I joined a Minneapolis-based foodie group last year in 2022. We’re a group of about 15-20 adults who go to new highly-rated restaurant around the area once ever month. Have you been a part of a group like this before? We hadn’t.
Our choice last month was Giulia. It won the Star Tribune’s (local rag) Reader’s Choice Gold Prize for Best Minnesota Restaurants of 2022. But because their articles are behind a paywall, we won’t be linking directly to the list. Read on to see our full Giulia pizza review.
Of course, because it was the holiday season, there were beautiful decorations throughout the lobby and restaurant. It wasn’t really an Italian style in any way, but it was definitely elegant and modern.
Giulia’s Location
Located inside the recently-remodeled Emery Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, addressed at 215 S 4th Street Minneapolis, MN 55401. Being in the lobby of a hotel is probably a great business move for a fancy new restaurant looking to garner a more upscale audience.
I’m not a big hotel stay person, but I could get used to it. Actually, I remember the day vividly when I was a late 20-something and staying in the cheapest youth hostel I could find. The young people all around me were loud and rambunctious till the early morning. Bless their hearts.
I decided right there and then that I didn’t have to stay at hostels any more. I could literally afford a private hotel room somewhere. But 5-star boutique hotels!? I’m not there yet, but I can see it in my near future.
Giulia Minneapolis’s Atmosphere
Talking a bit about the atmosphere of Giulia, we loved the decor and aspects of the bar and pizza oven. They had high top tables, they had lounge tables, and they had barber chairs (?) at the pizza oven bar. And speaking of the pizza oven, it was a huge industrial gas oven. That’s not Italian, is it?
Our group was showed to a huge table with twelve seats around a raised platform. We were only able to talk with the people to the right and to the left of us. Almost impossible to chat with someone across the way.
Maybe we should’ve played musical chairs throughout the dinner?
Our waitress was excellent and had our cocktails and beverages out in a jiffy. She made some good recommendations on pasta but didn’t say too much about the pizza. That should have been a clue in hindsight.
The Giulia Pizza Menu
If you take a close look at the menu, Giulia really only has 5 choices in terms of pizzas. We were told they’re all Italian-style, which we assumed, and that they were very personal-sized, so not too much sharing.
The five choices to choose from are the Napoli, Black Apple Sausage, Diavola, Funghi, and the Picnic. We noticed right away that the Napoli was using burrata cheese, one of our absolute favorites when getting authentic Italian style.
The Funghi has a garlic white sauce, and three of the choices were either vegetarian or vegan. None of the pizzas were classified as gluten-free. The most interesting looking one was the Picnic with the term “everything spice” and hummus! What could that mean? Were we about to find out?
Giulia’s Choice
Sticking with our pizzeria review tradition, I decided to go with the closest thing to a standard pepperoni: the Diavola. And per the lovely server’s recommendation, I added on an order of a pasta dish: the Fettuccine Verde as well as some focaccia.
This isn’t a pasta blog, but I have to say that the green fettuccine was incredible! I assume it was made with some sort of basil or pesto, in addition to the spinach, asparagus, and peas that were listed. Highly recommend! All the foodie group people wanted a try. I told them to order their own.
My Giulia Pizza Review
Now on to the pizza…
For a restaurant voted one of the best Italian style joints in all of the state, I have to say that I was a tad bit disappointed. As this is a Giulia pizza review, the pizza was not great and I probably wouldn’t order it here again. The crust was overcooked and their was zero special about the sauce or cheese.
As for the toppings, the tomatoes and peppers were excellent, but maybe it was the stracciatella flavor that just didn’t sit right with us on a pizza.
There’s a chance I’d try another one of the five types. But it’s a small chance.
Pros
The old bank vault! So apparently, Giulia is actually located inside an old bank. The back room had a fully accessible open door bank vault filled with empty wine bottles. It was a sight to behold and we all loved going inside and checking out the intricate details of the locking mechanism in the door.
The pasta! Can an Italian restaurant succeed in both pasta and pizza? Or are they both forever separated by the skills required? We all loved the Fettuccine Verde and the other pasta dishes that were ordered at the table were all exceptional based on word-of-mouth reviews in the moment.
The cocktails? Sure. They were good.
Cons
The pizza is the con.
I cannot recommend the Diavola pizza. It does not stand up against the amazingness of the pasta. I probably should not have ordered the fettuccine because it’s skewed my review of the pizza. Lesson learned.
And by the way, if any of you have any fun or unique pizzerias that you’d like us to review on any of our travels, please contact us and let us know! Don’t let our Giulia Pizza Review deter you from intimate yet kind reviews of other places.
We’re going somewhere new at least a few times a year and are always looking for tasty treats on our journeys. Thanks! And our foodie group in Minneapolis is always willing to try a new pizzeria within 50 miles-ish.
Giulia Pizza Review: A Downtown Minneapolis Italian Eatery
Don't let our Giulia Pizza Review deter you from intimate yet kind reviews of other places. Read our handy pizzeria reviews from all over the world...
Address: 215 S 4th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55401, United States
Geo Coordinates: 44.978310, -93.266400
Phone Number: 612-215-5450
Price Range: $$
Days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday
Opening Time: 16:00
Closing Time: 20:00
Days: Friday, Saturday
Opening Time: 16:00
Closing Time: 21:00
Serves Cuisine: Italian
Menu URL: https://www.dinegiulia.com/menu/dinner
