Gia Gelato & Cafe

LIERS! The way Gia Gelato works is you go in the place, order and pay at the counter, get yourself a table, and someone will bring your food to you. One thing I should mention about the ordering is that their menus say 10% student discount! But when I mentioned it, they didn’t honor it because they said it was an old menu, which I think was shady move. They did honor the 10% off Unilocal check-​in though so in the end, it didn’t make a big difference.

I have been remiss in waiting this long to post a review on this marvelous café called Gia Gelato on Newark Avenue, Jersey City. I have been a frequent customer at Gia Gelato for almost 3 years now. What I can say is the food and food preparations are amazingly tasty. Their various choices of gelato are to-​die-​for. I always enjoy their beautifully prepared breakfast selections as well. Not to forget to commend owners Debbie and Angela, remarkable chef Jessie and cashier Hollis who are personable and have impeccable social skills. I recommend Gia Gelato as one of the best draws on popular Newark Avenue. Come in and give it a try! –Richard C.

Delicious food, muffins, coffee and wonderful staff!

Had a very bad experience at this place. I ask the owner if it was sanitary to have dogs leaning over the counter where food was laid out and She got very upset. Some people are ok with it, some are not. I didn’t like it. She was very rude about the situation. This place is not for me.

Gia is a small café in the historic downtown part of Jersey City on Newark avenue. Not overly busy or overly exceptional. A good place to pick up a cup of coffee or espresso and a local favorite for their wraps and breakfast foods. At times staff seems overwhelmed, but is compensated by sincerity and politeness. I have stopped in several times and plan to keep it on my list of spots, never a bad experience.

I would actually give this place a 3.5. Came here on a Friday evening and I think they were having an event. Anyway the owner noticed me through the small group and helped me right away. She was very nice. Could this be a family restaurant? Sort of felt like that with the staff.
Anyway I got some sort of chocolate mint gelato. It was tasty but more icy than I like. It did help it not to melt so fast though. I got a medium and it was a big scoop. Like $ 5.
I didn’t have anything else but I spotted her making someone some sort of coffee beverage and it looked ahh-​mazing. I think I was more intrigued by that and will venture back for it.
All in all nice place and cozy atmosphere. Me and the kiddo will be back.

This place is great! Food was quick, fresh and inexpensive. Staff was also great. I’ll definitely be coming back.

Food is always fresh and delicious. Really well priced and great staff.

I had really high expectations for this place, mainly due to all of the awesome Unilocal reviews it got. Sadly, I was disappointed.
My boyfriend and I came in on a Sunday at around 1. The place had a smattering of people, most who seemed like they were for the free wifi more than anything else. After I tried the food, I could see why. It wasn’t horrible but it was just mediocre, at best. It’s nothing I couldn’t get at a random deli somewhere.
The way Gia Gelato works is you go in, order and pay at the counter, grab a table, and someone will bring you your food. One thing I should mention about the ordering is that their menus say 10% student discount. But when I mentioned it, they didn’t honor it because they said it was an old menu, which I think was a tad shady. They did honor the 10% off Unilocal check-​in though so in the end, it made no difference.
I had the philly cheesesteak, which had grilled onions and peppers, and mozzarella cheese. But what the menu failed to mention was that it also had some weird creamy ketchup mixture in it (or maybe the cheese just made it have this weird consistency?) It was not a good surprise. I’m okay with ketchup but not really with my philly. However, the seasoned fries I ordered on the side were pretty good. I actually liked this better than the sandwich.
My boyfriend had the Gia Metro (grilled chicken breast, applewood bacon, avocado, mixed greens, chipotle sauce). This was just a regular chicken sammie. Nothing I couldn’t make at home, if not make better.
Their coffee was not bad but they’re kept in thermoses similar to those of a gas station, so not really sure how long that’s been there. But then again, I guess that’s not really speaking volumes of me if I actually liked it.
The main reason why I bookmarked this place was for their gelato, which they didn’t have any of (which is okay, because I wasn’t really in a gelato-​y mood that day). Maybe that’s what they’re really known for and why they earned all of the Unilocal stars. I really do want to go back and try it, but I think I’ll pass on the food next time.

This place is awesome. Really laid back, chill atmosphere featuring good coffee and a full breakfast menu. I had ½ an hour to kill before a meeting and was in the neighborhood. Ordered the breakfast sampler, it came out fast, hot and was de-​lish!

Review is based on my experience, not taste of food. Stopped by for brunch with some friends. It’s a small, cozy space. I ordered a grilled chicken salad which took over 30 minutes to get to the table. Some of them even received their food after 30 minutes. There seemed to be poor communication as some of the orders were screwed up. When we initially walked in, there were 3 employees present and midway into our visit, there was one employee who was taking care of clients at the register, taking orders and also running to the kitchen to make the food. We felt so bad for her. Not sure where everyone else went. We waited patiently as she took care of everyone else before I got up to pay my tab. Although the service was poor at the time that I visited, I would definitely go back and try them out again.

