Giovanni's Ristorante & Lounge — Restaurant in Qualicum Beach

My wife and I went to Giovanni to celebrate our anniversary and my birthday and were really looking forward to a great evening and meal. We had been in their pizzeria a few times and really enjoyed their products. This time, after reading an article in the local paper, decided to try the restaurant. Our server advised that one of their special was the lobster fettuccine, which had also been mentioned in the newspaper article. We both decided to order that. After the very attentive server had brought us the appetizers we had also ordered, he presented the main dish. A plate of fettuccine with a creamy white sauce topped by a small lobster tail. At first I did not notice the difference between my wife's and mine. My tail was sweet and with a firm texture , as you would expect. My wife's on the other hand, was "mushy"..... After a few minutes she expressed her disappointment and when the server came around she explained her issue. The server apologized and, although, he was not sure of the actual problem, he said he would bring a new lobster tail. Never mind that in the meantime, her fettuccine were getting cold, the biggest disappointment came when the new tail was EQUALLY as bad as the first one. My wife did not eat her meal and the server did not charge for it. Aside from a disappointing evening of what was to be a celebration, our main concern is that clearly the cook did not actually take the time to ensure the replacement tail was good. I understand that a small restaurant like Giovanni, cannot afford to have live lobsters BUT at the very least they should ensure that the frozen tail they use come from a reputable supplier and when they see how the tail is after been cooked and ready to be placed on their main course, they should abstain from using it. Considered this was/is one their feature dish, they should pay a bit more attention to the product they serve. 2 bad tails out of 3? Definitely NOT acceptable! As the service was great, we did not penalize the waiter......just left...

I went here on Friday July 18th 2025 we sat in the dining room. We asked to order pizza(originally the menu wasn't given to us) we had to ask for pizza menu- then when we asked server said "oo the pizza is going to take 40 to 45 mins". ( Which made me think he didn't want us to order it) but eventually we did and I asked for a veggie and my husband ordered Hawaiian. When pizza came he got my order wrong and got the medetrainnan inst4ad which had beef in it ( I ate a bite and noticed it and thoight maybe it's vegan meat?) Then he got busy and didn't come to table till my husband was more then 1/2 done his pizza he apologized and put in the correct pizza then he said o because of your accent I didn't hear you lol ( I am born in Canada) I dont have an accent but anyway I know they sound familiar. I wouldn't have even written this review if they had atleast discounted us or offered us a free pizza as I waited till everyone eas done and rushed to finish my pizza while my kids and husband waited. Atleast they could have compensated us for making me wait or discounted us. But nothing at all was done. So we didn't even say anything paid the bill as per normal and left. Just no consideration for getting an order wrong and no compensation. We are out of town people who got an air b n b near by and the owners recommended the "pizza' which was great but I ate my kids food before my pizza even arrived. And the other pizza with meat was taken away. He shud have or Offered for us to take it home as 1 slice was eaten by my husband. They were probably going to throw it...

I'm having a tricky time rating this place, honestly. It wasn't that it was bad, but it didn't meet my expectations.

My expectations were that it was a "fancy Italian place" and... It isn't.

Anton's pasta, for example, makes their own pasta and has maybe 40 options, and Shady rest, for comparison, is fancier in atmosphere, service, and menu options. Both are less expensive, and not marketed as "fancy"

Entrees Giovanni's has more of a Boston pizza kind of menu, but with cloth napkins and mood lighting.

The menu is about 80% pizzas, with 3 basic pasta dishes made with grocery store ingredients.

They do not have manicotti, lasagna, etc, do not make their own pasta, and do not bake their items in cheese, nor have niche options like pine nuts, lobster ravioli etc.

There were also no fish dishes, steaks, or other items mentioned on the website. I am assuming new management, or outdated website?

Salad There are salads, but no cob salads, and white spot has better options.

Appetizers There are basic appetizers, eg breaded mozzarella, and prawns, similar to Boston pizza.

Desserts The desserts were fine, but include tacky dollar store biscuits which cheapened the feel.

Service The servers were nice, the dishes were mostly clean, and most, but not all of the staff's clothing appeared to have been recently washed.

All in all, the food was basic, and fine, and we spent about $75 per person including dessert. We did not...