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Four of us drove over from Brentwood - 45 minute drive for lunch but we were looking forward to visiting our first Triple D location. The GPS led directly to the front door. We arrived on a Thursday about 12:30 pm and the bar was jammed - and the bartender (3rd generation owner Mark) was taking names for tables. Looked like a bunch of golfers, some older folks from nearby RV parks and a lot of locals. Our wait was 1/2 a glass of wine (Bogle Chard) long and we got our table. Good thing Mark told us to memorize the menu on the white wallboards, cuz there is no menu - the board's it.
The bread basket arrived and the italian bread (?) was delicious. The gals ordered burgers (they said they were just burgers) and the guys ordered veal cutlet and we both liked the veal. I kinda hoped for more seafood offerings (they had salmon and a seafood salad) but oh, well. BTW, lunch comes with your choice of ministroni soup or a salad bowl and a carafe of wine for the table.
The place gets 3 stars for food and 1 star for great atmosphere (read dive) and very friendly people. Even the guys at the bar moved a bit so I could get in to order wine while we waited. So maybe 4.25 stars and I'll go again next summer when I visit NoCal. Also, take a little time to drive through Walnut Grove and Isleton - nice old towns with some neat buildings.
And as others have written here - TAKE CASH. There's an ATM, but they don't take cards. Lunch bill was $50 even, not including the Bogle and tip.
After seeing Giusti's on Triple D, we decided to drive up there 4th of July weekend just to try it out. First, it is not the easiest place to get to as it is pretty far up in the Delta. If you are in the area, it's perfect. Second, it's off the beaten path which makes it even better. Third, it can get packed.
The ambience is laid back to me, many locals at the bar and the wine is flowing. Wine choices are plentiful here. The menu on the chalkboard for the day is great but hard to see if you aren't looking for it. Love the trucker hats on the ceiling too.
We ordered the calamari steak and the pesto pasta for the day and they were both awesome. The pesto was not over powering and just right and a decent portion too. The calamari steak was not rubbery and well breaded but not dried out. We decided to upgrade our cup of chowder to a bowl and if you are hungry, I suggest doing this. The chowder is hands down great. Large pieces of fresh seafood. The soup is not too thick and not too thin, so it won't fill you up. Be careful though, the bread they bring to you can fill you up. Don't foget your free glass of wine or other drink to go with the meal and for the price, it's not a bad deal at all.
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Lovely Girlfriend and I rolled in here after an overly fierce afternoon at Al the Wop's, where we drank Gin and Beer and played Steely Dan on the Jukebox. Clearly, we needed a break, and Guisti's had everything we craved.
I stayed away from the jukebox here, as I'm sure if I played nine Steely Dan songs in a row, I would earn a legion of haters similar to the crew I left behind in Locke. Step One: a plate of Fried Oysters. Step Two: dos Sierra Nevada drafts.
Our bartenders were awesome. They created an environment where I wanted to get a room and stay the night. Thank God my Girlfriend talked some sense into me, reminding me of our bleak existence Monday thru Friday, when we go to our jobs and Make Money. Otherwise I'd still be at Giusti's bar, drinking Fernet Branca and cursing my enemies in Portuguese.
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MMmmmm Yummy!
EVERYTHING was delicious.
Lets see it's been about 2 months since I ate at Giusti's....
We had fried chicken (I'd eat it again)
Lamb Shank (omg to DIE FOR!)
and Veal (not my favorite ever, but it was not bad and damn good if you like Veal).
Love the family style servings. Bread is fantastic! Soup is too delicious! It was cozy and intimate for a dive and really cool and chill despite the fact that we were eating in the back of a bar.
I can't remember the prices. But I remember it was pretty reasonable.
Now how do you get here? I have no clue!? GPS!!! LOL and when you're out in the pitch black country thinking you're lost there's a Giusti's sign at the end of the road!
I'll be back one day!
We love Giusti's. We stay at Tower Park Marina for 2 months in the summer and eat here at least once a week.
Lobster night is Wednesday. You get 2 lobster dinners for 30.00! Lobster done just right, family style soup and salad and great bread.
Can't wait to get back next summer!
Love the character here! We went on a Saturday for lunch and was a little disappointed at the limited lunch menu. We had the crab and prawn salad ($14.50) and the red snapper ($13.50). The salad was excellent with a decent amount of crab, but only came with three prawns and an abundance of iceberg. I enjoyed the house dressing - a russian type flavor to it. However, the snapper though was a little disappointing for the price. The minestrone was an awesome way to start the meal, but I was disappointed they were out of lasagna.
