Bistro Don Giovanni — Restaurant in Napa

I'll start with the good: the food was excellent, the patio ambiance was wonderful, and Juan saved the day.

The bad: Peyman was our server and he was quite possibly the rudest person I've ever met. He was cold and condescending from the moment he walked up to our table. His arrogance was astounding. He never introduced himself or greeted our table. He spouted off 5 or 6 specials and then was put out when we asked him to repeat a few. We had questions about a few things on the menu and he again was very irritated by our questions. We ordered drinks and an appetizer and after 25 minutes we still didn't have anything and Peyman had not returned. We were looking around to see if we could find him and another staff member asked if we needed anything. We said we were waiting for Peyman to come back and he said he would let Peyman know we were looking for him. Peyman came to the table and scolded us for asking for him. He told us he was busy at the bar and we needed to be more patient. None of us said a word because we were so shocked by his attitude. We asked for butter to go with our bread because one of the people at our table wasn't a fan of olive oil. He laughed and rolled his eyes and asked us why we would want butter when we had olive oil on the table. He turned with a huff and left without taking our order. He returned 10 minutes later with butter and a balsamic dipping sauce (which was fantastic). He begrudgingly took our order with as little interaction as possible. We all felt so uncomfortable. At this point I couldn't take anymore from Peyman. We weren't spending $500 on dinner to be disrespected by a staff member. I asked the hostess if we could switch servers and she brought the manager over. I explained the situation to him and he was apologetic and said he would send someone else over to help us. Juan took over our table and he was a dream. He was friendly, kind and attentive. At this point we had been sitting at the table for almost an hour and still didn't have our appetizer. We asked about it and Juan said it had never been ordered by Peyman. He apologized and put it in. We received our first course without any problems. When our entrees came out 2 of 5 were wrong. In fact, one was missing altogether. Juan was very apologetic and promised to fix it right away. The other entrees came out within 10 minutes and we all loved the food. Juan came to check on us frequently and took great care of us. He even brought out a complimentary desert for table to share. Juan really turned our experience around and...

This has always been one of my favorite Restaurants. I was disappointed when I took my wife here yesterday for Valentine’s Dinner. The server was so rude and talked to us like we were stupid. We have been coming here for years and know the menu. He made us feel very uncomfortable when we were ordering. Starting from drinks he only brought 1 Martini when we ordered 2. At first we waited thinking the other drink was coming until it took a while and we asked and he didn’t get it the first time. Then when I was trying to order my wife was telling him what I wanted and i jumped in and just said the same thing and he said only one at a time. Obviously rude… then when ordering my plate I said can I get the pork chop with mashed potato’s and No Frutta on my pork chop and he repeated only mashed potatoes. I said yes without the Frutta he again said only mashed potatoes and I wanted to make sure he got it correctly without the Frutta and he repeated only mashed. I felt like he was making me feel stupid. All he needed to say was a pork chop with no Frutta and mashed potatoes. However, he tried making us feel dumb. I was so upset not only that but I also said I wanted it well cooked with no red and he ignored me and walked away. Of course we get our plates with some red and blood on the mashed potatoes. We usually have dessert and a cappuccino after our dinner and we didn’t we just wanted to get out of there my wife was ready to say something this server. Monte H was my server and if I ever make a reservation there again I for sure will request not to have...

I can see why so many people recommend Don Giovanni—I will definitely be back.

We loved our table along the vineyards. The views were absolutely unmatched and created such a beautiful, peaceful backdrop for the night. The food was outstanding—every dish was flavorful and generous. The chicken dish was incredible (and honestly perfect for sharing between two people), the olives were delicious, and my dad loved his pork chop. The extra lamb meatballs to make up for a slight delay in the kitchen were such a thoughtful touch, and every bite was fantastic.

But as wonderful as the food and setting were, what made this experience unforgettable was the hospitality. From Aaron (sp?), the manager, to our amazing waiter (whose name I unfortunately didn’t catch), and the entire staff—everyone was gracious, kind, and made us feel genuinely welcome. This level of warmth and personalization is something you just don’t find very often anymore, even in super high-end restaurants.

I’ve lived here for three years and had always heard how great Don Giovanni was, but this was my first time bringing my family for a special occasion. I’m so glad I did—it’s rare to leave a place feeling so well-fed in both body and spirit.

As Maya Angelou said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” That’s exactly how Don Giovanni made us...