I am now a firm believer than gelato is way better than ice cream!.. i got here today as soon as they opened, plenty of street parking this early in busy downtown jersey city… i ordered the breakfast platter which had bacon, breakfast potatoes, and cheese omelette… as im waiting i had to try the gelato, gentleman working the counter gave me a few samples of a few but man oh man the caramel ginger snap gelato was the final choice for me and it was delish… the flavors of gelato in my opinion from trying a few is way better than ice cream. it just pos out with flavor, and so fresh! Awesome place, great prices, and service from the staff

Came here for gelatos once before but this visit was for breakfast. Both times the staff was extremely nice and thus far I can say that is the top quality about this place. The server really did every thing he could make sure our visit went well and I appreciate that. The breakfast sandwiches we had were decent enough but the problem was that upon coming in we were told half the menu was unavailable as they ran out of various choices or perhaps someone called out and couldn’t prepare these things? In any case our other choices in the area were either packed or just not appealing, so we kinda settled here by default. I think the menu looks great but we have to be able to eat whats on it. Again though great service, would like to go again to for an opprotunity for an ideal breakfast.

Every time I have driven down Newark Ave., I have always noticed Gia’s Gelato. When my friend asked me to meet her there one day after work I was so excited! I didn’t know what to expect. Here I was thinking they only had gelato; big JK to me. There is a wide variety of food to choose from.
This first time that I went, I had a spinach wrap, with grilled chicken, spinach, tomato and onions dressed with balsamic vinegar. The wrap was scrumptious. I believe my friend had the turkey and brie, which is her favorite.
Today I came for breakfast. My friend and I shared our breakfast. We started off with grits. I wasn’t always a fan of grits, so I usually get nervous to order them. These grits come in a HUGE bowl. You get quite a bit of grits. We also shared the french toast and the breakfast platter which comes with a side of meat (bacon, turkey bacon or sausage patty), breakfast potatoes, toast, and a cheese omelette. You can add vegetables to your omelette if you choose for an additional charge. I did, I am not into just a plain cheese omelette. I wish I got gelato after breakfast, but it was still pretty early. Maybe I’ll go back later.
Service was fine. The first time I went, it was a little more pleasant. The woman today might have been having a bad day, that’s not a big deal. Everyone has a bad day here or there. I have at least two bad days every month.
I’m definitely going to be coming back.

I work nearby Gia’s and used their café to work out of while my building construction was finalizing. I really have loved everything I try here. My absolute favorite lunch wrap is their South Western wrap on Habanero wrap (need to request this) with turkey instead of ham. So great! Their Greek Wrap is also pretty awesome.
If you go for breakfast, their home fries are amazzzinnngggg! I crave them constantly.
Their gelato is awesome and really unique. I love Torico and go there often as well but Gia’s is gelato and to be frank, just has a lot more flavor than Torico. If you want simple homemade ice cream, Torico is your place. If you want to try something a bit outside the box, I recommend Gia Gelato.
Deb, one of the owners, is a sweetheart! Such a friendly and lovely woman. She knows her regulars and the neighborhood is certainly getting to know her well as she appears at most local festivals and fairs. Love the community outreach.
Fully recommend them!

Don’t go here. Instead, go to Torico’s for great icecream and gelato, on First Street and Erie.
The staff is rude. I was having an important meeting with a client. Oddly, the TV played loudly and then softly, which was incredibly weird and irritating. When I asked the staff to lower the TV. I was yelled at. When I asked to turn off the TV, again, I was scolded. They said, «We do not know how to turn off the TV.»
All this probably had to do with the staff member wanting to watch TV at the expense of customers’ happiness. Only three people were there: me, a client, and another person on a laptop. We left. With that kind of callous customer «service,» they’ll probably go out of business in no time.
If you want good ice cream/​gelato, go to Torico’s on First and Erie, only two blocks away. There, the icecream is to die for and the staff are fantastic.

Great gelato here! I had the chocolate and a scoop of stratcciatella flavor. The gelato had a great consistency and wasn’t too sweet, just how I like it. They also have a whole breakfast menu with eggs and pancakes, etc. that is served all day so I will probably be back to try their food sometime. They also serve coffee and pastries.

A very welcome feature in the neighborhood. With all apologies to the fantastic gelato at Torico… Gia has the edge.
A quaint little café serving sandwiches and coffee in addition to about two dozen flavours of that frozen treat, Gia brings a charming setting and gracious staff to a sleepier section of Newark Avenue.
Do not come here if you are indecisive. Any of the gelati that the server describes will sound amazing and I can only imagine they all are (not to worry, though: they offer samples!) I tried a sample of their German chocolate stout before settling in on a small cup of lemon basil. The lemon basil was an excellent blend of floral, herbal, tart, and just enough sweet. And that chocolate stout gelato had a definite hit of stout flavour without being overpowering.
With Torico frequently crowded and Cones all the way in the West Village, Gia’s my new spot for when those random gelato cravings strike

Get served big scoops of awesome gelato by super nice staff!
I clearly came when they were closed/​closing however they let me and my girlfriend come in anyway. Not only were they super nice to us, the lady serving us went through all the flavors giving us a taste of her favorites! You can tell that this place is serious about their gelato. The scoops are enormous and with the excellent flavor options it’s a no brainer. The gelato itself is not too creamy but light. It can be a little icey but I found that as a positive since most gelatos melt quickly and don’t maintain their «coldness».
So swing by and indulge a little with a scoop of Gia’s gelato.

This is a not-​Starbucks. Day-​um, they have their coffee and lattes down pat.
Gia’s serves up phenomenal lattes & they can actually make a machiatto properly. They give you a taste of your drink before they hand it off to you — that’s five star service. Think it’s too sweet? They will make you a new one.
I am always a happy customer. Great service, great coffee!