Giovanni's — Restaurant in North Devon

A lovely little eatery opposite the theatre which would be a great start or end to any show that you choose to see.

The entry was pleasant although its unusual being beckoned to a table by the waiting staff, who on reflection was being friendly but I'm just not accustomed to that methodology for getting people to a table.

I sat in a quiet section of the layout and sat and took in all the pictures and nick naks that filled any space that might otherwise have looked bare.

I was presented with the wine list and chose a bottle of the house red - the Sicilia Nero D"Avola, which I had not had before, but was full bodied and at the right temperature.

For the starter I had the Bruscetta (spelt Bruschetta normally) and pronounced it with an "H" to have it parroted back in an accent that made the "C" a hard C and missed out the H altogether, but thats great, I love learning. This little starter, coveted by many a tomato eating European, had a lovely flavour with the Oregano giving the floral note and the garlic giving that little punch you are looking for with this peasants dish. A smidgen of black freshly milled pepper was added by the lady waiter and i was left to inhale my food, being as hungry as i was.

For the main i had the Risotto Pescatora. This came out very quickly after the starter was taken away, which made me feel a little rushed, but i sat and quietly ate this rice dish laden with a flavour of the sea. Again i was offered fresh pepper and a funky electronic device despatched the pecorino cheese liberally over my meal. The plate was oozing fishy appeal and the flavour combinations were really good.

After the main, i was quickly offered the dessert menu but took my time and didn't order anything for another 20 mins.

For my dessert i had the Italian Crumble cake with vanilla ice cream. A light, soft and sweet custardy wedge of goodness was delivered, along with a bitter double espresso, went great together and was finished off with gusto.

On paying and leaving, it was only on getting back to my hotel that i noted i had been charged too much for the wine and also for the main.

So this is my main gripe, that along with having the feeling of being rushed throughout the meal.

Would i return - yes Would i double check my bill before...

Nice little place, but a few thing about my experience dragged it down to 2 stars.

I felt unwelcome from the start from the manager.. as if I was an inconvenience rather than a valued customer. I was a single diner compared to couples and groups which may have been a reason? He was my head server but ignored me most of the night?

To start.. he walked off when I said I was good to order.. he gave me smile but didn't say a word. He just walked off without saying a word? He did come back to take my order, which is fair enough.. but felt weird after being ignored first time round. Then as I ate, I asked for a few drinks during my meal. The first time I asked he didn't even acknowledge me. Just looked away and walked off. Then shortly after he asked a colleague to come to me. So not even an "ok" or "no problem" after I asked for a drink ? Unusual to just get someone turn away and not even an acknowledgement?

In general these are minor things, but I kinda spoilt the eating experience.

Starter was presented nice. But bruschetta should definitely be made with better quality fresh tomatoes. These were pale and a little tasteless. The bread, oil and seasoning just about rescued it.

For mains I went for a house pizza. Tasted good so no complaints about the taste. But the quality was very very average. If I wasn't hungry I would have been very close to leaving to be honest. It looked almost like it came straight out of a wetherspoons oven. Ingredients were ok, but definitely not a fresh dough base sadly, clearly a perfect circle base made in a factory then straight out of the freezer here. Was hoping for better quality going to an Italian, even if its not a specialty pizzaria restaurant. I hope the...

Service totally let the evening down. Originally tried to book a table for 8pm, got offered 9pm instead. We arrived and hadn't even taken our coats off before we were asked to order. Ordered drinks and asked for a few minutes to decide on food, we were abruptly advised by the waitress that we needed to order now as the kitchen was closing. We rushed an order for starters and main, not even having chance to properly read what we were ordering and given more time, they'd of probably had sides out of us too. The stater arrived, one was good, the garlic mushrooms however were very disappointing. We hadn't even finished the starter before she came to clear our plates and bring the mains. Whilst this was happening a couple arrived who had not booked and asked if there was a table, a waiter said he'd check with the kitchen before coming back and saying they could eat - why were we rushed if people were being seated 20 minutes later. The mains were good so the service really let that down. The waitress had been hovering and before we could even put our cutlery down she was clearing the plates and asking 'do you want anything else or just the bill'. We would have had desserts but did not want to spend any more money there just to feel like we were being rushed/watched. The waitress did apologise for the rush when she bought the bill (probably in the hope for a tip) and I then asked why we were rushed when others were seated so much later, she didn't really have a response. The service totally ruined the evening and also meant we didn't spend half the time or money there that we usually would. Huge disappointment especially when most the...