Reviews La Gioconda

Fabulous pizzas, great beef ragu and superb value! A hidden gem!

Good food, good value, very friendly with a good atmosphere

First visit - the food was first class and service was second to none. Such a fantastic find we will definitely be paying another visit. Keith

Food was good and acceptable. Pizza Neptuno was ok but we have asked to change mussels for some Italian sausage but they just put little bit that you could nearly see it. Apart from that pizza dough was great and very well baked.

This tiny gem hidden away at the end of Hornsey High Street is an absolute delight. The decor is a little down at heel but we like that because the most important thing is the food. We adore Italy and this place is the closest we have ever got to a genuine taste of Italy. I had delicious home made ravioli with ricotta and spinach and a rocket and parmesan salad. To compliment the meal the owner recommended an excellent red wine which for £20 was excellent. The service was great too and I managed to practice my shaky Italian without causing too much hilarity. Altogether a lovely experience and we have recommended it to everyone we know.

Iniziato non proprio col piede giusto : 1) Accogliere il cliente con calore e gentilezza e' il primo biglietto da visita (e qui non c'e' stato) 2) Non rifilare all'antipasto (che e' proprio la presentazione del ristorante medesimo) una scrocchiarella frdda e su carta inzuppata d'olio che evidentemente apparteneva ad altro precedente tavolo 3) avevamo quasi finito l'antipasto ed ancora non ci avevate portato da bere 4) abbiamo aspettato a lungo per avere la nostra pizza pur non essendoci tanti clienti, probabilmente perché il Take-away ha grossa precedenza). Detto cio' , e' proprio un peccato perché il cibo e' buono (la scrocchiarella che poi ci avete riportato calda dopo averla richiesta era appettitosa) , la pizza buona (anche se io l'avrei cotta un pelino di piu' (come tra l'altro avevo chiesto alla ragazza ma che non ha recepito ! Gliel'abbiamo chiesto in inglese eh ! mica in italiano ). Se apportaste queste modifiche il voto salirebbe molto !

La Gioconda is an absolute gem! The food is incredible with large portion sizes and beautiful flavours which absolutely mimic traditional Italian cooking. The pizzas are the highlight - using good quality ingredients and as the Italians do, are not overloaded with toppings. Service is attentive and friendly - an added bonus!

We had the XL Mont Blanc, a delicious pizza served on a decorative pizza tray, with a side salad and some great olives. Only knocking one point off as the service charge is included at 12.5%, which I think should be optional (I'd tip around that anyway but I don't like the idea of it being added and non-optional) and also, when we were the first people there, there was some pretty bad dance music going on, which took a good 10 minutes to turn into something more late night and jazzy and more 'food orientated' when other people started to turn up for their bookings. This is being critical though, it's the food that counts!

Quirky, friendly, great food reasonably priced. If you like your restaurants with more style than substance, this isn't the place for you. If you're up for a bit of an adventure, check it out. La Gioconda is a gem in the making.

La Gioconda is Italian food at it's best, fresh ingredients cooked with care and passion and served with smile. If you want to try a new Italian make this the one, you will not regret it. Love this place.