Located in a very quiet and secluded neighborhood, Gabriella has a private parking lot right across…read morethe street. The place itself was very easy to find.
Right upon entering, I can hear English being spoken flawlessly without any accent. I would even guess that they have an American server. We were greeted and seated quickly.
I ordered a small Spezi (combination of Fanta and Cola), and Justin ordered a still water (tap water in this case). We got the cheesy garlic bread to share and I started with the onion soup. For the entrees, we ordered the Rigatoni Gargonzola and the Fettucine Scampetti.
The food took a fair amount of time before arriving. I don't mind the wait because we were brought our drinks and our appetizer with soup.
The small size of the Spezi soda was way too small so don't make the mistake I made. Just order a large. It also taste exactly like what it is. I would have never thought to mix Cola with Fanta. Their tap water is probably one of the worse tasting water I have ever had. If you're one of those people who could taste huge differences in water, do yourself a favor and order another beverage. They charge either way so just spend your money on something more enjoyable.
Cheesy Garlic Bread - Comes with 4 slices. Deliciously cheesy bread. You really can't go wrong when ordering this!
Onion Soup - Very well seasoned without being overly salty. A semi-messy dish to eat because the melted cheese is stringy and sticks to everything. Not a cute thing to eat on a date or with people you don't know very well in my opinion.
Rigatoni Gargonzola - When I think Gargonzola, I think of cheese in the blue cheese family. It's supposed to be a very strong taste that overpowers a lot of ingredients around it without trying too hard. That's what I was expecting. The taste of the cheese was somehow completely masked in this dish. Although the sauce was quite good, I couldn't tell there was Gargonzola. It was also a much looser and liquidy sauce than I had hoped for and expected with the pieces of sausages being overly cooked and dry. Still a very decent dish none the less.
Fettucine Scampetti - Not as cheesy as a regular Alfredo sauce, but the creaminess was definitely there with the lobster flavor shining through. Shrimps were cooked to perfection. This was a very tasty dish I wouldn't mind ordering again.
Overall, a lovely place with great ambience and friendly staff. A lot of Americans dine here from what I can tell. A minor thing I felt could have been better is if they provided freshly grated parmesan instead of the ones stuck in a stubborn glass shaker. Other than that, I had quite a lovely dining experience here and would definitely recommend.