Giuseppe’s Market

Oh Giuseppe what happened to you? I’ve been here numerous times, but lately the place is just not what it used to be. There is no longer any deli items, no fresh Italian take out, no fresh produce, no cookbooks and very little canned items or kitchen things.
We ordered two pizzas (margarita and 4-​cheese) both were really not good: dry and tasteless with very little topping. The service was so dismal. The poor guy who makes pizza was working both the pizza oven, while running back to serve at the hot food counter, as two other gals stood around and did very little. It was hard not to laugh when another customer, so tired of waiting, went behind the service area and got his own coffee. Considering there were only about 10 customers total in the entire restaurant during the heat of lunch hour, this was pretty pathetic.
This place seems to have turned into a former shell of itself. I hope they can turn it around because it was quite a nice lunch spot and the food used to be very well done. I’ll chaulk it up to an ‘off’ day but we’ll see…

to say that the service was bad, is to assume there actually was service: from stopping in to place an order to then take home, after dropping off work at home, returned to pay for order, and did, and only minutes after that was told that the order wasn’t even placed yet as – with a whole two tables worth of customers – they forgot. and better still, after having to wait for the order to then be made (because I already, sadly, paid), the pizza almost measured up to this level of «service», in that, it was as disappointing as the whole experience !

I love that I, son of German immigrants, am sitting in a restaurant in Calgary eating a delicious oven baked, thin crust pizza, browsing a sushi recipe book written in Italian.

This is one of those restaurants/​café that you may pass it for 100 times and never notice it. Actually, I also found it totally by accident. I saw the Italian market sign and me being a cured meat fan decided to check it out. However, as soon as I stepped in I was totally surprised. This is a Market/​very relax self service restaurant. Specificity the big wood burning pizza oven attracted my attention.
After browsing the array of pastas and sandwiches, they told us that it is the 10 $ pizza day (Mondays) so immediately we decided to give it a try.
This is how this restaurant works:
1– You order your pizza at the counter
2– Pick up cutlery and drinks
3– Find a table and wait for the pizza to arrive
We ordered the Capricciosa. It is assembled and cooked to order with a very thin crust. The pizza arrived in less than 10 minutes. Cooked to perfection with a crispy crust. Overall great taste and texture.
I will definitely come back here to try other items on the menu. But to be honest, I am not very optimist about the pre cooked pasta in the display. They looked overcooked. However, the pizza was fantastic specially for 10 $ it is a great deal on Mondays. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for a relax and quick food. 100 time better than any fast food joint and almost the same price.

Oh, what has become of you, Giuseppe’s? We have eaten at Giuseppe’s many times while living in Mission. Then they did away with brunch which seemed to be an initial decline. Fortunately, they still offered very nice traditional Italian dinners.
Last night we thought we’d go to Giuseppe’s because we hadn’t been there in quite awhile since moving away from the area. It has the appearance of new ownership or perhaps a lost chef. The ‘Dinner’ menu was a sad lunch menu. There was hardly anything on the menu, in fact, and the wine list included about 10 mediocre wine options (mostly by the bottle). We almost left before ordering but thought we’d give it a chance.
The pasta was overcooked and extremely bland. They didn’t serve us any bread though other tables appeared to have bread. The server, while very pleasant, was about 17 and seemed incredibly uncomfortable in his role.
I hope this was just an unusual night and this isn’t what has actually become of Giuseppe’s as it is, quite literally, a pathetic shadow of its former self.

I stopped in for a pre-​dinner bite, AKA carbo-​loading for a tequila tasting event later in the evening. Unfortunately it was just after 4pm and the sandwich bar was already closed. So I ordered a forno oven baked pizza. It was excellent! Light and crispy crust, salty ham with chicken and peppers. Perfecto! They do have wifi, but it was really sketchy when I was in. The staff is fun and attentive. The espresso is good. But next time I definitely want to come for the Hot Table, make you own panini between, from 11 to 4pm. Just the smell of the place tells me the paninis.

