Giovanni's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Lampasas

Our waitress was sweet, the pizza was decent, and the plain bread was good, but those were the only positives in our experience.

In order of how it happened: The music is in the kitchen only instead of also dining room so it's extremely quiet and you can hear every conversation. They have several types of wines but not a basic sauvignon blanc, and only lawnmower beers, nothing outside of the basics. When ordering, I asked about getting a side caesar salad instead of a house salad as the side and was told she could give me a house salad tossed in caesar dressing.. no, thanks.

We ordered chicken alfredo with a side house salad, lobster & shrimp ravioli (declined the salad), and a pepperoni pizza. We got waters and a sprite (Starry was brought out).

The salad showed up quick, included 1/2 brown & wilted lettuce, a single tomato slice, about a tsp of shredded carrots, and a cup of what I think was Hidden Valley ranch. We didn't bother to try it due to the condition of the lettuce. The plain bread was fresh feeling/tasting, we all enjoyed it so we ate that.

The food came out pretty quickly, so that was appreciated. The pizza was tasty, I'd eat that again if it wasn't for the rest of this mess. The alfredo was pretty bland and tasted like it came straight from a jar, the chicken on top tasted like it was marinated in lime/citrus juice, but the hair in the dish put a very quick stop to the consumption of that dish. To be fair, we brought the hair in this dish to the attention of our waitress who was very apologetic and comped the dish with no question.

The ravioli meal had a small amount of good lobster & shrimp that was cooked well, but the sauce was (again) pretty bland and tasted like it's straight out of a jar.

I had intended to bring the 1/2 pizza home for leftovers since there hadn't been issues with it. I asked for a to-go box and when I opened it, it was very obviously a recycled/previously used box, including the paper insert that had cut lines on it and crumbs all over it from the last pizza that was inside.

We called it a done deal, paid our tab and tipped based on the full original tab because our waitress was very sweet and attentive. This was our first and last attempt at...

The food didn't make anyone sick but that's the only reason this isn't a one star. The service was terrible. My children and I go out on Tuesdays for dinner. We like to mix it up so we tried this place. I really didn't like the other location in cove but I wanted to give this location a try because I love local places.

We play cards while we wait for food and while we eat because families on their cell phones instead of spending quality time makes me sad. We don't stay for hours but we do enjoy our meal and conversation. The staff literally made fun of us within ear shot of our table. To give one simple quote we were "wasting their time". That wasn't the only rude comment but you get the idea.

We ordered four meals to eat in house with one appetizer and a meal to go with an extra cost add on soup. Our food was mediocre but fine. It came warm and fast enough. We were brought bread after the food came and our appetizer didn't come until after the food came and we were almost finished eating. A few more snide comments floated over and I was getting annoyed. I was craving some tiramisu so I ordered some. It was frozen on top and the bottom was hot. It was weird but I figure it's probably purchased which is really okay cause I wanted something sweet.

I asked for a to go container and our to go order and asked for the appetizer to go as well. I paid for our meal took our stuff and left. When I got home I went to pack my lunch and the 3$ upgrade soup wasn't there.

I called and was told I could return for the missed item but I was already home and they were not even going to be open. Why in the world would I return?

Just don't go. If your looking for good Italian food there are...

We've lived in Lampasas 3 months and hadn't tried Giovanni's until last Sunday. As of tonight we've now gone 3 times! It's that good. Calamari is crisp on the outside, tender on the inside. Pasta is just amazing! Marinara has a bit of a kick. The steaks are cooked perfectly. The hot bread served with each meal...oh man is it good. They have a large bar selection with specialty cocktails. Most of all, the food is hot and fresh. All the veggies are crisp, nothing is swimming in sauce and the food tastes wonderful. Out of all 3 visits, tonight's service from Grace was the best!

Update 2/12/25 - the food is still wonderful. New menu item, Shrimp Capri, was fantastic. Fresh asparagus and the sauce was so light and perfect. Lots of really nice sized shrimp. I neglected to get a photo, but it was plated beautifully. They had Valentines Day cocktails that were yummy. Our server was a sassy young lady named Katelyn who was just adorable. Great service. Ask for her next...