Gianni Ristorante

Unlike chain restaurants and restaurants operated by hotels, ‘standalone’ dining spots don’t answer to an anonymous authority located in a corporate headquarters someplace. They usually represent the interests, passions and abilities of the owner, who, more often than not, is also the chef.

Gianni is one of these places.

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Walk through the door and the presence of Gianni Favro is immediately felt. He is seemingly everywhere at the same time. In and out of the kitchen; talking with customers; monitoring his staff; and insuring that everything meets his expectations: “A restaurant is not about a single dish,” he told me, it’s about a million different things that add up to make a restaurant what it really is.” He obviously practices what he preaches.

Gianni Favro is Italian and this is an Italian restaurant, but three main concepts as interpreted by Gianni serve as lynchpins for his operation. It is modern, Mediterranean in style and uses top quality raw ingredients.

Let’s start with the raw ingredients. When necessary to meet his expectations, Gianni imports his raw ingredients. If local items, suffice he will use them. I have always been impressed with the quality of seafood and his values are reflected in what he serves. “I don’t serve Snow Fish,” he once told me. “It is endangered species.”

Gianni’s acceptance of modern techniques is illustrated by a luscious piece of beef rib I recently enjoyed. It was cooked in a sous-vide slow cooker, a cooking technique that employs cooking in a vacuum at a low temperature for long periods of time. This method is renowned for preserving the integrity and quality of raw ingredients. “The sous-vide cooker creates great tasting beef and you don’t get burned bits that have been shown to cause cancer,” he told me. “It’s a modern way of cooking.”

Extra virgin olive oil plays a big role at the restaurant because Gianni loves the quality and subscribes to the belief that it is healthier than most oils. It is not only used in cooking, he has a selection of different virgin oils from which customers can choose a favorite.

Gianni’s menu is constantly changing in order to take advantage of quality ingredients currently available. It also varies because he likes to experiment and change what he serves. “I get bored easily,” he says. “I like to try new things.”

The influence of the Mediterranean is seen in virtually everything Gianni prepares. I have always enjoyed his fish carpaccio dishes, especially the tuna. I recently enjoyed Tagliolini with white truffles. The truffles were in season and the light linguine was homemade – simple, but elegant and delicious. A homely dish he often serves is a Gnocchi with ragout of veal, gnocchi can be mushy little buggers, but Gianni’s are smaller than usually and blessed with a little crunch and resistance.

Special mention needs to be made of Gianni’s bread. He cooks it every afternoon so it is fresh for dinner. There is great variety: black, brown, foccacia, Italian style white and, of course, breadsticks.

Gianni’s wine list consists of approximately 250 Italian wines. Predictably, he selects the wines himself and is usually spot on with his selections. I recently enjoyed a fascinating wine, he was amused with – an Edizione Cinque Autoctoni Farnese. This fascinating red wine is made from a blend of montepulciano, primitivo (zinfandel), sangiovese, negroamaro and malvasia rossa grapes. The malvasia gives it a hint of sweetness, making the wine an unusual, but excellent, match with my chocolate dessert.

Gianni is located in a modern and tastefully decorated setting with lots of artwork on the walls expressing an exciting and interesting reflection of Gianni Favro’s interests and predilections. It is open for lunch and dinner and is only a short walk from the Chidlom BTS Station. There is adequate on-site parking.

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