Giorgio's Italian Food and Pizzeria — Restaurant in San Jose

This is basically a ‘gravy joint’ . . . and I mean that as a compliment.

I grew up in Santa Clara. Moved away. Moved back. Moved away again. And now I visit multiple times a year. My friend from grade school introduced me to this place several years ago and I thought, “what took so long?!?!”

My initial experiences were with take-out. Pizza was great. The sausage bread made me feel like I was back in Pittsburgh (where I lived for four years).

I recently had a sit-down meal at the restaurant. It was a great time overall. Drinks were good. Calamari was done well. Seafood pasta was brimming with the fruits of the sea and well portioned. Salads, though somewhat basic (and, thus, a bit overpriced), were fresh. Pizza was, again, great (even if it seemed like there were less ingredients on it than the previous time we ordered it). Service was a bit off. But they were packed and I understand how hectic things can be these days with less servers on a busy night. Let me put it this way: our server was trying her best, but you could tell she was having some issues (and was likely new, as she didn’t know the menu and had trouble answering some fairly basic questions).

I can see why this place is popular. It is an old-school, very, very, very American take on Italian food (think Sodini’s in North Beach). You aren’t getting authentic dishes from Florence, Rome, Naples, or even Sicily. Thing is, there is a nostalgic place for this sort of restaurant. I wouldn’t hesitate to go back again or to order take-out. Recommended, especially if you actually ‘read the room’ and go in understanding what you are doing . . .

. . . which relates to my questions about some of the negative reviews and also some of the positive ones. First off, I think Carrissa is spot on. I can see this place having inconsistent services issues. I appreciated her balanced review. Also appreciated Narasimha’s review, though I wonder about the “above average” though “not amazing” comment given the veggie requirements she and her guests had. Sheri, I think you need to stop ordering take-out. Full stop. Just stop, Sheri. Clearly, you and the restaurant need to break up. J B, after reading your review, I hate to say it, but I will. It’s you. I can’t imagine how you handle basic, day-to-day, events without frothing at the mouth and yelling. Yikes. Rami, your indifferent review made me chuckle. I can just see you shrugging your shoulders as you wrote your review.

I rank this place as solidly 4 stars, with the potential to be 4.5 stars on a great day with great service. Will I come back? Yes (as I said before). Will I order takeout again? Yes (as I also said before).

Thing is, we need places like this. Otherwise, we are trapped in a chain restaurant hell-scape where average food and service is comforting (and consider that when you review a local place—yes, a local chain—that has managed to stay afloat for so many years).

Looking forward to my next experience...

0 stars across the board, only 1 star since it required for the review.

Ordered take out from here in the past and never had any issues until tonight. Ordered a large margarita pizza and upon getting it home, saw that it has cilantro on top of it instead of basil. Tasted it too just to confirm it was in fact cilantro.

Called the restaurant to inform them of the mistake and the Assistant Manager Jose answers the phone, he proceeds to argue saying that it is basil and not cilantro. It was also close to closing (20 minutes) so they were not going to make another pizza and he claims they would take care of it tomorrow, whatever that means and ends the call.

Call back again to see if they can do the refund over the phone, he’s still adamant it’s basil and not cilantro and Jose just hangs up. So I drive down there fast before they can close up and throw their incorrect pizza on the counter in front of Jose. He responds with I don’t want to deal with this and I’m like is this not cilantro?

I tell him just to process the refund for this nasty pizza so I can get out of their zoo of a restaurant and get food elsewhere. A younger employee from the kitchen even confirmed it was cilantro.

The pizza also took forever and was overcooked on top of having cilantro on it. A traditional margarita pizza always has basil on it.

I know they won’t care but Giorgio’s has lost a customer this day, never have encountered such an unprofessional, immature manager as Jose, one that argues with, hangs up and wouldn’t resolve an issue courtesy of their mistake initially until I was down there, where he had no choice but to refund the pizza. Thanks for ruining dinner and wasting 30 minutes of my time with your subpar service and food.

And Jose if you see this I attached photos of basil and cilantro since you have a hard time identifying the difference...

Christmas Eve is already a busy day, so we decided to simplify things by ordering takeout from Giorgio’s on Foxworthy. I called at 4:50 PM to place my order, knowing they closed at 6 PM. They assured me the food would be ready in 30-35 minutes.

Arriving at 5:30 PM, I hoped to avoid waiting by giving them extra time. The restaurant was packed with dine-in and takeout customers. The staff at the register quickly processed my payment and handed me the calamari, saying the rest of my order would be ready in 5-8 minutes. However, I soon realized other customers had been waiting over an hour for their orders.

Twenty minutes passed, and I checked on my food—again, they told me 5 more minutes. Priority clearly went to dine-in patrons and catering orders. By 6:15 PM, I was frustrated and ready to cancel, but having already waited so long, I decided to stick it out. Shockingly, I discovered my order hadn’t even been started until 6:20 PM after yet another inquiry.

I understand that Christmas Eve is busy, but realistic timelines or acknowledgment from the manager could have made a world of difference. Instead, customers were left in the dark, repeatedly told “5 more minutes.”

Finally, I received my food, only to find the calamari soggy and chewy from sitting out for so long. To top it off, my fettuccini Portofino inexplicably included random penne pasta mixed in.

This experience was extremely disappointing. Poor service, chaotic organization, and mediocre food left a sour impression. Unfortunately, I won’t be returning to Giorgio’s, and I would advise others to think twice...