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Categories: Sandwiches, Italian, Coffee & Tea, Fruits & Veggies [Edit]
Neighborhood: University City
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You are a victim of your own success, Gia Pronto.
Still delicious, but SO CROWDED that half the time I walk in the door during lunchtime, and give up on wading through the masses of Penn undergrads.
Oh well, at least I can still get good coffee in the morning, when there's no line.
Mostly, I just get coffee (brewed fresh constantly, beans mainly from La Colombe) in the mornings.… Read more »
Oh Gia, I love you. Why? Because your coffee is so delicious, your sandwiches so well put together, your croissants so light, and your soups so filling.
I don't believe in purchasing salads here, just because they are so DAMN expensive. Also, the salad lines tend to be out the door. If you're getting soup or just a sandwich, you can simply go up to the guy and order it there without waiting.
Seating can be a bit frustrating, but just grab food there and eat it elsewhere. Problem solved.
This might well be my favorite place to eat in University City. Their salads are simply wonderful: fresh ingredients, you choose all of the items you want and fast service. The dining space is small so during the lunch hour plan on hovering or taking your food to go.
I agree with others who have said the cost can be a bit prohibitive. Take out a small mortgage beforehand. It's completely worth it! And, I'll also echo the gaggle of Penn students who process through there during lunch. Be prepared for people with large backpacks accidentally taking you out!
I had to dock Gia Pronto one star, because a friend of mine in New York told me there are similar build-your-own salad places there that include five ingredients in the flat price. For about 7 or 8 bucks, you can get the same salad I did today, which was:
-Romaine lettuce base; (There were other options, but I don't care for raw spinach, and I HATE frou-frou bitter mixed greens. You can get either of those if you'd like, though).
-Grilled chicken (yummy, although I'd have preferred longer strips instead of the squarish chunks I got)
-Mozzarella cheese in the form of little balls. I love these suckers.
- Roasted red peppers, scantly, and in extremely small strips
-Tomatoes, which were diced into cubes, probably because you can order your salad tossed or diced, and dicing tomatoes over and over can make a watery mess on the chopping board, so they pre-chop 'em. Still, I'd rather have slices or wedges as an option for those of us who are averse to minced salads.
- Rosemary balsamic dressing, which was meh
-Seeded bread on the side, which was yummy and filling
except mine cost over ten dollars once I threw in a bottle of water. In New York, I could have had an additional ingredient in my salad for less money than Gia Pronto charges.
I should have chosen pecorino romano cheese instead of mozzarella, or chosen a more flavorful dressing with garlic or romano in it, because my salad was strangely bland. It was really, really big, though, so I left with a full tummy.
On the dessert front (oink, oink!) my red velvet cupcake didn't have much flavor, although it was HUGE, unlike a lot of the precious 'gourmet' cupcakes more commonly found in prissy sweets shops, and it had nice, fluffy white frosting that assuaged my sugar and carb cravings. Red velvet seems to be hard to do right, though, so I'll try the chocolate and vanilla cupcakes later. Reviewing cupcakes for yelp is hard, but someone needs to do it. *sigh*
The sandwiches still rock, and there's no other place like it in Philly, so I'm still a loyal customer. I'll edit if I come up with a better salad combination.
Best damn sandwich I've had in a long time. I got the Chicken Italiano, which is grilled free-range… Read more »
I was in here a few days ago and had lunch and some coffee. It's a little confusing as to whether sandwich orderers can skip past the long line of drooling salad ordering people, so I waited until they were done before going over to the sandwich counter.
I ordered the Spanish torta sandwich, based on a previous review. I got a bag o' cheddar and herb chips and an Nantucket Nectar Arnold Palmer(1/2 lemonade 1/2 iced tea. Its good, seriously). The sandwich took forever to get made. Somehow no one mentioned that pronto is Italian for QUICK. However, the sandwich guy that finally gave me my sandwich did apologize for the wait.
The Spanish torta sandwich had a chicken cutlet, jalapenos, and I think some guac. The guac was bland, and the jalapenos few and far between. The chicken was ok, but nothing great. The bread was also nothing spectacular either. My cheddar and herb chips were very tasty though and the Arnold Palmer rocked.
I got a iced coffee while I was waiting. It was decent and the server was pretty fast.
The place gets pretty loud. I didn't see the sorority contingent but there were a bunch of chatty Cathy undergrads there talking about how great their salads were blah blah blah, this semester sucks. Somethings never change.
I'd come back for some coffee or maybe a fru fru salad. Otherwise I'd rather go somewhere else.
SO GOOD, but PREPARE TO BE POOR AFTER A MEAL HERE!
Def avoid like THE PLAGUE from 12 to about 1:30.
Yes, you will reek of expensive, organic ingredients pressed in a panini-presser but so what? You'll smell better than having gorged yourself at one of those Indian buffets nearby.
Despite the price, you do get a lot of food. Plus, it's organic and healthy. You pay for fantastic quality and the dressings are AMAZING.
