Giovanni's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in San Diego

The food here is excellent! My friend says she has dreams about the calzone and the chunky marinara sauce. I loved the fettuccine alfredo with chicken I had. This was our 2nd visit, and I think I had the pesto pasta last time. Whatever I had, I remember it being delicious. We can't wait to go back to try more!

The service is pretty good - the staff is very nice and friendly, but there is some confusion about seating when you first walk in. There is no host stand or sign to seat yourself, so you just kind of stand there awkwardly until someone notices you or you can seat yourself. Since it wasn't our first time there, we seated ourselves. They didn't notice us. We sat there trying to catch the attention of a server or anyone really, but to no avail. My friend eventually followed someone back to the bar to let them know we were there. Service was just fine after that. It would be helpful if they had a sign or something telling people what to do. With every party that came in, about half did the awkward standing around and half seated themselves. No one else seemed to have an issue being noticed, so maybe we just sneaked in like ninjas.

The atmosphere is very clean, modern, and a bit industrial. I like it! But if you're looking for the old school, family Italian restaurant feel, this isn't it (the food is, but the decor isn't). Parking is a minor nightmare at this location, but the food is worth it! We can't...

DO NOT EAT HERE — HORRIBLE SERVICE & RUDE STAFF

I dined in with my 2-year-old son. Shortly after our food arrived, my toddler needed to use the restroom. I took him, and when we returned, our food had been cleared away. The waitress casually said she “didn’t notice” it had been cleaned up and offered no solution—no replacement, no apology, nothing.

I didn’t cause a scene. I gathered my things and left. Later that night, my son woke up hungry (he hadn’t eaten dinner, after all), so I called the restaurant to explain what happened. I was told I’d receive a call back. It’s now been over 30 days—no call, no follow-up, despite me reaching out multiple times.

Today, when I politely asked if a manager or team lead was available, I was screamed at and hung up on. I have remained calm, respectful, and patient through all of this. I’ve been far more understanding than most people would be, and yet this restaurant continues to escalate and ignore the issue.

This place clearly does not value its customers or take accountability for mistakes. Take your...

My family and I spent a week in San Diego on vacation. On our first day, after a long trip from NH, we were looking for a local place with a menu that would please all. We found it at Giovanni's! Staff was duper friendly and attentive. My 12 year old daughter got chicken parm, 14 year old got chicken Alfredo. As dads generally do, I had to sample their dishes. They were delicious! My adult son had a salad, (I think), but he wasn't sharing. I had a club sandwich wrap. It was perfect. They also had a great selection of craft beer and an extensive wine list. As we were leaving, we noticed two very large pizzas being brought out to other diners. We all immediately decided to come back again and get pizza. We came back later in the week and ordered an extra large cheese pie. It did not disappoint! The 12 slices were more than enough for the four of us. Luckily we saved room for dessert. I forget what it was called, but it was a large brownie with vanilla ice cream, drizzled with syrup and whipped cream. Perfect end to our meal. I highly recommend...