With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it’s safe to assume that most have already begun planning for the romantic holiday. We reviewed one of Oxford’s newest additions to the Italian food scene, so you know whether it’s the right place for you and your date. Gusto Italian is located on High Street and opened on the first of December 2022, making the one in Oxford the 14th branch nationally, and their first opening in the south of England.

To begin with, Gusto has the perfect ambience. It’s warm, cosy, and intimate, with rich wooden flooring and honey-coloured fairy lights—it imbues the mind with romance. The music is tasteful and subtle in the background, so it doesn’t disturb any conversations. The service was great as well; the food was served quickly, and the staff were amiable and welcoming.

Now, onto the main part: the food! We tried as much as we could from the menu to give as holistic of a review as possible. Gusto has a wide selection of wines that can be purchased by the bottle or by the glass. We opted for their mint and elderflower spritz and tutti frutti, the former of which I would highly recommend for its unique and refreshing taste. For starters, we had the bestselling Gusto dough petals, beautifully petal-shaped dough stuffed with tomato sauce—the perfect alternative if you don’t feel like having a whole pizza.

For the main, we tried the truffled mushroom fettuccine, the honey-glazed duck and balsamic (medium-well) and the Margherita pizza. The fettuccine was a personal favourite, the sauce creamy and flavourful with mild notes of earthy truffles. The duck was great, too—it was very tender, and the honey sauce was decadent without having an overwhelmingly sweet aftertaste. You can rarely go wrong with a Margherita, and this one in particular was delicious, the piquant tomato base being the highlight of our main course dishes. Gusto also has the option to order their pasta and risotto dishes as either a starter or a main, perfect for those struggling to choose.

Dessert was the best part. Gusto’s tiramisu was highly recommended by the manager, and for good reason—with a smooth, silky cream texture and ambrosial notes of coffee, this in-house recipe ticked all the right boxes. We also tried their sticky toffee pudding, which was a wonderfully warm dessert option served with Italian gelato, perfect till the last bite.

If you would like to make your date extra special, the restaurant also offers ‘The Gusto Pizza Experience’, where you get a seat at the chef’s table and make your own ten-inch sourdough pizza, among other things. This is a great way to make the date more interactive and fun. The restaurant is also running a special à la carte menu for Valentine’s Day, with an antipasti sharing board, 18 oz. chateaubriand, and Gusto’s signature Biscoff and chocolate dough petals.

Considering the food, ambience, and location, Gusto is a perfect restaurant for a Valentine’s date. The restaurant’s tagline is “Elegantly Italian,” and it remains just that. It is great value for money, the portion sizes are generous, and you still get all the pros of fine dining in an elegant restaurant. A quick tip: the restaurant usually gets busy during the evenings and weekends, and most days all tables are booked, so my advice is to hurry and make a reservation, especially around the romantic holiday!