Giovanni's Restaurant — Restaurant in Ottawa

Yesterday my daughter booked us a family dinner to celebrate my birthday at Giovanni. It was my first visit and probably the last. My daughter called in to let the restaurant know that we would be coming 15 minutes late due to some traffic as a courtesy to the restaurant reservation and when we arrived, everything was rushed through. Our server (he has a foreign European accent) was very rude to us and we are not sure why (perhaps because we asked that our food to not have any wine ?) We were really nice to him but he seemed to not care about giving us a good experience. We asked if he could take a picture of us because it's my birthday and he dismissed us and told us to take pictures later and order now. Even when he was taking our order he was rushing through (remember this is the first time we're here so we didn't know the menu and the lights were very dim to read). While we were getting the orders, they put bread and butter. No olive oil and balsamic until we had to ask. We asked for NO alcohol content but the balsamic was smelling of alcohol. We were put on two different tables since the "Ontario law says we can only have 4 per table" but we didn't get olive oil and balsamic till we had to ask for the other table as well. They also had lemon pieces on my kids' table but didn't offer my husband and I any when we sat on a separate table and when I asked for some lemon slices, they wanted to take some from my kid's table and put it on mine! Also, water is usually complementary since we asked for regular water but when the bill came my daughter was surprised that the water bill alone was $30! They didn't even tell us that they'd be serving water as extra due to COVID.

Now for the food, we were disappointed. We saw the food in their social media and it looks high end with good plating and the reviews were good too so we had high expectations. Everyone said Giovanni was the best restaurant in Preston but we don't understand why. The dish my husband and I were good but the presentation was zero. Doesn't look like it's coming from a fine dining restaurant. Mine needed some extra seasoning and olive oil to taste better. My two adult sons ordered chicken and they said it tasted like fish. Presentation for their dish was horrible. And my daughter ordered squid pasta which after 4 rounds of pepper and salt seasoning was ok. Some of her calamaris were bad and too chewy but octopus (her plate) and mussels (from my plate) were very good. It was the first time eating mussels and they were delicious no sea taste.

The owner was nice he came to ask about our food and we were trying to be nice and said it was good. We didn't really want to mess up our night with being negative so we just let go but remembering how our server was treating my daughter very rudely made me upset. I don't think we deserved such low class treatment! Also I don't think the quality and presentation of the food that we experienced yesterday matches what is promoted on Instagram and advertising. We also didn't appreciate that we had to split tables instead of all 5 of us being close together for dinner. I get the COVID law but it was annoying to have us being split and not being able to socialize as one proper...

First and probably last time going to this restaurant. Excellent food however bad service. I appreciate the gesture of taking my coat but when I left I noticed there was a grease stain on it so now I have to get that dry cleaned and my jacket is expensive.Have also only worn it a hand full of times..now let’s dive in more to the service. Everything was very fast and rarely announced when bread was being set on the table etc. When I said water was just fine I was questioned as to why I’m not ordering something else for a beverage from the wine/cocktail menu..I was really taken aback by this question as it is none of their business (I cannot drink alcohol for medical reasons). The question made me feel uncomfortable as it did my friend. When we were both finished our meals my friends was completely gone and mine was half left. When plates were taken away the person did not ask if I wanted mine thrown out or taken to go which was very odd. They just assumed I wanted mine thrown out. Very disappointed about that seeing as the food was amazing and I was paying for it to be thrown out? When dessert was chosen we got questioned initially why we didn’t choose something else and again my friend and I felt uncomfortable..didn’t seem like light humour it just felt like we were being judged. And to top it all off again we both finished our dessert..my friends was completely gone and mine was half there. I mentioned to my friend I hope he asks this time if I want to take it to go as I’m paying for it..and of course the person tries to speed away with both plates and my friend says hey sorry can we actually get that half of one taken to go because AGAIN the person did not ask me. The persons facial expression was a shoot of ‘really?’ And replied sure. That made me feel even more uncomfortable dining there and my friend looked back and said is asking for food to go not okay here? AGAIN felt like I was being judged.Because every other restaurant always asks us if we want our food to go if it’s not finished. Oh also not to mention this is supposed to be somewhat of a “dressy casual” type of dining ambiance especially on the weekend and the person sitting across from us was wearing a muscle shirt, how would they allow someone to dine with that attire? No class and...

We were celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary and had taken great effort to make this a special day with our friends. As I have to follow a special diet, I discussed this in detail with the manager. I thought I had gone over all of the details of the menu that I was going to be offered and was thrilled. I had been promised grilled veal, a baked potato, asparagus and carrots. I appreciated that they provided me with hummus for my salad and that I was able to obtain a salad without any of the ingredients that can cause issues. When my main course arrived, I was stunned to see the brown grilled veal and the brown baked potato without the asparagus and carrots. I was expecting a more colorful plate and at least some kind of vegetable for the price being charged and the reputation of this establishment. I do not mind paying more for a special meal; however, this fell far behind my expectations. I also noticed that my food was lukewarm and when I asked our guests about their meal, I received the same comment about the coolness of their meal. Also, any of us who were served coffee received a very small cup of coffee that was also very lukewarm. We had provided the cake and we were told that there would be a $3.00 per person service fee. I would've thought that given the special occasion and the profit this restaurant makes by charging so much for these meals that this fee could have been waived; however, when speaking to the manager, I had indicated that my husband and I would absorb this cost. Lo and behold, this fee appeared on our guests' bill, much to our surprise. The last issue that we have is the fact that they automatically include a 15% gratuity without mentioning this before they presented everyone with their bill. I am sure that our guests were taken by surprise as a gratuity should be earned and not assumed.

Our server was quite pleasant, effective and good natured. However, given all the other issues, we do not plan on returning to this restaurant although we have been going there since 1983 when they opened. If you plan on charging so much for your food, the patrons should be able to expect excellence and this was, disappointingly...