Giovanni Restaurant — Restaurant in London

We called into the restaurant for some food for the children ( it was the only restaurant that we passed by that had tables free).

We ordered two meals (as they said there was no children’s menu). The manager (Vito) rolled his eyes and couldn’t hide his displeasure. There were 10+ empty tables inside throughout our stay.

One of the waiters put some Breads on the table ( we didn’t ask for it)..

We ordered sparkling water for the children and a bottle of house wine for myself and my wife ( we’d already eaten).

With the manager’s obvious displeasure in the back of my mind, we ordered three ice creams for the children.

When the bill came ( which should have been £70), I was shocked to see it over £100.

When the manager came over, I asked him to explain the bill to me.

He said:

There was a £10 charge for the small plate of breads ( that we didn’t ask for)

A £10 charge ‘for the table cloths!!!!!

And a £12 service charge.

I explained that we didn’t ask for the breads, but he said, very rudely that we had only ordered 2 meals and we were taking up space ( I made the point that there were 10+ spare tables and we were in the back of the restaurant, not outside the window).

He said these costs were in the restaurant’s terms and conditions ( they’re not, by the way).

I said, we are not paying the service charge if he is going to charge is those ridiculous costs ( normally we tip cash to the people who actually serve us).

I must say the during the conversation after that manager belittled us and was extremely rude. We have never been spoken to in such a way. He just didn’t seem to care and was extremely arrogant. A total disregard to customer service.

I did actually few sorry for the waiter and waitress (dressed in black) who were excellent at their job and very professional.

When I asked for the owner’s details, he was very reluctant and gave me a name (Toni).Then gave me one of the restaurant’s cards.

We paid the balance, sat there in shock for a couple of minutes and left.

The pasta, ice cream, wine and waiters were actually quite nice, but we’re obviously overshadowed by Vito’s lack of customer service, professionalism.

However,the manager should be severely reprimanded by the owner of the restaurant, as we have never been spoken to or treated in such a way in any restaurant we have been in throughout the world.

Absolutely shocking. I have never felt compelled to write a restaurant review before, but I have to make an exception here..

Felt completely judged by this restaurant manager- wish I’d made a complaint about the man who was stretched out and laying down at the back of the restaurant now!!

We have now read the other reviews- OWNERS need to do...

We arrived a bit later than we had booked the table. I had called and informed the restaurant about our delay and they told us as long as we are there by 7:30 it’s fine snd we were there before 7:20. The waiter pulled such a long face when he took us to our table which was quite rude, although I explained that I had called. Then he told me that we need the table by 8:30 which gave us an hour and 7 minutes! On the phone I asked them when they need our table back and they didn’t say anything! This was very sneaky and we worked out that it looks like they offer the table for hour and a half whereas any restaurant we have been to , including many Michelin star ones, they offer the table for 2 hours! Then they brought a tiny bread basket and charged £2 per head! There wasn’t £2 worth of bread in it! You are given that basket whether you asked for it or not! We ordered olives which never arrived and of course it was on the bill! They couldn’t wait to let us out quickly enough! The waiters were is such a hurry to serve and vacate tables , our food arrived in less 10 minutes. I felt like we are in a fast food restaurant.Whilst eating two guests arrived and I heard the waiter asking if they had booking and they said no and the waiter said we always have a table for you! I was gutted to see how they discriminate against new customers! This was our first and last time! Had we been treated more politely and respectfully we would have become a regular. The food was nice but the unpleasant experience and bad customer service overweighted the food quite heavily. We were charged 12.5% for the awful service too! Honestly they should leave the service to the customer or make it compulsory for bigger party size. The %age is matched with Michelin star restaurant whereas this is just a small local restaurant. This was meant to be my birthday celebration which was totally ruined. I won’t ...

Popped in with my partner for a quick meal after visiting V&A. We’re a young couple in our early to mid twenties.

Man who greeted/sat us was miserable and grumpy as hell. They put a bread basket on your table without asking, then added it to the bill.

Ordered just mains as didn’t like the look of us much else. My risotto was really nice. Partners orichette was ok, kinda bland. Took ages for them to arrive.

We then see more members of staff on the floor as the restaurant fills up a little, and start to hear every other customer get told the specials for that day (we didn’t get told the specials, and what have ordered them had we knew) as well as other customers receiving the big pepper mill treatment on their food from servers (we didn’t get this treatment).

Staff all looked pretty miserable apart from one female waitress who was very sweet, but apart from that, the service was fairly dire.

I would have ordered dessert but was put off by the grumpy man that initially seated us/took our orders etc and the general quality of service.

I asked for the service charge to be removed and gave my reasoning (we weren’t told what the specials are) and the guy ACTUALLY said to me “oh well, we were all on our break so”.

So what? The miserable bloke that seated us didn’t know the specials, or just didn’t care? Did he think perhaps that because we’re a young couple in an upmarket restaurant that we shouldn’t be taken seriously? I was astounded that he responded this way and not with “I’m so sorry about that ma’am, we’ll look into that” and instead tried to deflect and almost blame me.

Overpriced and pompous. Won’t...