Ian B.
Yelp
Walking up to the entrance, Gusto has a very Italian vibe from the get-go. The service from host to waiter is outstanding. As soon as we arrived, we were promptly greeted by one of the waiters, that ended up being our waiter. During these post-COVID times, all restaurants need help and are constantly hiring, but even the short staff didn't impact the service. Drinks, however, did take a bit longer in the beginning, but it picked up as we started our wine paired dinner for Austin Restaurant Weeks (ARW) benefitting Central Texas Food Bank (CTFB).
We started with 2 cocktails, Autumn Leaves, also on the menu for ARW, with $2 going to the CTFB. My wife didn't particularly enjoy the cocktail. It reminded us a bit of a flat Dr. Pepper taste, however, I used to love the little last bits of Slurpees as a kid, especially Dr. Pepper flavored slushees. It def took me back to my childhood times at the corner store, just munching out with a slushee in hand.
The wine paired dinner started off with a beautifully plated salmon canapé. The bright, cured salmon was nicely positioned on top of a cracker bread and mixed in some green onion slices, cucumber and candied red onions. Under the cracker, there was some salmon mousse that was a nice extra dipper for the cracker. Then to finish off on top, some salmon roe to give it that elevated feel and texture. This was paired with a crisp Cuvée Brut Rosé N.V. (Veneto, Italy) with nice, fine bubbles.
This was followed by a strong contender, a roasted acorn squash soup that it might be my best fall soup that I've had in some time. The toasted pumpkin seeds and the sage go perfectly with the squash taste and texture. Soup was paired along a '20 Lunaria Civitas Pecorino, white wine with fantastic fruit notes.
There were two entrees to choose from, one being the quail inovoltini and another the three cheese agnolotti. I went with the quail, which was stuffed with mushrooms topped with whole carrots and micro greens. The quail was accompanied with a demi glace that added the extra juiciness to the dish. The 3 cheese agnolotti was topped with some toasted pine nuts, which I loved, but the cheeses in the pasta made it a bit too salty for my taste. It included ricotta, grand pasando and pecorino romano. Maybe the browned butter was the culprit to the saltiness, but it was still enjoyable.
Our night ended with a chocolate and olive oil cake which was scrumptious. Served with a fluffy pecan mousse, the cake had a nice pecan brittle icing and some in the middle as well. Dessert was paired with a '13 Montellori Vin Santo, which had strong caramel and hazelnut notes, but it wasn't my favorite pairing with the cake. I would've wanted a little more tannin red than this pale tawny colored wine.
Overall, the service plus the great dishes for ARW benefitting CTFB really made it an amazing experience. Not only did we get to munch out, we did it for a good cause. Glad to have visited such a wonderful Italian restaurant.