Jonathan Faro (Society Pizza) talks a lot about maximising efficiency and his plans for rolling out multiples of his Johnny Gio’s diners across Sydney. But he breaks into a smile when he talks about his mum’s cooking.

“The majority of our menu comes from my mum’s recipes. The meatballs, the chicken schnitzel – it’s all the food I loved eating when I was growing up,” he tells Broadsheet.

He recently opened the second Johnny Gio’s, in Waterloo, on a sunny corner between apartment buildings. The new outpost doesn’t have quite the same personality as its Bondi sibling, but plenty of people walk past this predominantly takeaway business, so it’s understandable why Faro chose this spot.

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“This is a residential area, and we do mostly delivery and takeaway. There aren’t many great pizzerias in the area – you have to go to Surry Hills.”

The menu here is exactly the same as at Bondi – a deliberate choice, since Faro’s plan is to roll out shops across Sydney (he has his eye on Newtown and Cronulla next), so processes and menus need to be efficient.

“Bondi Road is our first store, but it doesn’t run on the true Johnny Gio’s model. [There] we’re using Society’s pizza oven with the original pizzaiolo crew. They pump out 400 pizzas a night on a static oven. That’s intense and takes a lot of skill.

“Waterloo has a rotating brick oven, and we’ve made it as systematic as you can for our style of pizza.”
The pizza is delicious. Cooked on a hot stone for a maximum of two-and-a-half minutes at 380 degrees, each pie comes out blistered and generously loaded with toppings. There’s the meaty Sammy the Butcher with guanciale, sausage, smoked ham and pepperoni, and the Mickey Blue with caciocavallo, gorgonzola, mozzarella, whipped ricotta and truffle oil. There are a number of meat and vegetarian versions, and Faro has a specials list in the works that will feature his mum’s chicken parmigiana.

There’s also a pasta menu, which includes meatballs with penne (a secret Faro family recipe) and a calzone filled with truffle mac’n’cheese.

Despite Johnny Gio’s origins in health-conscious Bondi, the ethos is all about “more”.
“Johnny’s is a neighbourhood Italian place, but it’s also got that American attitude. Everything is about giving extra,” Faro says.

To wit, even the sides are enormous. The marinara-braised meatballs – served with a bubbled, charred piece of garlic bread and ricotta doused with extra-virgin olive oil – could easily be a whole meal.

The space has outdoor seating and one table inside. Eventually Faro will be licensed, but for now it’s BYO.

In pride of place behind the service counter is the enormous pizza oven covered in red circular tiles. “The whole operation revolves around that oven,” says Faro.

Johnny Gio’s Waterloo
6/22 Crystal Street, Waterloo

(02) 9698 8875

Hours
Mon to Fri 5pm–10pm

Sat & Sun 12pm–10pm

johnnygiospizza.com.au

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