Gigi's Italian Kitchen & Restaurant
Italian restaurant · Candler Park ·
Award-winning Italian bistro with fresh pasta and seasonal dishes
Award-winning Italian bistro with fresh pasta and seasonal dishes
"Seated at the seven-stool counter, I sipped an Americano cocktail and watched chefs Jacob Armando and Eric Brooks deftly execute a tight, seasonally driven menu that leans on Georgia farms; highlights included crispy polenta cakes piped with lemon-herb whipped crème fraîche and white anchovy, a strawberry-and-radish panzanella, a creamy campanelle primavera with house-made ruffled flower pasta, and a silky tiramisu that I found even better than your nonna’s." - ByPervaiz Shallwani
"When we visit Gigi’s Italian Kitchen, we feel like we’ve been whisked away to another time, one that’s light on stress and heavy on delicious creamy pasta primavera with housemade cavatelli. If you snag a seat at the bar, you’ll see chefs in crisp white T-shirts preparing pastas, salads, and beef carpaccio in the open kitchen, where fancy dramatics take a backseat to plain old fantastic cooking. The red-checkered tablecloths, family photos, and always-burning candle could have fallen out of a romance novel. And since the place is tiny, reservations fill up fast, though spots are always reserved for walk-ins." - nina reeder, jacinta howard, juli horsford
"Even after the expansion, Gigi’s Italian Kitchen in Candler Park is still on the cozy side. So you’ll have far more difficulty securing a last-minute reservation at this top-rated Italian spot than you would finding a parking spot in the big free lot behind the building. Obey the signs, clear your car of valuables, and settle in for creamy pasta primavera and a front-row view of the always entertaining open kitchen." - juli horsford, jacinta howard
"Who made the weekends the date night standard? As one of the best restaurants in Atlanta, Gigi’s makes a solid case that the best date night is any day they’re open (which is Friday-Tuesday). Red gingham tablecloths, colored holiday lights, wax-covered candelabras, and randomly incorporated plastic green vines feel playfully cliche at this Italian restaurant in Candler Park. And with only a few, tightly packed tables, which all give a front-row view to the chefs pan-tossing pasta, it still exudes an intimacy you can’t find anywhere else in the city." - jacinta howard, juli horsford
"Gigi’s is a very tiny Italian spot in Candler Park, and it's perfectly suited for anyone whose view of romantic dining is still shaped by that Lady and The Tramp spaghetti scene. Red gingham tablecloths, colored Christmas lights, wax-covered candelabras, and randomly incorporated plastic green vines feel playfully cliché. Chefs pan-toss pasta while couples lock eyes with each other (because the tables are so tightly packed a glance elsewhere risks uncomfortable eye contact with strangers). Don’t expect to find kid-friendly spaghetti and meatballs here—but rather a small menu of great, upscale dishes like flaky poached snapper and fried, chewy polenta strips topped with cream and caviar." - nina reeder, juli horsford, jacinta howard