"Gigi is much more than just the old Gusto"

City centre favourite Gusto has been given more than a glow up.  In fact it's received a full fat overhaul, a complete rebrand, and is now called Gigi!  Sitting on a prominent corner down at a nice section of Deansgate facing Spinningfields, you can't miss the new signage as you pass, which I suppose is the whole point of said signage.

We were invited down to experience the new package in full and arrived a bit early, so in true Italian style decided to grab a pre-dinner aperitivo at the in house bar, Bar Eleganza, which is a true stunner and a lovely place to spend a bit of time.

The drinks menu at Bar Eleganza is comprehensive but there's a dedicated section for the iconic Negroni, which those who read these blurbs regularly will know that we are rather partial to.  How fortunate for us. We settled in with a well put together regular Negroni (£12) to act as a measuring stick, with its Gigi-embossed ice cube.  We also ordered a second version which played a riff on the classic; Gigi's Negroni Bacetti (£14).

The latter is great option for those who prefer a bit of sweetness to temper all that aperitivo-style bitterness.  So, Bar Eleganza is 100% a place that you should visit Gigi to experience, even if you don’t fancy eating as we did on this visit.  You'll be more than welcome to pop in for a drink or several.

Now as touched on, Gigi isn’t simply just Gusto with new décor, so on top of the fabulous new bar the food offering has also seen a massive upgrade, courtesy of the reliably outstanding Chef Sam Astley-Dean, who made Onda famous to the point that they still use his dishes even to this day. 

Sam then had a brief stint at Lina Stores, but before all of that he worked in a score on London's very top kitchens.  And that translates into nothing but quality here, with an early nod of that given away by the list of Gigi's top shelf suppliers at the bottom of the menu. 

We ordered another couple of drinks as we gazed over the comprehensive menu following some advice from our server, a splendid chap called Mike who's clearly been in the game for a very long time with his expertly measured ordering guidance and constantly present yet totally unintrusive service.  Not enough servers get a shout out in food write ups, but bravo to Mike. 

We didn’t originally order it, but Mike insisted that we try the Focaccia, which as it happens was a wise move.  Superbly pillowy in crumb, loaded with rosemary scented olive oil and adorned with the signature chewy crust that's typically somehow neglected from focaccia.

Artichokes are up there in my top 5 food products, so whenever the opportunity arises, they get ordered.  They feature on most menus across Italy, especially in and around Rome, but here we don’t seem to appreciate their greatness as much, for whatever reason?  Gigi's Italian/Jewish style Fried Artichokes a la Judea (£12) were a truly solid iteration. Deep fried to a satisfying crisp, sauced with some zippy citrus crème fraiche and gremolata.

Next was what's bound to be a crowd pleaser, the Tuscan Chicken (£9), an Italian play on classic fried chicken, served with crispy pancetta topped ranch.   We love chicken thigh for the flavour and juiciness that comes from being fattier than breast, but I suspect that a lot of customers will voice their preference for breast in the coming weeks as feedback rolls in.

Next was one of the evening's favourite plates, Beef Carpaccio (£15). Served tidily and put together with truly splendid quality beef, treated with respect and deftly sauced with some picante horseradish cream and a Cheffy bone marrow dust.  It was a dish which for us summed up Gigi's whole style; simplicity and quality.

As touched on, Sam Astley-Dean is the boss around here, so you fully expect to see both small plate pasta and also mini pizza on the menu.  Well I'm pleased to report that you won't be disappointed here.  We started with the quite superb Truffle Fettucine (£16).  Cooked properly and sauced incredibly well with a generous shaving of black truffle delivering the decadent and unmistakeable scent that only it can.

Carbonara Pizzette (£12) followed, and we had high hopes of this following our past experience of Sam's work.  And of course, this latest iteration also delivered.  A lovely crust that was light yet loaded with flavour, topped with tons of crispy guanciale, a soft egg yolk and tons of cheese, to complete the Carbonara flavour profile.  No amateurish pancetta anywhere in sight.

Next we decided to have a dabble in the grill section of the menu, purely for our readers' enlightenment of course.  And whilst we didn't order it as to avoid being cheeky whilst on an invitation visit, it was brilliant to see Gigi offering proper Fiorentina steaks.  We can't think of many places selling them in Manchester, in fact we can't think of any, so this is a real selling point in the city which Gigi should make more of in our view.

We decided to instead go with lamb chops (£36), which are another of my all-time favourite items of produce, regardless of how they've been sauced, seasoned or garnished dependent upon where you are in the world. These were again great quality protein, cooked over charcoal as should be the case, and heavily seasoned.  The menu promised pangrattato crumb, which I couldn’t see anywhere, but this was made up for with some lovely config garlic, which I happily smeared over the chops.  Delicious and a worthy main course.

The above grill main course was amplified with a solid bottle of Chianti and also a simple yet tightly put together Caesar Salad (£6) and crowd pleasing Smashed Garlic Potatoes (£6), which completed the main course's action.  It was a magnificent feast which was more than enough for 2 people to share, and Mike's generosity had pushed our tummies to the absolute edge.

However, as we all know, there's always a second tummy that's dedicated to pudding.  We spent a few minutes trying to pick out just one to share, but had no success so ended up ordering a duo, starting off with their Cherry and Almond Sundae (£9).  It's a seemingly simple offering that's made with top quality cream to keep things as premium as possible and delivers a lovely fun dish that's as delicious as you'd expect!

But the real star was Gigi's Torta Tiramisu (£10).  Most of the layers are a textbook and well executed tiramisu, of which there's dozens of solid ones across the city.  But there, the traditional dusting of cocoa power is replaced with a thin layer of indulgently dark ganache, along with with the ingenious addition of a thin biscuit/praline 'torta' base, creating a superb textural element which is broadly lacking in tiramisus.  Tiramisus are an overdone food trend at the moment, but I genuinely can't think of a more enjoyable one anywhere in the city, which is a statement that I'll stand by!

So, as touched on, Gigi is much more than just the old Gusto operation with a bit of a refurb; it's an entirely new restaurant with a welcome concept change which definitely carries a more upmarket feel.  The new menu is fabulous and is a marked improvement in both quality and variety.  And the bar is absolutely there to be enjoyed by all, being a destination even if you're not planning to stick around and eat.  Which by the way, you absolutely should do anyway. 

To bookend things here; in a food media world that's dominated with puff pieces and phoney praise, following a mental digestion of any experience when writing these preview/launch events up, we always ask ourselves the same simple question; would we return and pay with our own hard earned cash?  The answer is 100%, and we will do just that in the coming weeks!

** Our experience was gratefully comped **