Gardino's Ristorante Italiano — Restaurant in Los Gatos

It’s fine. That’s the impression you’re left with after dining at Gardino Ristorante Italiano. It’s not bad, it’s not great. It’s just okay.

We sat down at our table (just sit anywhere, they said) and looked over the dinner menu. Received our plate of bread. No butter. No olive oil. No balsamic vinegar available. After several minutes someone brought over olive oil and vinegar. The bread was fine.

Our waitress was nice but seemed busy even though the restaurant wasn’t that busy. She was fine.

My companion ordered the Fettuccini dell Oceano. The seafood was cooked nicely but she had to hunt for the clams – they had all fallen out of their shells. The pomodori sauce was fine. Not great, not bad, but fine.

I had the chicken parmesan. There was a nice amount of cheese but the dish could have used more sauce on both the chicken and the mostaccioli pasta. The sauce that we there was fine. Again, not great, not bad, but fine. The pasta is cooked correctly, so that’s a plus. The dish also comes with generic steamed veggies. Again, uninspired; in other words, they were fine.

Overall, there’s nothing about Gardino Ristorante Italiano that would keep me away, but there’s also nothing about it that makes me want to return. I left feeling that I could have made the same meal...

Monday, Jan 25, 2016. We both ordered chicken Marsala. The chicken was so tough and stringy it was difficult to cut with a knife, let alone chew. My mother had to spit out several bites. The Marsala sauce was delicious. Vegetables were cooked to perfection. It was early afternoon and we were the only diners. Yet it took a very, very long time to receive our meal. We were never offered a wine menu and thought beer and soft drinks were our only choices. We didn't notice the wine list on the wall by the bar until we left. Our waitress dropped off our food and never returned. In fact she forgot all about us and was surprised we were still there when the bus boy relayed our request for our bill. She never offered us dessert although my mother wanted the tiramisu. The bus boy dropped off the bill and when the waitress finally came to pick it up I told her the chicken was tough and stringy, she responded that people always love the chicken Marsala. Not a great experience here, we...

If you’ve been searching for genuine authentic Italian food, look no further than Gardinos. I believe this place is overlooked due to the bar, but the restaurant portion of the establishment is truly phenomenal. Come here if you’re looking to be fulfilled and satisfied with your meal, there has not been one time so far that I have had a bad experience with the food or attentive people that work here. I truly appreciate the environment that makes up the inside of the place, lots of awesome memorabilia of Italian portrayal. I typically go in the morning generally around when they open for business, it’s laid back and relaxing to enjoy such a delicious meal. The owner Pete is always so kind and makes sure we’re satisfied with what we have received. Jeff the waiter is also attentive, kind, and super responsive. This place is truly a hole in the wall amongst the many restaurants along the strip, make sure...