Johnny Gio’s is one of those rare businesses optimised for lockdown. “It was almost better for us,” owner Jonathan Faro (also of Society Pizza) tells Broadsheet. It was so good that Faro opened two more Johnny Gio’s diners during lockdown, in Newtown and Coogee.

Many of the recipes for pizzas, pastas and sides are based on Faro’s mum’s cooking, including the marinara meatballs, chicken schnitzel and eggplant parmigiana, but have been adapted for consistency, which is Faro’s mantra.

“I don’t want to expand the shops too quickly because everything needs to work perfectly to maintain consistency and quality. At the core, good pizza has a lot more going on than just food.”

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Bondi Road was the first location for Johnny Gio’s, and it still uses a static oven to cook. But its follow-ups, in Waterloo (which opened last year), Newtown and Coogee, have red-tiled brick ovens imported from Florence. Lockdown didn’t interfere with getting the ovens into the new spaces, but the installation process is involved.

“The ovens are built on site by two different teams,” says Faro. Formerly a builder and trained as an engineer, Faro is clearly fascinated by the process, as he describes how the insulation was laid over the oven core, followed by a render and more than a week of waiting. “The render has to dry for five days, then you can fire up the oven for three days so that all the moisture goes out of the cement. If you don’t do all that, it will crack.”

The time is worth it. The ovens are more efficient than at Bondi Road and it’s easier to get the cooking process down to a science. Each pie, loaded with toppings, is cooked for two and a half minutes on a rotating hot stone at 380 degrees Celsius. They come out with blistered crusts. Classic pizzas include the Mamma’s Meatballs with tomato, house-made meatballs and parmesan; the Burrata Queen with cherry tomatoes, confit garlic and a wobbly orb of burrata in the centre waiting to be broken over the pizza; and plenty of meat options.

Consistency doesn’t mean the menus don’t change. Johnny Boy is a new garlicky vegetarian pizza, and The Hesh features cherry tomato, confit garlic, prawns and basil.

The brand is also collaborating with The Fermentalists to create a range of hot sauces to pairs with pizzas.

“El Diablo pizza goes with the green jalapeno hot sauce, and the meaty Sammy the Butcher goes with the Johnny Gio’s smoky hot sauce,” says Faro.

Takeaway trade might be good for efficiency, but Faro is happy to have customers back dining in store. “We’re doing some great pre-batch drinks, like Negronis, Margaritas, Martinis and Cosmos, and we’re doing a Menabrea pale ale on tap.”

Manly and Cronulla can expect their own Johnny Gio’s outposts soon, and Faro is busy working on a New York deli business that will be a brother brand to the pizzeria. “I’ve got big plans. We’re launching this deli, a sandwich brand. Picture Johnny Gio’s pizza but cold cuts and fresh mozzarella.”

Johnny Gio’s Newtown
182 King Street Newtown
(02) 9557 6827

Hours:
Mon to Sat 5pm–10pm
Sun 12pm–10pm

Johnny Gio’s Coogee
207 Coogee Bay Road, Coogee
0458 061 702

Hours:
Mon to Sat 5pm–10pm
Sun 12pm–10pm

johnnygiospizza.com.au
@johnnygiospizza