Off to the side of Shayside’s Walnut Street is an Italian cafe that goes by the name of Girasole. From the looks of it, you’d expect it to be a little bit dingy and perhaps a little bit pretentious. It turns out it is neither of these things, being both airy and friendly. Yet, I wasn’t looking to make friends, I was looking for some grub.

And grub is what I found – more specifically the gnocchi variety of grub. Their gnocchi was plain and classic, being served with a marinara sauce with mozzarella. But before I could get to that, it came with a choice of soup or salad and I chose the Escarole and Beans soup. Essentially it was marinara sauce with beans so I liked it.

As for the gnocchi, I was also pretty pleased with the dish. The dumplings were nice and soft while the marinara sauce and mozzarella met them with a good balance. In fact, there was enough mozzarella so that every bite had a hit of the good stuff.

Girasole may not stack up to the likes of Piccolo Forno, but it is undoubtedly a solid spot that doesn’t seem capable of disappointing.