Giovanni's

I, too, have been a regular visitor to Giovanni's In the West End. Pino and his staff are wonderful hosts and immediately make you feel at home. I saw Sir John Gielgud there one evening and he was a gracious as the staff!! Giovanni's is a West End favorite for both actors and audiences and has been for lo these many years. My next step today is to give all the info re Giovanni's

to a dear friend who leaves for London tomorrow. I also told him about the perfect set of Queen Anne fronts as you approach the restaurant from Charing Cross Road. Delightful spot - first class restaurant all the way.
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Dr. John Acres
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Nice! I walked in of the street alone and looking for something a little different. I found it at Giovanni's amongst the regular stereotypical mass process eating houses so common in the area. I wasn't particularly impressed by anything in particular but had an above average dining experience for London's West End. Pino was friendly and greeted me like I had been there many times before The food was close to authentic Sicilian and therefore of average palate - I expected no more. The bill was on the large side with a couple of "extras" included and I took the fleecing like a man. Overall I could repeat the experience but must warn that ones feelings coming out of Giovanni's will depend very much on ones expectations going in. Go and see for yourself.
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Alan
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Wednesday, October 08, 2008

I don't understand the negative reviews on this page. Giovanni's remains the best Italian restaurant of its kind in London. The food is Italian food as it should be: simple, to the point, and tasty. I should know as I am Italian myself.

I have been coming here since the mid 1990's and have always had a good experience. Pino is a wonderful host, and extremely professional.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 6
Sunday, September 28, 2008

We walked in off the street, attracted by the beautiful building and the authentic Italian atmosphere. HUGE mistake. There is no excuse for poor Italian food and at these prices, it was verging on criminal. Mediocre is kind both to the food and to the service. I should have trusted my instincts and been warned by the fact that we were the only 2 there. I have rarely had such a poor meal and feel cheated by the whole experience.
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fiona
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Walked in to here with a party of six last week and they were happy to have us. The restaurant does have a cosy, intimate feel and the proprietor was friendly and welcoming. However, I have to concur with many of the other reviewers: I've seldom been so disappointed by the food. It would be okay for a canteen but certainly not for the prices charged. The deep-freeze, a microwave and a 'sod-em-all, they're only tourists and never be back' attitude seems to prevail in the kitchen.
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praa
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 1
Monday, July 07, 2008

very small portions, very expensive
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eric owen
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 1
Wednesday, June 25, 2008

My wife and I ate here for my 40th birthday at the end of April 2008. I have to say that this was probably one of the worst dining experiences we have ever had and I would not recommend this restaurant to my worst enemy. We made a reservation but still had to wait half an hour for a table, despite 2 tables being empty all the time we waited. The 2 owners/managers/waiters were extremely rude and full of themselves and very very defensive. There were a number of Italian diners there at the same time and they were obviously disgruntled at the standard and tardiness of the service. The food was basic to boring with the £4.00 'vegetable medley' being stale prepacked and microwaved from tesco's. When the bill arrived they had stuck on a £9.50 'service charge' despite not mentioning this on the menu. There was a legal 'cover charge' for bread and olive oil but the bread was stale and there was no olive oil. I may be wrong but a service charge is not legal in UK. They removed this anyway. In short, very rude and poor service, poor but expensive food quality and overcharging customers. When I told the owner of my dissappointment he said 'yes, but you people keep coming back'. Meaning, of course, us mug tourists. He showed not the slightest concern that we had had a dissappointing dining experience. Please do yourselves a favour and eat anywhere else but here.
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Adam Jenkins
Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 0
Sunday, May 04, 2008

Stumbled upon this place by accident and thought it great. lovely cosy place to eat with a touch of old London about it.

i didnt find the price to much - what do you expect for the west end. the food was good with my ravioli tasting great. food served quickly and politely. no charge for bread. wine fine for the price.

i will certainly be going back.

dont believe the negative reviews here but see for yourselves, if nothing else it beats sitting in the sterile real tourist traps down the road with their production line service because here you get personal service from the boss himself.
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jon w.
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Our party of six (one Italian) dined last night at this restaurant, I would give the amibaunce 8/10. However, both the food and the service were indifferent, and out rating for theses was 2/10. I would not recommend this restaurant.
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Juliet Grainger
Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 2
Sunday, March 02, 2008

My husband and I walked into Giovanni's last week at 6.30pm and asked for a table pre-theatre. We were told that they were full, so this week, in order to avoid disappointment, we went back at 3pm and requested a table at 6.30pm. The restaurant is owned by two Italian brothers, one of whom immediately told us they were fully booked, but we thought this was strange in an area where most trade must be walk-in. Suspicious, my husband phoned them at 5pm and made a reservation with no difficulty. Hoping that they had indeed been fully booked and had been advised of a cancellation since we called in, we returned to the restaurant at 6.30pm. The brother who had turned us away 2 weeks running looked at us as if to say "What are you doing back here?", but when we told him we had a reservation, he realised he could not turn us away a third time, and sat us in a draughty corner. To our dismay, we saw that there were a further 3 empty tables, 2 of which remained empty throughout our stay.

Incidentally, we were the only diners who were not white, which stuck us as strange in the centre of such a cosmopolitan and multicultural city, and oh, I asked at the tables on either side of us if they had pre-booked or just walked in. Guess what- they had just walked in.

I had lost my appetite by the time the food arrived, but I should not have worried because it was unpalatable anyway. My husband's lamb was apparently reasonable, but my papardelle which was supposed to be with peas, broad beans and chili, was in fact served with undercooked frozen peas, cannelini beans and no sauce or seasoning whatsoever. I'm not sure whether this was coincidence or done deliberately to discourage us from darkening their doorstep again (both literally and figuratively).

The 2 mains plus one glass of house red and some water cost £40, which seemed rather expensive, but I can say with honesty that the memory of the experience will last long after the cost is forgotten.
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 2
Saturday, December 15, 2007