & tip. For the quality, creativity, & quantity (designed to share), it's more than fair. It's giusto. We even were treated to a house limoncello, cin cin!
Thank you Gia for the amazing hospitality & experience.
2024: service was still excellent. Music was better. Lamb arrosticini, eggplant, fennel salad, & pici pasta with ragu were delicious. Great presentation overall. Suggested wine pairing worked well. Agua Di Gia cocktail was a bit boring. 2022: Friendly & efficient service. Great wine recommendations. Shared the lamb & beef arrosticini, the eggplant, the artichoke, the lamb sausage, & the duck tartare. All were unique & delicious. Music & decor could be a little more interesting, but overall a fantastic experience.
We went here twice. Each time, we asked the server which food & drinks to order, & enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime night 😍 The food is good & wine/cocktail pairings are next level. My favorite restaurant in Montreal.
Chose this place for my closest friend's 40th birthday. Service was great. Vicc was perfectly bilingual, humorous, knew his stuff, professional to a T - great! Drinks: One of us had the one sparkling white wine that came by the glass, I had the bourbon cocktail. Both were good, simple, but that's expected. Birthday boy had a mocktail. 12$ is a bit steep for a mocktail. Tasted very good, but that's a heft price tag. Appertizers were the beef, pork & lamb skewers, with a fat piece of foccacia to scoop up that garlic & parlsey butter. The skewers were SENSATIONAL. Best part of the meal, & the one thing I would focus on if I ever go back. Lamb was amazing. Pork was tender. Beef was a tad over-cooked, but quite good. Skewers is what they are known for, & they did not dissapoint. The four of us split 3 mains: The Duck ragout, which was tasty, but lacked duck flavour. The tagliatelle, which had a great sauce & the mushrooms were wonderful but the pasta was over-cooked which was unfortunate. The sausage was decent, but the lentils & crispy kale on the plate were actually the best part. Dessert: The birthday boy was gifter the canteloup & geranium granita, which was lovely. One couple split the chocolat ice cream & hazelnut merinuge sunday which was great, & the other had the tiramisu, which was....quite disappointing. It looked like a basic restaurant dessert at 3x the price. Would I go back? Probably, a nice glass of wine, foccacia & skewers - YES. All the rest was rather forgetable. But then again, as long as there is one that one taste, that one flavor that brings you back...isn't that what matters?
Thank you Nelson for being an incredible host & taking such great care of us. Montreal has so many hidden gems & this one takes the cake.Wine selection is so beautiful but also great cocktails & beers offered for the non wine drinkers. Please order all of the skewers, you will not regret it.
Aug 27, 2024
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Very relax atmosphere Fun deco We shared: Entree: beef skewers ( lots of fat pieces ), fennel salad :dressing was blend the fish crocchette crispy on the outside but very very soft texture in the inside & the eggplant they were ok Main course: omble chevalier on a bed of peas & string beans tasteless rigatoni was blend & a piece of steak which no one ate it's was really a tough piece of meat couldn't chew it the waiter remove it from our bill Overall disappointed but their twist on the mai tai cocktail was unbelievable & their focaccia bred very good
Absolutely love this place. Stumbled upon it & have been back since. The food is really good & tasty, the cocktails & wines are great. Love that this place has a laid-back vibe, you can dress-up & dress down. Hidden Gem!
L'ambiance est tendance & invitante & le service fut impeccable sans être prétentieux. Chaque plat était délicieux tout en mettant de l'avant des ingrédients saisonniers. Nous avons particulièrement aimé la salade de radis. Belle sélections de vins nature & cocktails. À ne pas manquer!
Petit bijou dans St-Henri. Laissez-vous emporter par la vibe des lieux, le service attentionnés & la gastronomie recherchée. Tout était délicieux, des cocktails savoureux aux pâtes parfaitement exécutées.
Mar 17, 2024
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We had really great service, the waiter allowed us to taste a few wines to find one of our liking & was patient, knowledgeable, & polite & we enjoyed our time there but each dish we received just felt like it was okay. It was still good, but also just okay. Compared to other similarly priced restaurants serving up Italian fare (even its sister restaurant), it couldn't compete. For the price of cocktails (~20 each) & the food, I would have expected a better meal. I'll say that if the food had been maybe 10-15% less expensive I would not feel the same. If your mains are 30+ then I expect a cut above not something I could prepare myself. I am a big fan of the brand & Elena but in my experience for a similar price I'd rather go to Elena. I would go back but if the food next time was not much better, that would probably be my last time there.
