Gianni's Italian Bistro — Restaurant in Heath

On this rainy Saturday I finally had my first opportunity to try Gianni’s in Heath. This new restaurant opened at the beginning of the year and got bad luck being hit by the pandemic shutdowns before they really got going. They are next to the new Tom Thumb, if you don’t like to google directions.

On today’s visit we arrived around 1:45pm and sadly, were the only patrons in the restaurant. No other customers came into the business during the hour and fifteen minutes we spent there. This particularly broke my heart.

Service was prompt and attentive, after all, we were the only ones. Bread basket was huge, fresh, and unlimited. If you like the bread style and taste at Luigi’s in Rockwall you will love it here as it’s nearly identical.

We ordered side salads, which were fresh and crispy. No complaints with anything, really, the modern/minimalistic decor and ambience was fine. The place was very very clean. Still looks brand new. Italian music echoed off the empty tables and chairs.

But the Star of the show, pictured, was the main dish. Spicy Chicken Pesto. 🔥🤩

This. Was. Amazing. Bursting with flavor. BOLD. Unbelievable texture. Savory, juicy chicken and roasted peppers. Every bite was so good, you felt guilty. This is a showstopper pasta. Worth the trip. Seriously. Hop in your car. Now. Right now.

And easily worth the price at $14.95

To be honest I could barely finish this pasta, and if I was a better man I would’ve only eaten half of it and taken it home for leftovers. But I couldn’t resist. Helplessly, my hands continued to shovel bite after bite of delectable spicy, savory, creamy pasta into my mouth. I didn’t want to leave a single milliliter of sauce on the bowl. Even when the pasta was gone I found myself savagely wiping up the sauce remnants with a part of the complementary bread. I became a glutton.

It was glorious.

Despite the lapse and health-conscious judgment, I felt completely satisfied, if not a little upset with myself, for not having come in here sooner. Then it set in, that many people have probably never even tried this place whatsoever, much less in the middle of this wild national situation. I hope that this empty eatery, while nearby Chick-fil-A had literally 80 cars wrapped around the entire building at the same moment, will not be the reality for them much longer. 

This is a place that deserves your business, deserves to make it. Please give them a try. I’m so glad that I did. I’m only sorry I didn’t...

Although we went for dinner I was surprised that only 4 other ppl were there - probably should have been a big clue as to why. Service was great but we could see the staff were bored for a lack of customer's. Apparently pizza is a big seller since so many walked in for pizza pick up. We had the meal of Manicotti, Lasagna and cannelloni. It came baked in an oval dish covered in cheese and sauce. I really couldn’t tell which one I was eating at any given time because it was so thick with sauce and cheese. My husband said his was okay but it tasted like one big manicotti with nothing distinguishable. It was unbelievably salty. I’m not a salt free person but I honestly couldn’t get past the high salt content and it ruined a rather horribly put together Italian meal. We had ordered salads and the dressing was “tomatoes with basil and vinegar”. I was thinking it would be fresh tomatoes, basil and vinegar. Nope. It was like catsup. It was tomato sauce, basil and vinegar. It tastes like nasty, sweet catsup so I just pushed it to the side. My husband ordered a Bloody Mary and it came with a skewer of 2 large green olives and a pepperoni. Nice right? Nope. He took a bite of the green olive and said “I don’t think I’ve ever eaten an olive that has no taste”. So I bit into the other and it tasted like water. Not salty. Not bitter. It was like it had been cured in water. Never heard of a bar serving an olive that wasn’t salty since they usually like anything salty in their drinks to make ppl order more drinks. Should have put the olive in the salty food to give it flavor. Won’t...

So, let me tell you about our experience at Gianni's. We walked in. The place was empty, while the neighboring restaurant was packed. That should have been the first warning that we had made poor decisions in our lives. We were immediately sat at a table that was not clean. The surface was not only sticky, but there were very fine particles on it. Despite the very sparse dining room, the level of noise is surprisingly loud. Our waiter was seemingly incapable of speaking above a whisper, even when I asked him to speak up as I was having difficulty hearing him. When our drinks were brought to the table the waiter spilled tea on me, the table, and my menu. He then half heartedly mumbled something and walked away. I assumed he was going to get a towel, but he promptly walked over to another table to take them their bread and I had to specifically ask him for a towel to clean up the mess that he had just caused. A second server brought us a basket of bread and appetizer plates. The plate that was handed to my wife had a chunk of something about the size of a chickpea stuck to it. Not a big deal, the plate was then replaced. With another plate with a sizeable chip taken out of the rim. Having worked in food service when I was younger, this is a huge no no. This provides an avenue for bacteria to grow and is specifically covered in any food handling safety course. Then my daughter looked at her plate. It also had food stuck to it. Anyway. We left. Would...