Romanesque accents dominate the main dining room. Gusto di Italia Mezzanine level • Condado Plaza Hotel 999 Ashford Avenue San Juan, Puerto Rico • 787-724-8833 AAA members save 15% on food and nonalcoholic beverages. Photos by: Laura Magruder/Tables Magazine

Gusto di Italia

At Gusto de Italia,
the Classics Are Alive and Well

By Joanne Curcio-Quinones

What I love about Gusto di Italia is that there are no surprises here; you get what you hoped for...and maybe even a little more. Most Italian restaurants these days are dishing up mainly creative Italian cuisine, so much so that finding the great Italian classics, such as a good hearty plate of spaghetti and meatballs, is harder to find than a ticket to the World Series.

But that’s not the case at this charming, family-style Italian eatery in the recently renovated Condado Plaza Hotel. Here you’ll find some of the favorite Italian traditional dishes you’d find in a restaurant in Little Italy, including a flavorful lasagna bolognese, plump cheese-filled ravioli and manicotti that are bursting at the seams with a blend of ricotta, parmesan and provolone cheeses.

But the menu at the Romanesque restaurant doesn’t stop at soul-satisfying pasta dishes. It also serves up a host of traditional meat and poultry entrees such as a delectable veal marsala, a savory chicken picatta, as well as a juicy selection of beef cuts, including a New York sirloin, T-bone, beef tips and churrasco, a beloved local cut of beef which most people know as skirt steak. The churrasco gets a little Latin flair, paired with a fragrant chimi-churri sauce (a delightfully garlicky blend of olive oil and pureed parsley) and some tostones (smashed fried plantains). Another menu choice that is a Puerto Rican/Mediterranean fusion dish is the chicken asopao, a hearty local stew with chicken, rice and green olives. There’s also an impressive selection of seafood dishes, from shrimp scampi over fettuccini, to shrimp primavera, to an incredible plate of linguini laced with chunks of lobster in a cherry tomato sauce.

Insalata Caprese Photos by: Laura Magruder/Tables Magazine

Gusto di Italia also caters to those of us who think of variety as the spice of life. The spacious and casual-yet-classy oceanfront restaurant has a few sampler options on its menu, including one with a selection of five appetizers: crab cakes, calamari, chicken tenders, breaded mozzarella sticks and bruschetta. The entrée sampler, called a Taste of Italy, is a trio of lasagna, chicken parmesan and fettuccini alfredo.

And, if at all possible, try to save room for dessert. Gusto has its own gelato bar with an impressive array of Italian-style ice creams with flavors from tiramisu to tropical fruits. 

One thing’s for certain: If the Italian comfort food doesn’t bring you back to Gusto di Italia, the courteous service and its killer view certainly will.

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