I am always so amazed that one nation has so many ethnic influences. I am even more thrilled by how many foreigners are finding entrepreneurship to be the Caribbean goldmine in Trinidad and Tobago. Business tourism is one of the many sectors that is flourishing as Trinidad dons the name “Manhattan of the Caribbean.” Another aspect of business that goes hand in hand with tourism is food. The colonizers can probably hold responsibility for all that is happening now. It is so ironic that the nation changed so many hands from European to British (and the list goes on and on) and today more than ever the foreign trade is making ties to this country and foreigners are migrating to set up business here. This is phenomenally paradoxical as the nation was fought for its trade potential ( among others) and now so many of its predecessor host county men and women are settling here for the purpose of business without the angst and hostility of war.
The Italians have since settled in Tobago and operate mostly food businesses. Hence, they celebrate their signature Italian food and desserts and they have been grown fond of over the years for their food and personable nature. In addition, this Italian food trend has become popular in Trinidad. There has been several launches of pizzerias, cafes and restaurants. The most recent that I have noticed happens to be Giro’s Pizza in Chaguanas. This is another first for Central Trinidad adding more cultural value to their landscape.
Giro’s Pizza is located at #87 Old Southern Main Road, Edinburgh Village in Chaguanas (just look for the red, green and white horizontal striped flag on the left hand side of the road opposite Wing Hua Chinese Restaurant). Their opening hours are Tuesdays to Thursdays 12:00 noon to 8:00 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays they open from 12:00 noon to 9:00 pm. Sundays are more laid back as they open from 4:00 pm to 8:00 p.m. Giro facilitates walk ins, order to pick up service and delivery service (at the extra cost of TTD$15.00). This quaint pizzeria does not provide dine in service and there is limited street parking.
The menu captures wood oven baked pizza with meat, fish, shrimp and vegetarian options. The pizza sizes vary from 10 inches to 15 inches. These pizza prices can start as low as TTD$45.00 and scale all the way up to TTD$110.00. There is also vegetarian, chicken and beef lasagne all at TTD$59.00. Some interesting desserts are also hand crafted and stored for the sweet tooth fans. These include key lime pie, classic cheesecake, carrot cake, tiramisu, almond mousse cheesecake and panna cotta. The dessert rates start at TTD$20.00 and vary until they taper at TTD$35.00 per item.
My experience
Location: 4 stars
This is a convenient and accessible location
Parking: 3 stars
There is limited parking in front of the shop. Thankfully I went on a holiday and there was parking on the other side of the road as the business there was closed for the day. However, there are many spots on the street that accommodate parking.
Cleanliness: 4 stars
Giro keeps his work stations clean and washes his hands frequently. There is proper storage and refrigeration of food. Overall, clean place. But there is always room for improvement in sanitation.
Service:4 stars
There was a wait before getting the orders done but it was not very long as the pizza making and baking did not take long either. It is useful to note this can be a one man show at times (well at least the day I visited). The pizza chef did everything it seems; the cashing and pizza making but he is quite attentive, humble, warm and keeps good humour (typical traits of most Italians).
Food: 4 stars
This is authentic Italian cuisine and the wood oven makes it even more realistic. I took pizza fanatics with me (I’m on a low fodmap diet so I really cannot indulge in certain items for a while) to do the taste testing. They ordered a large eight slice Nibali pizza at TTD$90.00. This consisted of mozzarella, tomato sauce, pepperoni, pineapple and onions. They swapped the pepperoni for chicken on half of the pizza which is also an option if you would like to try two different types of pizza. They thoroughly enjoyed it but were not overly impressed as one of them found it not to be “fulling” to them whilst the other was able to eat twice from their share of pizza. Italian pizza is not American pizza so the Italian thin crust can probably account for this as well as the individual’s stomach capacity.
Ambiance: 4 stars
There is some homage to Italy with icons from the host country decorating the wall partitions. There is some abstract art on the wall as well. There are Giro Pizza logos branding the refrigerators and entrance. There is light Italian music and the live pizza making action and interaction of a busy light hearted Italian chef.
Price: 4 stars
The price is reasonable.
For more information on Giro’s Pizza
Visit them online at
https://www.facebook.com/pages/GiroPizza/1386129835039112?sk=timeline
or
Place your order
1-868-280-4476 (GIRO)