Gusto Italian - St Petersburg

So much potential. So much disappointment. So. my wife and I decided to reserve judgement until we had visited a few times, but after this last visit, which unfortunately was on my wife 's birthday, we probably won 't be going back. It is sad, because after our first visit, I actually recommended this place to numerous friends. The food was amazing and while the service was not stellar, our server was apologetic and we could see he was slammed with tables and also making drinks at the bar. The second visit, our food was a bit disappointing and our server disappeared from the dining room for long stretches of time. Our third (and probably final) visit, we figured, hey, the first time was great and maybe the second time was just an off day for service and a different, weekday chef . Well, part of this was true, the food was once again top-notch on our last visit. Unfortunately, we had the same exact server as our second visit... And once again, she disappeared for extended periods of time. It was just shy of 40-minutes (no exaggeration) before she circled back around to our table after we had placed our orders and had asked for more water. And she forgot both my wife 's starter salad and the water when she showed back up! We did end up bringing our experience to our server 's attention at the end of the night; she was dismissive to say the least... In defense of the restaurant, tables around us with different servers looked to be getting attention, but I can only comment on our experience.

First time here and definitely coming back! I got the pollo Marsala and my wife got the Rigatoni Italian! Sooo rich!!! Highly recommend this hidden gem!!! Great service too. Shoutout to our server Mumit!

Lovely environment. Everything is made by hand in house and every dish is a flavor fest. Nice portions and great service. True Italian dining experience.

We came to Gusto because of the good reviews but the food wasn’t great. I had spaghetti with Meatballs it was ok. The sauce needed more flavor. For the dish to be too low in salt doesn’t help. My wife had Salmon Cappieri? It was way too oily,. We won’t come back!

A hidden gem! The menu is creative, the atmosphere is stunning and the food is delicious! 10/10 would recommend and will definitely be back!