I seldom go to Happy Valley for dinner. Was there last Friday night just to visit my friend who is living in Happy Valley..However, after this dinner, i don't think i gonna forget this place and i will definitely come back again!

My first impression of GUSTO when i stepped in: Clean, casual, relaxed! it's definitely a good place to chill out with friends especially on weekends when you can spend your whole afternoon reading magazine with a glass of sparkling wine on hand!

Suggested by my friend who always hangs out there, we ordered two very berry smoothies, a mac and cheese, shrimp and scallop cocktail and rigatoni.

Very berry smoothies - rich, fruity and you can even feel a lot of berry seeds running in your mouth! It's like a dessert drink for me! I love it~Mac n Cheese - smooth and creamy with cruchy toppingsRigatoni - not really very surprising but it tastes okay The overall experience is good and am gonna come back for brunch on weekends!

Last Wednesday night, a group of friends and I were in Happy Valley for the Races. After a great evening with some gambling, we decided to continue the fun at Gusto!

We headed over to top off the fun with cocktails and dinner.

Fave drink that night was the Mojito, which was a good refreshing drink to get the night started. All the flavors were tasteful beyond my expectations.

Since we were sharing a few meals, my one friend ordered the hand cut French fries (with chilli and Cheese). I would highly recommend these fries as they were filling (caution, once you’ve had one you… you’ll end up making room for more!).

We also ordered the Spicy Bonless Buffalo Wings; they were a bit spicy, yet tender. Good thing the boneless wings were served with ranch dressing, a smart choice made to enjoy the spice!

On top of the wings we also ordered the Baby back ribs. These ribs literally fell right off the bone! You know it’s cooked well, when that happens! The ribs were so good that they reminded me of my summers in the states with all the ribs festivals that happen (yum!).

Since one of us had to be healthy we ordered the Cob Salad. A bit creamy yet filled with veggies. Not one of my faves but this dish would do well during a hot summer afternoons.

We ended the night off more Mojitos and more of their specality cocktails!

Over all, this place has reasonable service and a cozy ambiance! Very satisfied with Gusto, and as we speak we’re booking a few more nightly dinners!

We ordered a as starter the Cuban Sandwich, then as a mains
the BBQ Pork Ribs and Gusto Salad and Fries with Cheese and Chilli.
First of all if you ask to get served the fries and salad with the Main
dish, you dont expect to get the sides served first, and after you finish
with the sides you get to eat the main meal.
thats one point.
Secondly when you order a dish, you expect to get the right one.
We ordered the Fries with Cheese and Chilli, we got the Fries
with a chilli on top, but without the cheese.
Now to the description of the dishes

A) Fries with cheese and chilli
tasty fries, with herbs, but missing the cheese 80,-HKD
B) Gusto Salad
bland dressing, very oily, everything chucked together, it looks like a
canteen salad you would have at university. For that price !!!
I was expecting more but felt disappointed.
Very salty salad. 100 HKD
C) BBQ Pork Ribs, roasted Ok, but smothered with this sauce
it reminded me of BBQ Sauce like HP Sauce, then seasones overly
with Salt and MSG. It goes on my record as the WORST made BBQ Pork
Ribs i have tasted 155 HKD
D) Cuban Sandwich
Overly Salty, tastes poor, old. Not made with a lot of love.

drinks recover juice. dont think it was fresh. it tasted like some ParknShop juices
mixed together

But now the worst the next day, i had diarrhia all day. I am still running to the toilet
every 30mins as i am typing this. i spare you the picture of my toilet afterwards
but can upload picture if you want to see.

When at the restaurant we told the waitress, that the food was too salty
she just said "oh the taste must be too strong for you" ... what a stupid answer.
rather say, "oh thanks for the comment, i will pass it on to the chef"

I cannot recommend this place at all. what is with the grunge music playing ?
are we still in the 80s ? I think not. when you come to eat you want some quiet
music, not like in a nightclub.