The food at Giuseppe’s had always been good. In 2011, you would even put up with their terrible non-​existent service to eat their pizzas.
Lately though I read that service had improved. And after checking them out again, it really has improved! Giuseppe’s now has tasty food in concert with great service.
I look forward to going back soon.

A genuine Italian experience, not too expensive.
The environment is quite welcoming, it’s a big place, with different sections, when we entered a few ladies were participating in some kind of cooking class in one corner, some people sitting down and having coffee, wine and working on their laptops in another corner… and we ordered two fantastic thin crust Italian pizzas with Chianti wine and sat down in another corner.
Try their weekdays express lunch menus as well :-)

This little place has great food. The pizza is really good no matter which one you have. They do lack in drinks as for the only non alcoholic drinks that is cold is water or coke. No juice, no ice tea, nothing… I thought it was a full bar, well I guess no cocktails as you need juice for those drinks. Service depends on who you get as I have been here a few times. I also thought you started off with bread, oil and balsamic vinegar to dip as a complimentary to meals but I guess it was only that 1 time. They also do lack in the desserts department as there wasn’t much to choose from also.
Overall great place for great pizza if you like fresh toppings with a thin crust. They advertise live Jazz but I have gone here several times when they say it is suppose to be on and it never has happened.

The pizzas are absolutely AMAZING!

went here sine it was so close to the hotel and because my sprained ankle was acting up and i wasnt very mobile. ordered from the market for lunch and got a pasta with italian sausage and a classico sandwich. i’m not sure if it was because we went for a late lunch, but the pasta was hardened from sitting out. the sausage was alright but nothing spectacular. also i thought the sandwich was too bready and did not have enough meat in it. probably wouldnt come back again.

Wondered in here on a cold saturday evening when it wasn’t very busy and ended up with a very intimate group of people and a live musican enjoying a very fresh and flavorful italian meal.
As you wait for you meal you are served bread with oil and balsamic — and that bread is delicious (not something I would often say about bread). I have done oil and balsamic tastings in Italy and I can also say they use quality product and you can taste the difference.
We ordered the bruchetta and the herbs in there taste like they were freshly plucked from the garden — I’m sure it’s made to order (or they have done an amazing job hiding that it’s ready made).
I ordered the vegetarian calzone and my fiancé ordered chicken with mushrooms and olives. My calzone was alright, I think the flavors fell a bit flat (it can be hard to jazz up a veggie pizza) but I did love the crust. I don’t think I’ll be ordering the calzone again but I will try another pizza for sure. My fiancé’s chicken apparently was good. I stole bites of the wonderful looking side veggies and they are the kind you find in the summer from the farmers market or grow in your own garden. The carrots have the right level of crunch and sweetness and the young potatoes were soft and smooth. If I wasn’t stuffed and already taking home a doggie bag I might have ordered a side of those yummy veggies (I can’t say that often either).
Overall the quality and freshness of the ingredience stand out here. It’s not overly fancy, the prices are decent, live music was very nice, service was good (but it should be when it’s fairly dead) but the food quality is very high. What would bring me back is the quality of food going into the meal. I’m not positive it would lure me across the city (which is the case) because there isn’t anything overly novel but it would rank high on my list for a return visit when I’m in a reasonable proximity.

Best pizza in town. Made fresh with top quality ingredients. Almost as good as homemade.

Ok. I only had a chai latte here BUT I watched all of the aromatically tantalizing food come out of the kitchen while I was there — and I was IMPRESSED.
LOOKED to be authentic Italian fare — and I’ve been to Italy twice.
I’m hoping to get back really soon to try a pizza or something.

