Giovanna's

01/12/11

Really good!

by JDoming at Citysearch

In my opinion the restaurant is amazing and the price and the ambiance are really good. Besides the pizza (great!) you must try the homemade Spinach Ravioli.

For the cold days the lentil soup is delicious! As a starter I suggest the eggplant parmegiano: absolutely delicious!!! If you want to try a dessert I really recommend the Key Lime Tart: wonderful!

It is a very nice place to go, but if you decide to order you won't be disappointed: they are fast, the food is always fresh and hot. I've ordered several times with my husband, and it is always a good experience.

I really recommend it!

11/26/10

tired of servers writing their own reviews

by marinablue at Citysearch

if you've written a good review of this not authentic italian restaurant, in my opinion "YOU WORK THERE" OR OWN IT.. SAVE YOUR MONEY .

i was not impressed with the food at all, i made the server take back roar veal,,smelly seafood.. they just removed the pasta and sauce and brought back the same smelly seafood.. i hate to make a scene at a dining experience but this was an experience i will never repeat again at Giovana's

12/30/09

I beg to differ

by tmas at Citysearch

Visited this place with my wife recently. I ordered the seafood linguini and told the waiter I didn't want any butter on it. In my opinion no authentic Italian restaurant puts butter in it's seafood pasta anyway but I just wanted to be sure. The pasta arrived and smelled and tasted overwhemingly like...Butter! I sent it back and waited while my wife tried to eat slowly and when my dish came back out it tasted much less like butter but still had butter in it! Didn't want to cause a scene so I ate the seafood and left the pasta. Hey it's my pasta, who's gonna eat it anyway!

• Cons: Food was OK but no memorable, Kitchen don't listen.

05/02/09

THE BEST ITALIAN FOOD

by ChristineV at Citysearch

This restaurant is outstanding and one of my favorites. I'm one of the few people born and raised in NYC and I have seen good Italian restaurants disappear. Giovanna's captures what a good Italian meal should taste like. I've tried almost everything on the menu, and I can honestly say it's all delicious. Their marinara sauce is fresh, light, and savory. Infact, you can taste the freshness in everything. From appetizers to dessert, you will be pleased with these simple, yet good portion dishes. The ambiance is great, the service, and the price. It is truely a nice experience, and so refreshing to see this business in East Harlem. I can't say nice enough things about it! OH!!! Their pizza is AMAZING too. So don't discriminate b/c it's Uptown, it's worth the trip I promise!

• Pros: EVERYTHING!
• Cons: THEY NEED MORE BUSINESS so help them!

01/25/09

PLEASE give Giovanna's a Chance!

by abarker324 at Citysearch

I have honestly NEVER written a review on a website before but I loved my meal here so much and I want this place to succeed so badly that I felt I had to write this. I ate here for the first time tonight. I have always been a big fan of Nick's on the Upper East Side (94th and 2nd Ave.) and the head chef, Divino, is a former Nick's chef. Giovanna's is in fact named after his adorable 10 year old daughter. We got the Grilled Portobello Mushroom salad (similar to Nick's Frankie Portobello but BETTER as the chef changed the dressing slightly and almost HALF the price!) and it was divine! Then we split the chicken marsala. The chicken was perfectly cooked, and the ingredients were clearly high quality and fresh. It was SO GOOD! We got the tiramisu for dessert and it was huge! It was made on site and delicious!!! I'm Italian and this food was truly excellent. The couple next to use ordered a pizza and it looked wonderful.

The ambiance was great. I know some people have criticized it for the lighting being too bright but where we sat it was quite romantic and certainly not bright at all. The restaurant is in two parts and we sat in the part with the bar which is a bit bigger and would be great for date night. Divino explained to us the the other part of the restaurant which is a bit smaller is sometimes rented out for parties and is especially great for kids because they can see how they make the pizza and sometimes especially for birthday parties they will let children learn to make their own pizza!

I would highly recommend Giovanna's. We are definitely going to become regulars. The service was not the best but just fine. Their wine selection is beautifully picked and very well priced. I got a VERY generous glass of exceptional chianti for 6.50. Their prices are perfect, not cheap but definitely not overpriced. This is fabulous for the neighborhood and I sincerely hope they make it.GIVE it A CHANCE!! It's THE neighborhood spot we've been waiting for!

• Pros: Great Ambience, Honest Food, Fabulous Wine Selection, GREAT prices!
• Cons: A bit out of the way for some but worth the trip, staff could be better but still super nice