Giovanni's Italian Restaurant

Excellent #highly recommended#good food#kid friendly#reasonable prices#good ambiance#friendly staff#must try

I frequently eat lunch here. The lunch special, a slice of pizza and a salad, is an exceptional value. Service is usually very good, though occasionally we've gotten the "new person" who needs a bit more training. Try the Garlic Knots, too... they are to die for.



I've occasionally taken guests here for dinner in the evening. The food has always been good and a moderate value for the price.



I have been told "word of mouth" that things may "slow down" and quality may degrade a bit in the evenings when the manager leaves, though I've not had this direct experience.



All in all, very good.

This past weekend we dined at Giovanni's in Lake Mary. We were greeted by a friendly, but very casually dressed hostess who seated us in the front part of the restaurant right next to the bar (not recommended if you want to talk to the other people atyour table). The meal itself was average for an Italian restaurant/pizzeria, but a horrible incident and the way it was handled will preclude us from ever dining at any of their restaurants again.



One of the hostesses had placed their cup of water on the ledge between the podium and our table and inadvertently knocked it off the ledge and onto my head. As if that wasn't bad enough, her reaction was to exclaim, "good thing it's only water." When the waitress arrived, she attempted to assist with drying me off and was astute enough to see that I was not pleased. She approached the manager/owner (who was making pizzas at the time) and explained what had happened. Not only did he ignore the problem, he never even stopped by our table with an acknowledgment.



It is obvious that this restaurant is poorly run and in need of better management and ownership. The lack of concern that they show for their customers will eventually catch up to them. We don't expect the owners of a small pizzeria to be top-notch managers and restauranteurs, but their manager/owner makes the overnight manager at the Waffle House look good.



Word to the wise: your food isn't anything we can't get in a hundred other places in and around Lake Mary - you need to take better care of your customers!