Arrived in Happy Valley around 845pm and got off car at Yik Yam Street. Cannot spot the shop at all because there is no big logo in front of the shop. It took me 5 minutes to locate the shop.
Upon entering the shop the lower level tables were almost full (not counting the high chairs sitting in front of a wall) except a table for 2, quietly sat down. There was another couple that arrived 5 minutes later than us and they ended up sitting against the wall (later they were relocated to a big table).
Atmosphere was cozy, the customers I think were all overseas grads and ex-pats, generally very polite.
Tried to order chicken liver pate, but they ran out. So ordered a Gusto Salad and a Gusto Burger to be split among us 2. Salad is a so so but the burger was juicy with all the works (sauteed onions, mushroom, bacon etc.). Asked the waiter/owner to cut the burger in half so it could be handled easily by us. Did not order desert because we were not hungry to start with at the first place.
One thing about the alcoholic drinks i ordered (Dry Martini with Grey Goose vodka) was excellent and can be compared with large restaurants and bars. The glass was dipped in ice to cool down and the mix was perfect. Also perfect is the price (at least 30%-40% cheaper). I ended up finishing all 6 of them before they came to us and gave us the bill. It was 12 already and they were closing up. A bit early on a Sat night, maybe because the owners prefer spending quality time partying than staying at the place.
All in all it is a good place to go to in Happy Valley. I will definitely visit again.

after hearing lots about the Gusto brunch i finally made the trip to Happy Valley with some girlfriends for a casual start to a saturday.

it was full of ppl when we got there- lucky that we made a reservation as there was 6 of us.
we shared a bottle of the sparkling shiraz on promotion (never had sparkling shiraz before) but it was actually quite nice!

i ordered a brioche with egg in the hole, topped with mushrooms and melted cheese. it came piping hot served with a frisee salad and it was absolutely divine.
i ordered hash browns on the side and they were slightly disappointing as i prefer my hashbrowns a little more cooked and crispy on the outside, but i would definitely make the trip back just for those eggs.

very nice atmosphere- not too formal for brunch, but cosy and friendly enough that you could pop in and sit at the bar for a quick bite whilst reading the newspaper or have a long brunch and drinks with friends for a decent price.

just been to gusto burger and although a very small restaurant i would rather call it cozy. since we got there around 6pm there was no wait for the table but reserving a table especially if you are more than two people is probably a wise decision.

we ate (2 people):

2 gusto burgers
1 fries
2 fruit juices

the burger was the best i had so far in hk and i have tried a lot. the seasoning of the meat is really good and together with the mushrooms, onions, bacon and cheese it is a delight for your taste buds. the fries are homemade and have a special seasoning which is a delicious change. the drinks were also very good. if we would not have been stuffed after the meal we would have gone for some of the yummie sounding desserts

the burger was 120 HKD and fries 60 HKD, fruit juices about 50 HKD. i personal found it a bit pricey but for hk it is quiet okay. nothing outrageous i have not seen in soho or the likes... so if you want to have a good burger and are in the area you should try it.

we enjoyed the dining experience but it would be a good place for coffee or drinks as well. definitely would come back to eat but also to chat with the girls.

If you have some time, and I mean soooome time, a visit to Gusto can be a happy thing. The food is very decent for a neighborhood kinda place but you have to be prepared to wait for it. We couldn't tell from where we were seated but I think there is only one person doing prep and cooking for the whole joint. Granted, it's not a big place but it's a lot to do if the whole house wants to eat. Thankfully we were there on a slow week night.

I ordered a drink of the day - a grape-juice based slushee which was a great appetite opener. The grape juice was fresh and sweet, and naturally so. With the crushed ice which splurged up the juice, the 2 were joined at the hip and at one with each other.

Even the bread took a long time coming but it was very good bread, with enough sourdough to make it chewier than it looked. And a quality cube of butter was all we needed to ease our rumbling tum tummy.

