Giovanni's Italian Deli/Pasta — Restaurant in Gladstone

Walked in and at the front counter was a girl who acted like she was pulling teeth to take our order. Ordered the Special of the day Chicken Parmesan with Garlic bread. My wife ordered the Lasagne and my son ordered the fettuccine Alfredo. My Daughter ordered the Turkey sandwich. We thought we would enjoy some Fried mushrooms as well the total was about $47. The service at the table was nice the lady who brought our food was very nice and made sure we had everything we needed. The presentation of the food was well... Truck stop Paper plates and plasticware. Not what I expected but Ok we went with it. The food was ok looking it was huge portions the pasta portions covered the plates and the sandwich was thick with meat and looked fresh as well. I ate my first bite and was greatly disappointed, The sauce was tomato paste with a little parsley or oregano what ever it was there was no taste to it. The fried mushrooms were way over cooked and they tasted like the oil was way too old. I tasted the rubber freezer burned chicken patty fried in the same old oil as the mushrooms and it was inedible. The chicken in the patty was processed and you could taste the freezer burn even when it was cooked. I couldn't eat my food as I hit a few really sour spots in the dry sticky pasta on top of the over sweet tomato paste flavor of the sauce. I set my plate aside and ate the bread that was pretty good. I tried my daughters sandwich and was again disappointed that the meat was processed and the turkey was super salty, the pepperoni was sour tasting and the tomato tasted old as if it were ready to spoil. The alfredo was good according to my son and wife. They also said that the lasagne was ok and when I tasted that it was smothered in the same sauce as mine. We had high hopes based on the positive reviews we saw online about this place and yet we found none of them to be true. As growing up with Italian food a staple I found the food to be just horrible. I will go to Fazoli's for my next pasta outing if you want decent Italian food I urge you to...

I had chicken fettuccini alfredo. They said the noodles were made in-house, and they weren't bad. They put way too much sauce, though. And the alfredo sauce was not really creamy, but more lumpy. It wasn't horrible or anything, but it's nothing great, either. The chicken was fairly tough and tasted more like chicken you'd get in a frozen dinner rather than the tender chicken I was expecting. It came with a few slices of grilled bread. I won't judge all the food at this little eatery based on my one meal choice. I'm sure they have better stuff on the menu.

I paid over $11 for this meal, though, which seemed pretty high, especially considering it did not include a drink. They charge 25 cents for a cup of water, which I think is a cheapskate move on their part.

The people working were friendly and the location was clean. It had really weird decor choices, though. Half of the decor was framed posters about people or places in Italy, written in Italian. The other half of the decor was KC Royals stuff. Plus they have a TV like a sports bar. Even if you eat in, they still serve the food on a disposable plate with plastic silverware, so it's not like this place has any ambiance anyway. I think they need to drop the Italian...

Update. Tried them out again... First off the packaging is still outdated. With the advancement of plastic packaging (Recyclable) it should render wrapping a styrofoam in Saran Wrap obsolete. Safer and better for the environment♻️. After unwrapping the Saran Wrap you're left with sauce leaking under the Styrofoam. I would prefer to have all the sauce in the container instead of having to wipe the bottom and or place it on something to keep the sauce from being all over my table or lap for those that watch TV while eating. 🤷‍♂️ Onto the food...... The fettuccine alfredo was good yet generic as before. Also the portion sizes seem to have shrunk more for the prices. (I get more pasta in a frozen meal.) The Lasagna reminds you of Stouffer's. Poppers & Mushrooms were really good. Portion size is not close to the other Drive-Thru Italian Restaurant near by. Price wise going to the other one is a better value. They don't have the sides though. Personally I will continue to visit the "Dominic's" with the secure packaging and Spiedini option Gio's is lacking. I might eat here again down the road but, not anytime soon. Highly recommend just getting the Mushrooms or...