So I had never heard of this establishment until I had a staff lunch in. It’s silly because I work 1 block away… and yet the front entrance never jump out at me. Sandwiched between Irish pubs Giuseppe’s Market is cleverly hidden. The relatively new Deli/​Market/​Restaurant stands out as friendly authentic family run establishment at first glance, but getting a table by walking in off the street is a whole other story.
The staff a minority of Italians with thick accents, but bad attitudes and lacking organization or good interpersonal communication skills. Showed very little enthusiasm.
I toke my mother for dinner on Friday night around 6pm, and expected a line up or a waiting time… but was shocked to find out that the manager booked only 1 server and 1 Hostess for the night (both staff on edge and visibly overwhelmed). The waiting period was 1 hour or more. The 60 table seating arrangement was minimized to 15 people at a time, baring empty seats that could have been filled. My mother was livid (with an empty stomach you become a walking whining toddler). We ended up skipping dinner.
My 1 time experience of eating the food was a few days later with my co-​workers who of coarse ordered plenty of liquor and shared more than we needed to know. I ordered a Caesar Salad (dressing was home-​made with anchovies) I give it ⁵⁄₁₀ because there was not enough dressing, and I requested no Croutons (they gave them to me anyway), My main coarse was penne Arrabiatta (with gluten-​free pasta). My dish was served before everyone else making it awkward to enjoy the meal while everyone eyed the food… with empty stomachs. Again the Organization between kitchen and servers was OFF. I give it 8.5÷10 because it was perfectly spiced but Pasta too al den ta. The Service was 4.5÷10, I would come back to pick-​up but NEVER dine in.

I really want to like this place. But they need to stop making it so damn hard. There are glimmers of brilliance woven in with underwhelming moments of MEH.
Food — has potential. Caprese salad keeps getting smaller and more pricey, but it IS delicious. Pizza, there are much better options out there in Calgary but if you’re stuck, it’ll do the trick. Pastas have been great thus far. The calamari is solid, and could be a meal in itself if served over pasta.
Service — this is the area where I feel that they need to pull their socks up. I suspect they’re understaffed, and offering dining options both upstairs and down only perpetuates this problem.
For me, I think the best way to enjoy Guiseppe’s is to order take out and enjoy it at home.

Alright, first visit down to Giuseppe’s. How many more to go? I’m not sure, but I liked it enough that I’ll be headed back.
A restaurant upstairs, and a market on the main level, Giuseppe’s has a fun and casz style to it. We stopped in for a quick bite, it was unfortunate the sandwich counter was closed. But freshly made pizza was right in front of our eyes. An employee was even rolling out and tossing pizza dough as we watched. Ready almost as quickly as any sandwich could’ve been made, this was a nice, light pizza treat-​thin crispy crust and plenty of toppings. A girl needn’t feel nearly as bad about eating half of a thin crust pizza ;).
With big front windows, room for musicians to play (there were a couple here on a Saturday night), this would make a cute, low-​key spot to hang out for an evening.

Very satisfying Lunch. Thin crust oven fresh Pizza makes for light lunch with room for a light dessert.
This is a quick hit for lunch but not a sit down real Italian restaurant. Looking forward to going back and giving some of their cold sandwiches a try.

I’m always proud to bring friends to this place for hand-​made pizza! It’s nice to be able to shop for some snack items and pick some nice treats up from the deli.
The first time I was there, the check-​out was confusing but I now have the hang of it. I’ve only ever been there for lunch (5 times now). I’ve always found the lunch choices to be yummy and fresh.
I love the lively market environment.

I find it funny when a business puts their establishment date on their signage, funny in a cute way. And Giuseppe’s was established in 2009, making it even cuter when you look at their branding. Every once in a while I want to get a tattoo — Alix, Established 1984.
All that aside, what a cute, tasty place! That whole 1^st Street area has improved drastically in the last few years, although who among us would deny that we don’t miss the Night Gallery like crazy.
Giuseppe’s is a traditional style Italian market (I think — I have nothing to back up that claim actually) with the restaurant portion upstairs and a deli style grab and go service downstairs. You can pop in, grab a seat by the window and people watch or browse around at all the spices and oils and produce and everything that makes a trendy Italian market trendy.
I had the Greek salad, which I thought was well proportioned and fresh for the price. The ladies that all worked there were pleasant, they even opened my bottle of Pellegrino for me. The tables were clean as was the restroom.
Good enough to go back to, not good enough to rave to my friends about but I do look forward to Round 2!