It's not the band I hate, it's their fans.
Gia Pronto has the best salads around. Fresh, delicious, organic ingredients, and every salad is custom-made to your exact specifications. I love coming in here, grabbing a form and a pencil, and deciding what tasty combination I'll have for lunch.
What I do not love: navigating the insane crowd, almost entirely composed of groups of sorority girls and their enormous bags and backpacks, totally oblivious that they're blocking everything from the drinks cooler to the salad pickup area.
But in the end, it's totally worth it for the awesome salads. And if we're being honest, my bag isn't all that small, either.
One word: panini.
One of the best lunch spots on Penn's campus, unless you have to be somewhere afterwards -- because I guarantee that once you walk out of there, you'll smell like the place for the rest of the day. And while I enjoy getting salads there, I really really have a thing for their panini (mmm, prosciutto....).
As previously mentioned, this place gets CROW-DED around lunch time.
It can definitely be a bummer when your dream salad ends up costing $13, but the ingredients are amazing and the dressings are really unique. Also the seeded rolls - OMG. And the coffee bevs. As mentioned, the Penn kid crowd can be brutal, but whatever.
Best coffee in the entire city of Philadelphia, hands down. I actually haven't had better coffee in any other city, either. Try the house blend. I occasionally get a delectable almond croissant with my coffee. The pastries are from Metropolitan bakery for the most part and are always fresh.
The panini sandwiches are quite wonderful. My personal favorite is the turkey sandwich on ciabatta bread with freshly made roasted red peppers (not from a jar) and apricot mayo.
Their salads are very nice. They are a bit pricey but worthwhile for all organic ingredients. Try the marinated tofu and ask for the seeded roll.
The place also runs like a well oiled machine - the staff are very pleasant and usually pretty fast. This is thanks to Marco who is a very hands-on owner.
Opened by a Penn grad and, being the Penn homer that I am, I have to plug this joint. I went here fairly often for lunch, although the average lunch runs about $10-12, so I didn't do it much as a student or even as a Penn (underpaid) employee.
The sandwiches can be amazing or they can be grilled hot on the outside and still cool in the middle. The soups are often amazing. The salads are probably their most popular item but I didn't love them.
They have high end sodas, waters, and juices. They have Thai Seasoned Kettle Chips (mmm).
Oh and the staff is generally very friendly.
Recommended.
the food at gia pronto is always fresh and delicious, with a wide selection in such a small storefront. the cookies are amazing, the soups are hearty, the salads taste like they are fresh from your garden (or the garden of a more capable gardener; a salad fresh from my garden would be like squirrel nibbled basil and dirt), and the sandwiches are flavorful. there is a good vegetarian selection and thorough beverage selection.
ordering can be confusing and it can take awhile since everything is made (or pressed, in the case of the sandwiches) to order, and you can get stuck behind a million penn girls trying to figure out if spinach or romaine has fewer calories while they talk on their cellphones, but it's almost always worth the wait. oh also you may want to rob a bank before you come here because everything costs a million dollars (but again, usually it's worth it).
Yo the salads are good but seriously 8-10 bucks for lettuce with some tofu and pinto beans on it? As Gob from Arrested Development would say, COME ON!
It sure doesn't look it upon first glance, But Gia Pronto is a family run just indie coffee spot. It's pretty much what Cosi and and Fourbucks would be if they put a little more and detail into their customer service too.
The sandwiches and salads can be great, while the coffee is just decent. But the customer service and ambiance is pretty top notch.
Good sandwiches, though the bread:meat ratio is too high (and I do like my bread!) However, the ingredients are indeed top notch, I'll give them that.
Very nice coffee, a must-try if you're sick of the Starbucks, Penn Bookstore and other subpar coffees around Penn buildings.
Gia Pronto is a good lunch spot for those days when you have time to sit down and enjoy it, preferably with at least one other person and a coffee. Otherwise I feel it's hard to justify the bill... at ~$8 per panino and ~$4 for coffee that's ~$12 for lunch before tax. Not on work-study dollars, no sir!
As mentioned the place hets insanely crowded and the prices are a bit up there, but these issues are well worth the delicious salads and panninis. There Buffalo chicken sandwich is seriously to die for. My usual 12:30 repertoire is to order the sandwich, go to Wawa next door to get a drink and chips, and come back to pick up my sandwich. A sandwich costing $8 is expensive enough as it is, so I choose to save money by not buying the "sides" there.
Outstanding coffee- Agent Cooper would be delighted.
Their salads and sandwiches look amazing, too.
For those in or from the Bay Area, Gia Pronto somewhat reminds me of Mixt Greens on Bush Street (http://www.yelp.com/bi...), but with sandwiches and coffee.
I'll definitely be back.
You know, I wanted to give this place a bad rating, because I was part of the opening staff for this store, and it totally fucking sucked to work there, but from the outside I guess I can now appreciate that it was pretty well run. Marco is definitely a perfectionist, dedicated to doing things the right way always, having great service, and keeping things clean. Yeah, it's kind of pricy, but it's worth it to know that everything in the back is just as pristine as it is in the front.