The tap water definitely has some sulfur in it, so try one of the very reasonably priced local wines, but if you drink tea, they only offer nutrasweet.
I definitely will be returning to try more of the traditional Italian recipes.
This restaurant is a wonderful hidden gem that you will only enjoy if you are either a river lover who will find it putting around the Delta, OR if you like cool old places that are a piece of local history and never really change.
Every time we come here we end up waiting at the bar for a while, drinking some yummy local wine, and chatting with the friendly patrons and bartenders, and looking at all the ball caps that line the ceiling (most bear agricultural product logos, appropriate for the area).
Then we are super-hungry by the time we are seated and order some delicious fish special, but are totally stuffed after the bread, salad, beans and salami are served. Not that that keeps us from finishing our fish, of course.
Bring cash, a high tolerance for alcohol, and your appetite. But if you enjoy, say, The Olive Garden, don't bother, you'll hate Giusti's.
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Giusti's is a great little Italian place with that special Delta touch :). I actually had no idea where it was on the map until I read these reviews since we always go there by boat--I just knew it was in the Delta.
It's a nice little cruise over there in a ski boat. Take some wine and enjoy the ride! Better yet, once you get there, put in your name (because you'll have a long wait) and then hang out in your boat with your wine. The bar is pretty good too, though--lots of interesting people to watch here. It would be a good place to go just for that.
All the dinner meals come with minestrone soup, salad, salami, chickpeas and pugliese bread. The minestrone soup is authentic, not like the canned progresso-type stuff (and I like that too). It's not vegetarian, though, there are some good chunks of ham (I think) in there. Salad is just ok because it's in a dressing I don't care for. Maybe thousand island? The salami is nice to have before the meal, even though it's not any special kind, and I love the chickpeas in olive oil and garlic.
Makes you feel like you're at your little Italian grandma's house for Sunday dinner.
For appetizers, I recommend the grilled oysters and the calamari strips. You'll be happy with any of the entrees, but I recommend the rack of lamb if they have it. Make sure to order it medium rare, because ours was closer to medium even though we asked for that and you wouldn't want lamb cooked anymore than that. The flavor was really good.
We usually get so full from all the antipasti that my husband and I split. They usually split it for you and give you two baked potatoes instead of having to split one (they will charge you $8 for this, though).We brought our own wine and they didn't charge us for that, which is unusual at most places.
If you're at the Delta, you gotta give this place a try!
Candace is right...Giusti's is out in the middle of nowhere...which means it's right by me! It doesn't get more Delta than this: park your boat at the dock out front and walk right up to the bar. The bar itself features a bunch of pictures of celebrities I've never heard of (my fave: the actress from "Ropes of Flesh") and a nice collection of local wines, mostly from the Clarksburg and Lodi regions, as well as the usual alcoholic fare.
This place wowed my Italian father with its soup, a minestrone-like concoction, with greens, beans, rice, and chunks of delicious beef, made fresh every day. Both the soup and salad come out family-style, the salad accompanied by a marinated bean salad (beware if you don't like garlic, this one's a Dracula-killer) and plate of salami. I know, a little kooky, but delicious.
And speaking of delicious, every entree I've tried has been just that. My recent favorite: the veal cutlet, breaded and covered in a lemony, mushroomed gravy is so good, I can eat it all, even with a belly full of soup and salad. Some other good choices include the rack of lamb and lobster tail, which you can get two-for-one on Wednesday nights.
So bring cash and an empty belly, and let Giusti's do the rest.
At first I couldn't find Giusti's on Yelp so I started my own Giusti's reviews, I'm just messin' Yelp all up. In any event, here's my review:
I LOVE GIUSTI'S!!!!!!
Before I got a life I spent a lot of time hanging down in the Delta with my 'rents. I just wrote a review of Al the Wops (which is the place to drink) while Giusti's is the place to eat. Ok, and drink too.
They usually have a couple of specials of the seafood or pork variety. With entres you get salad, soup, and bread. At lunch they'll serve you house wine too. I don't know about at night because we'd usually get a bottle. The salad isn't fancy, but it's good, with some sorta homemade thousand island-ish dressing that's never something I'd choose, but still love. The soup is minestrone and, it's, well, good minestrone. It's Old School fare done right.
My mom loves the fried chicken while my dad and I are all about the steak. It's just....an awesome filet with melt-y blue cheese and, like, ohmygod...I don't have the words. I just don't. I've never gotten it not cooked perfectly (for me that's rare to med rare.) Every time they're solid. The quality of the meat is outstanding. My mouth is seriously watering writing this because it's just that damn good. Blaaaaaaaw....sorry, that was drool.
