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Serving: Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. (lunch served until 4 p.m.); Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.; (lunch served until 4 p.m.); Sundays, 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. (brunch specials served until 2 p.m.). Cuisine: Italian Prices: $ - $$ Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant on a scale of 1 to 10 in five categories, for a combined total score of up to 100 points. Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
Ambiance
Our Gourmet: I liked the feel of Giorgio’s from the start. The décor is clean and pleasing, the walls covered with a sort of moderinized faux Roman art, and the tables are comfortable. The menu is full of interesting offerings.
To start, we were brought a basket of delicious warm rustic Italian bread served with a sharp garlic pesto spread that woke up our taste buds, but was quite good. Right away, it looked as if we were in for a pleasant evening.
Plus Giorgio’s serves a mean martini. Score: 9
The Dining Companion: The lighting and décor were nice, but being a “robust” man, the tables for two are a little small and too close to the neighboring tables – which, in this case included a couple of cackling teenage girls who were a less-than-perfect accompaniment to our otherwise pleasant dinner. Score: 8
Appetizers
OG: I ordered the scallops Gran Gala, pan seared scallops in a sweet orange liqueur cream sauce ($9.99). No kidding, these scallops were almost the size of golf balls, cooked perfectly, tender and succulent. And the sauce was to die for — creamy, rich and sweet, but not too much so.
It was served with broccolini, a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale. The result is sweeter – and in my opinion, a bit less fibrous – than broccoli. Score: 10 TDC: The little lamb lollipops I ordered were exactly as described, three little lamb chops with a delicious tzatziki sauce — yogurt with cucumber, garlic and dill — with a tomato relish, served with a pillow of mint phyllo ($9.99). The lamb was well cooked and tender and the flavors all went together well. I’m not a big fan of lamb, but this could make me one. Score: 8.5
Dinner
OG: Having gone with sweet for my appetizer, I went savory with my main dish and ordered the cioppino, consisting of shrimp, scallops, mussels, clams and haddock simmered in a sherry wine seafood broth. ($20.99) It’s served over linguine with big fat garlic bread sticks on the side. The cioppino was very flavorful and the seafood was cooked well – the mussels were sweet and tender. While I have yet to find a cioppino that really stands out from the crowd, this one was right up there. Score: 8.5
TDC: The twin tournedos I ordered consisted of two petite filets wrapped in a nice smoky hickory apple bacon ($23.99). I have the feeling the filets were wrapped in the bacon a day or two earlier because the beef had an “off” taste at the edges. The centers were cooked exactly as I requested, however, and tasted as they should.
I was a bit disappointed in the beef. Should I have said something? Possibly. But the bacon was extremely smoky and tasty, the polenta crispy and delicious, and the green beans well cooked and flavorful, with a little bit of crunch, so I didn’t go hungry. Score: 6.5
Dessert
OG: I had a nice sampler of three little cannolis, one filled with chocolate mousse, one with sweet ricotta chocolate chip and one with vanilla custard, all served over a raspberry sauce ($6.99). These were a delicious and not overly filling end to a good-sized meal. I liked the chocolate chip/ricotta filling the best. Score: 9
TDC: The warm chocolate bread pudding ($7.49) was a huge 4-inch by 4-inch cube of dense, chocolaty bread pudding with a dollop of vanilla gelato in the top. There were subtle notes of spice in the chocolate and the gelato would be delectable even on its own. One bite of this dessert and I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Score: 9.5
Service
OG: Our server Krissy was attentive and friendly. There was no lag between courses and everything was delivered as ordered. Score: 9
TDC: Krissy was very attentive — she checked on us, but remained unobtrusive. When we needed something she always seemed to be right there. And she did it all with grace and a smile. Score: 9
Total score: 87 out of 100
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