The food is really fucking good too. It's one of the few places in Philly that reminded me a lot of SF in terms of caring about sourcing of ingredients. Also, Marco was a freaking NAZI about the foam we made at the barista station. So expect to have well made espresso drinks here.
So I guess my vote is YAY if you want to eat there, but BOO if you want to work there,
I like this place and laud the concept. You pick the ingredients for your salad, but they take care of mixing everything up so that it looks professionally prepared. Their sandwiches are not bad either. I am currently addicted to the Spanish Torta sandwich.
I swallowed my pride the other day and grabbed a sandwich from Gia for lunch. Overall, the food here is pretty good albeit a little expensive for what you get. I was more pleased with my coffee which was a fresh alternative to my usual WaWa brew. Be prepared though while waiting in line for a gaggle of gossipy sorority girls chatting incessantly about late nights and boy problems. The dress code seems to be black tights, Ugg boots, undersized American Apparel V-Necks, and Windshield sunglasses. Still despite the crowd this place is a decent lunch spot, but I think I'll be sticking to food carts.
Gia Pronto changed my life. Really. This little caf allows you to create your own made to order salads that are ten times better than any Saladworks that I've been too. They have creative toppings such as dried pineapple along with the traditional toppings. You get to choose between regular salad greens and romaine, then fill out exactly what you want on a little slip and they let you know when your salad is done. It's as simple as that. Their paninnis are also life altering. The bread and filling perfectly compliment each other and you get a good amount for they price that you pay.
The atmosphere, very simplistic and slightly retro with the metal stools and tables, also adds to the delicious flavor of this little caf. If you are ever in the University City area or Downtown. Stop by. I dare you. Just prepare for a life altering experience. .
A little coffee joint that students study at, hang out over a cup, or just happen to meet in front of, there's been a bit of turnover at this location prior to Gia Pronto. Previous establishments have tried to be a little too chic, and while Gia pulls a turn in that direction, it's not too obstinate about it and combines up to with the normal grittiness of West Philly to offer up a slightly more smooth version of a Starbucks, with the salads the draw here, although I'm personally more a fan of the sandwiches.
I visited the Center City location on Market and 20th:
In a city where hoagies and cheesesteaks rein supreme, it's been difficult finding the perfect panini. The paninis I had at Paninoteca and Felinni were good, but nothing special.
Thank goodness for Gi Pronto! The roast beef panini was stellar and definitely worth writing home about (or maybe just blogging about).
I only have two requirements for panini: 1. the bread must be toasted and feature grill marks 2. the cheese needs to be melted. My roast beef panini came through on both points. Additionally, the sandwich's ingredients were top-notch featuring only 100% natural ingredients and hormone-free meat.
The Ciabatta was perfectly toasted and sturdy. The cheddar cheese had a deliciously strong flavor. The grilled red onions added a layer of sweetness, while the chipotle mayonnaise added some kick. The roast beef, seasoned with salt and pepper, was naturally flavorful. My only complaint was the wilted romaine lettuce. Perhaps the sandwich artists should add the romaine post-toasting to avoid soggy greens. Overall, an outstanding sandwich. I'll be back.
the coffee here is fantastic! i can't offer any insight on the food, sorry.
on the day i was there, though, the staff were snobby and completely inept. hopefully they've gone through a bit more training at this point. or turnover.
Great for a healthy lunch on the go. I probably stop here about once a week. Lots of local and organic food, and finally they recycle, which is great considering all the places around here that DON'T! The salad choices are extensive and always fresh. And the paninis are full of cheezy gooey goodness. The petite girls behind the counters can be snooty, but all in all a high recommendation.
i never eat salad... i never crave salad... but i have to admit when this place opened up on campus, i kinda fell in love with it... it had so many variations of ingredients that i never really got sick of it... and it really was fresh...
i would always grab a small mixed wild salad... and throw in smoked salmon, egg, raisins, roasted red peppers, alfafa sprouts, some other ingredients... drench in some kinda rasberry vinagrette... and meet up my boyfriend to split that sucker with a free piece of bread with butter...
healthy lunches always a plus! haven't really been able to find a place like this in ny either...
Gia is good. They have great paninis. My only complaint is that after eating one you smell like it for like 4 hours. I don't know why, but that mix of hot ciabatta and meat and cheese just permeates your clothes. Anyway, I like the chicken pesto, the turkey and cheese (with the honey glaze), and the chicken parm. Avoid this place like the plague at 1145-1230, as you can barely walk in with out bumping into 50 other Penn students. It's a solid sandwich though.
Right in the heart of Penn's campus. The place has a nice, retro cafe feel to it, as most of the eatery joints around Penn do. I had the mozzarella and prosciutto panini, which was delicious. The coffee is quite good too. Service was fairly quick and the prices weren't that cheap (this is Penn, after all), but reasonable.
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