Giabella's — Restaurant in Londonderry

Last night we went out for meal at Giabella's restaurant in Londonderry. We knew it was new and limited seating, about 50 including the bar so we went early at 5 PM. Parking here is very ample since it shares the lot in LaCarreta. To be honest, it looked like school was starting with the number of patrons heading in. There were a few tables, but we chose the bar which had only 2 people sitting when we sat within moments the bar was full as the restaurant was. There was also noticeable line outside waiting and it was only 5:15 PM. The environment the space is small, but the colors are bright, and light and the décor is tasteful, and it gives you a feeling of being in larger space. The tables are arranged with ample space, so it is easy to walk and is also accessible to wheelchair users, with no stairs. Service was excellent! Nick was the bartender and handling a full house and everything was running quickly and smoothly. I ordered a bottle of wine. Nick presented expertly and served me a taste. I raised the glass and attempted to smell the wine and what I smelled with Clorox. I did taste the wine, and it was fine and told him the wine was fine, and glass was certainly sanitized. He took the glass immediately and offered me another clean glass to smell and it didn’t have the Clorox smell nor did wife’s glass sitting next to me, my guess it was from its location in the glass washer. One of the owners, Robbin, still took both our glasses and hand rinse and dried them for us. I consider this way over and above and is one of the reasons this restaurant will be successful. When our meal was served my wife requested a little more Bolognese sauce and Nick brought a very generous portion again over and above expectations. We considered the food excellent! My wife had spaghetti Bolognase, and I had my Italian favorite Veal Parmigiana over Pasta. The portions were generous; in fact, our leftovers will be another meal for us sometime in the next few days. We both chose angle hair one of the more difficult pastas to cook and it was perfect. The veal melted in your mouth and the sauce to me was great. My family comes from southeast Italy, and this the type I was raised on and was made as good or maybe better than grandma’s. To summarize, the experience we were at restaurant that has only been open two weeks and was short staffed. Robbin said her daughter was the normal bartender but was working in the kitchen because they were short and Nick a bartender at another restaurant in Derry and a friend and was helping out and in our opinion the service was great and food was perfect! No doubt we will be back. Luckily it is only two miles...

My wife and I went to Giabella's in Londonderry for only our second night out since our baby was born and the experience was terrible. I had been very excited to try this place and was hoping to become a regular based on everything I had heard and all the great reviews, but this visit completely ruined that idea.

I ordered an old fashioned and it came with soda water which is not traditional. The waitress was condescending and insisted it was standard. I get this drink everywhere and have never once had it served with soda water. Even their own menu does not list soda water for the old fashioned while the Aperol Spritz right above it specifically says topped with soda water. Her attitude immediately made the night uncomfortable and we actually considered leaving right then, but chose to stay and try to move on. That was a mistake. I sent the drink back and ordered a wine instead.

We ordered the Italian wedding soup and a Caesar salad. The soup was fine. The salad was fine except the croutons were completely stale. My wife got the lobster ravioli and she enjoyed it. I ordered the spaghetti carbonara. The food came out hot which I appreciated. However as I was eating I bit into something extremely chewy. It was a rubber band. At that point I stopped eating and asked for the check. After I paid I informed the waitress that I found a rubber band in my food. To her credit she stopped me and had the owner void the bill which I do appreciate.

That said I will not be returning. We rarely get the chance to go out since having our baby and this night was completely ruined. Even though the owner was nice about voiding the check I cannot take the chance of wasting another date night here. The only reason I am giving two stars is because then owner was nice enough to...

This cozy spot has only about 11 tables and an 11–seat bar, so it feels intimate without being crowded. There’s no booth seating, but the layout still works well.

The service was excellent—friendly and attentive without being overbearing. They start you off with very good bread and oil, which set the tone nicely.

The only disappointments were that they were out of the Italian wedding soup that evening and the arancini are advertised as bolognese but we found no meat. Aside from that, everything we ordered was top notch. The chicken parm was excellent—crispy, tender, and flavorful—and the seafood pasta dish was equally impressive, fresh and well-balanced. The sauce was rich and flavorful without being overly sweet, which I appreciated. The pasta was perfectly cooked ( all my Italians will appreciate this ) no mashed potatoes here

Pricing was affordable and portions were plentiful

Lots of parking.

Overall, a great place for quality Italian food with...