Our appetizer of the Macaroni 'N 3 Cheese Gratin finally came after about 20 minutes. The baked macaroni with smoked mozzarella, fontina and cheddar cheese, infused with white truffle oil was simple but well executed. Macaroni was al dente and the 3 cheeses combined well so that they blended rather than have each fighting for attention. And of course, the white truffle oil brought highlights to each mouthful rather than overwhelm the little cup size dish.

Next up, our Cobb Salad with with chicken, romaine, bacon, hard boiled eggs, avocado and tomatoes served with ranch dressing was despite the abundance of protein, light and extremely tasty. Well dressed with enough dressing to taste but not drenched, this can be a very well balanced meal on its own too.

The finale of the Gusto burger - hand ground angus sirloin with bacon, mushrooms, caramelized onions, topped with fontina and cheddar cheese on a toasted sesame bun was my least favorite. While tasty, it wasn't my idea of a burger since the patty was just a tad soft ie. overly ground. I usually like a little more bite in the patty so I thought it was a bit of waste of a good piece of ground meat. But I have to say that the condiments lifted the burger and still managed to make it yummy. Good but not great.

Since service was slow, I didn't want to risk being late for a conference call and so left without having dessert. Maybe next time. When I actually do have a lot more time to get into the whole lazy atmosphere. It would then be nice to savor and try the other dishes on a very small but promising menu of home-style hearty favorites.

For the original with photos, visit edeats.blogspot.com

I had been here before when it first opened and loved the comfort food they offered. It was so yummy that I actually remembered what was good, the hand cut fries, gusto burger, rigatoni bolognese and s'mores!!

Hadn't had a chance to go back as I don't frequent Happy Valley that much. But last weekend we managed to get up early so we decided to go for brunch. When we went in the waitress told us that the place was full, we asked about the few highchairs at the bar, she said we could sit there if we wanted, as if it wasn't meant for guests. We later realized that she had wanted to refuse service coz she was the only person working there, apart from the chef? chefs? She was being hounded by a few tables and everybody seemed agitated at the slow/ no service.

I was looking forward to a laid back atmosphere but you really can’t get this here especially if there are very dramatic people seated right next to you, or when the magazines are from 2 years ago. Even though they had interesting cookbooks you want to read you wouldn’t be able to get to them as they are stored behind patrons sitting at the sofa. Add to that the a very stressed waitress running around and you are just looking to quickly finish the meal and leave.

They only served brunch menu so it had NONE of the things I had last time except mac n cheese. As it was a pleasant memory for me the last time I ordered the mac n cheese again. However, this experience has left my taste buds rejecting mac n cheese, yes it was really bad, basically runny sauce with a haunting bitter taste of something. 3 YUCKS.

We also had chorizo which was ok and prob the best out of everything, so sad. Hash Brown was so dry, kind of like big potato chip. My bf ordered chicken parmesan sandwich, he finished all the side salad but he was also struggling through the chicken.

Such a nice environment and concept, but oh so disappointing

I am so excited! This is my 1st review on Openrice! I choose to write about Gusto since it’s so closed to home and I always chill there!

My must-order list in this little café will be the French Fries, Seafood salad & Chicken Parmesan.

French Fries – I love the hand cut fries and their hot but not-too-spicy sauce! Can hardly find crispy but not greasy fries like this in town

Seafood salad – seafood + their salad dressing is the best combination ever!

Chicken Parmesan – yummy juicy chicken!

One downside of this café is that it’s relatively small. If you are looking for a table for 5 or more, you should really make a reservation in advance. *wink* *wink*

A new relaxing dinning spot finally opened in Happy Valley. I booked in for dinner and initally we were taken to one of those regular tiny tables but as I requested, we took the spot on the bar stools and high tables, which is in my opinion far more comfortable and roomy.

I tried their chicken wings, macaroni cheese and fish sandwiches and they are all above average, especially the macaroni cheese that was topped with a thin layer of crust!

Its definitely a nice cozy hideout for a glass of champagne and nice simple food.