01 / ABOUT THE PLACE
About this place
Not sure what to order first? Start with the house-made pâté of the day. The menu says its ingredients and blend vary slightly with each batch, so the flavour and texture can differ: some versions bring the meat to the fore, while others have a pronounced note of liver. One diner also recommends the chicken pâté. It makes a natural start to a meal that moves from antipasti on to pasta.
The pasta selection ranges from ingredient-led dishes such as spaghetti with fresh tomato and house-made buffalo mozzarella to spaghetti with sakura shrimp and southern Italian-style bucatini with sardines and fennel. There is also spaghetti with tomato and fried aubergine, as well as penne with trippa and white beans; choosing between the different sauces and ingredients is part of the appeal. One diner says they were pleased with the creamy carbonara, while another remarks that the variety of pasta and sauces makes it hard to decide.
To build out the meal, choose potato gnocchi with either sage butter and Parmigiano or Gorgonzola cream. Main dishes include Tamba beef rump tagliata and roast duck breast with orange sauce. You can also order several small plates to enjoy with wine between courses. One diner describes sharing small plates for two, then adding pasta after the wine—a good example of the pleasure of choosing a little at a time, with antipasti at the centre of the meal.
IL GECO is an Italian restaurant in the basement 1 floor of a building in Shimogyo Ward. It serves dinner from Tuesday to Sunday and takes reservations, so booking ahead may suit an evening spent taking your time over several dishes.
