Gianni Ristorante — Restaurant in Cheltenham

When family member, visiting Cheltenham as part of his birthday celebrations, said he would like “Italian” for his celebratory birthday dinner, my first reaction was Gianni’s. I have been there many times and thoroughly enjoyed it.. but the rest of the family hadn’t eaten there before but trusted my judgement and so a table for four was booked. Although I was confident in my suggestion – I did feel a bit of responsibility – but I needn’t have worried. The evening was simply superb. Our table was in the upstairs section of the restaurant… which was lovely and warm on a somewhat chilly Saturday night. The welcome was equally warm. We all selected different starters and there were three different main courses. In the past I have been known to look enviously at the plate of my dining companions thinking “I wish I had ordered that”. That was not the case in Gianni’s. Each one of the four of us were delighted with our selections. The starters were generously sized and each of declared that they were wonderful. The bruschetta was generously topped with tomatoes and herbs but not too much oil. My choice, deep-fried mozzarella, was equally delicious and came with a delicious home-made tomato-sauce for dipping and a crisp fresh side salad. The ham and melon was light and fresh but the star of the starters had to be the seafood salad. Again, a generous portion with an astonishing variety of seafood. For main courses two people had opted for the Medaglione and each of them said the steak was superbly cooked and that the sauce the best they had tasted. My choice of the Pollo Valdostana was also magnificent and the last member of our group said the Risotto Finanzier wonderful. However, a special mention has to go to the vegetables which accompanied the main courses. They were, without doubt, the best accompaniments we have had. The small roast potatoes were cooked to utter perfection. The broccoli was piping hot but still crunchy and the roasted peppers were again cooked and hot, but still sweet and crunchy with just the tiniest bit of wonderfully-flavoured oil in the bottom of the drizzled on top of them. Again, plates were cleared and drinks replenished and plenty of time given to us to decide firstly if we wanted desert… (we were all full to be brim from the starters and mains… but the desert menu looked so appetising that we couldn’t resist…) Our group had the fruits of the forest pannacotta; tiramisu; Cannolo Siciliano and the Semifreddo Torroncino. We are all blessed with excellent table manners… but it was very difficult not to lick the bowls clean or scrape the pattern off the plate…. The evening was rounded off with a bottle of fizz and excellent coffees. As a group, when settling the bill, we all prefer to leave a cash tip (because we’re never quite sure if “electronic tips” ever make it into the hands of the people it is intended for). The waiter, having brought the card payment machine over, immediately saw we had left cash and instantly pressed buttons to ensure that we weren’t “electronically asked” for a gratuity. A very small thing – but a great indication of the excellent service provided by the staff. With regard to the cash tip (which was deliberately generous) we made a specific request be shared by the waiters AND the kitchen staff – and also made a point of asking that the Chef and his team be thanked for an exquisite meal. This was greeted by a broad smile and genuine pleasure that we had clearly had such an enjoyable meal at Gianni’s. If ever you find yourself in Cheltenham… and are looking for an excellent meal – I heartily recommend this genuinely “family-run” restaurant which offers food of the finest quality, service of a quite exceptional standard and a really lovely...

Lovely Italian restaurant, delighted that it's reopened after the recent fire.

The decor really feels like a quaint traditional Italian restaurant, it's a shame that after the fire the specials blackboard has gone, but this is explained by hand at your table by your eloquent Italian host instead (just make sure everyone is paying attention). Keep in mind if you're used to the Italian chain restaurants with their BOGOF deals etc that this is quite expensive, but i believe they do have a cheaper lunch option (not tried).

3 Standout Good Things/Things to try:

My personal recommendation is the most expensive option on the menu, but the fillet steaks they serve are amazing. I particularly enjoyed the one served with a red wine sauce, topped with pate on a bed of a slice of toast (it works trust me) The roast potatoes they serve are cooked with rosemary and taste amazing The owner has a huge love of smoked salmon, it's not on the main menu, but if it's on as a special it's likely to be worth having. Mine was awesome.

3 Areas that could be improved:

Option to have deserts made without alcohol. We went with a number of people who don't​ drink, but their dessert options were very limited as a result. For me it wasn't an issue, but with many people needing to avoid alcohol nowadays it's worth bearing in mind The return of the specials board - we were in quite a large group so it was difficult for everyone to hear the specials when they were called out. What would finish this restaurant off perfectly would be some traditional Italian music and if they really wanted to go for it live background music would be amazing. (Think Lady andthe Tramp)

PARKING TIP Not really a restaurant improvement,, but the car park at the front now charges until 8pm (no doubt making the most of the success of the nearby restaurant). It's worth knowing that the local on street parking is free from 6pm though so if you drive around you should be able to find something

AMAZING BONUS POINT I felt this needed mentioning because of how impressed I was. We had an elderly member of our party and the waitress was so good that she even helped cut up her meal for her. This really took me back and I think everyone was so delighted with this wonderful gesture. I'm not sure whether this is the level of service staff are trained to or whether this was a random act of kindness, but either way I thought this was above and beyond. Well done

I like to try and include 3 points in each category for my main reviews and so the negatives and positives should really be taken in the context of the whole review.

In the case of Gianni's, this restaurant really is amazing and those areas of improvement really are nit picking (the last point is very subjective as I know some people will love that there isn't any music at all). It certainly hasn't (and won't) put me off going time and time again and definitely shouldn't put you off giving one of the best Italian Restaurants in...

My partner and I went for a meal at Gianni on Friday night for the second time. The first time we didn't enjoy the food at all. We gave it a second try after it was recommended by a good friend. The experience we received on our second visit was disgusting. We sent the mains back straight away as it wasn't to our taste. The restaurant showed zero hospitality. No apology was made nor was any action taken place to rectify the situation. We received the bill for the full amount. Both mains charged full rate even though we had turn them back straight away. My partner asked the waiter why we are paying full price for something we both didn't enjoy. The waiter sent the manager over who said "we can't do anything, my chefs are good so if you didn't enjoy the food it's not our concern". He was arrogant and rude. Strong smell of cigarettes that was coming from is the last thing you want in a restaurant. After we had paid the full amount he escorted us to the door and used his foot to kick open the door in order to let us out. This was the worst experience we have both received and I believe it...