Plus, a HEARTY dose of character at this place! Hats all over the ceiling, sassy staff, more wood plank floors that could swallow you. In the summer when the locks are open we can take the little boat over which is way cool because who doesn't love a cocktail cruise on the river.
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Giusti's is this place that is out in the middle of nowhere. It's off the main road between Walnut Grove and Thornton in the Delta. You can arrive by car or by boat, since they have their own dock on the river for patrons.
This is one of those places that has always been around for the locals, but itinerant fishermen and hunters have spread the word, and lots of non-locals have added it to their list of "must see" places to eat and drink at in the Delta during their motoring adventures.
I like the nice selection of local wines by the glass listed on the board at the bar. You wouldn't think that a rustic place like this would have a good wine selection, but that's one of the surprises that Giusti's has for the first-time visitor.
I was tempted by the Bogle petite syrah that I saw on the list, but decided instead, to try a glass of the Bensen Ferry Old Vine zinfandel.
Very nice!
It was a good choice to enjoy with dinner.
The restaurant has a very modest markup on their wines by the glass. You'll be pleasantly surprised. All too often, a place will offer pedestrian wines for a high markup. Here, you'll get nice local wines for maybe $5 per glass.
(I'm guessing that they offer the wine as a service to their customers and ~not~ as something to make money from.There are ~lots~ of good wines that are made in the area, and it's nice to find a local eatery that showcases some of the gems available.)
They serve lunch and dinner here. We were there early on a Saturday evening and made it in before the dinner rush. The dinners are served family-style. This means that you get a large bowl of minestrone soup with a ladle and a bowl for each diner. The tossed salad is served the same way, with a plate of marinated red and garbanzo beans, sliced fresh bread, and thin slices of salami.
(If you don't pace yourself, you can easily fill up on these dishes before the entree arrives!)
I had ordered the oysters while the bf got the steak. The oysters were pretty large and fresh from the grill. Each one was easily 3 bites worth.
Very tasty and filling. The bf said the steak was pretty good. Both entrees were served with a large baked potato with sour cream on the side.
Service was very good. The wait staff was friendly & attentive without hovering...somewhat difficult to do when the place is hopping. This is a great place to stop by for food or drink when you're in the area.
Giusti's is a local institution that I hope to drag friends to in the future, whether we arrive by boat, by bike, or by car.
(note: Bring cash. They don't take credit cards, but they do have an ATM near the bar.)
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Okay, picture this. Riding along the Delta sloughs in a pal's motorboat, sipping an adult beverage, as the wind streams past and the sun is shining upon you. Suddenly, you are ravenous. The boat pulls up to a lone pier. You walk the gangplank, surrounded by fig trees. Enter a funky ramshackle building through the bar. It's Giusti's!! Here the menu is written on the wall in chalk, they're open limited hours and you get a carafe of "red" or "white" with your meal. They do have a full bar, if you prefer. The food is quite good, and I've tried the gamut, from mussels to cheeseburgers. Full of those quirky Delta locals and Sea Captains. You haven't had a proper Delta experience till you've been to Giusti's.
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A great place to eat on the Delta. Reasonably priced, great service and food prepared quickly and served home-style. A glass of Dego red served with every meal. A central valley experience you're sure to enjoy!
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It is a drive from Sacramento but it is worth everything. It's a relaxing drive by Highway 160 and a faster drive on I-5. You better be hungry because the food is so delicious. I have tried their Prime Rib and it is THE BEST. You will never regret your experience. It will be a memorable one. Visit their web site: http://www.giustis.com
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Excellent restaurant, great location, nice and hidden away on the Delta.
Yes people there is a story behind this place. The owner Mark's grandparents use to live in this house. Grandpa would have all of his cronies over for drinks and Grandma use to cook for them...and wa-la, you have a restaurant that has been around for ages and hasn't changed a whole lot. I love this place, I love bringing all of my city-slicker friends here. This is another one of the local places that I came to age in. (And not very bright doing it...considering everyone knows my family, trying to get WASTED underage didn't bode so well!) Anyhow, they serve family style, minestrone soup, followed by a salad accompanied by a garlicy two bean salad and salami, and then the main course. (little known secret here...the main comes with a baked potato only...you can ask for the sauteed spinach or french fries...um). No desert, don't even think of asking, not that you will need it, the portions are ample. The bar is fun...bartenders are fun....Oh no, I was just there 36 hours ago and now I'm jonsing again!
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