Il Giardino Restaurant by John Gambino — Restaurant in Town of Riverhead

I'd like to begin by sharing that writing reviews, particularly negative ones, is something I rarely do. Being a family with our own business, I tend to extend understanding and empathy towards other small businesses. However, I must express my disappointment with the service I encountered.

We arrived promptly at our reserved time of 8 pm but were not seated until 8:30 pm. Understandably, places can get busy, so my family and I patiently waited. Once seated, we were looking forward to our meal together. Regrettably, our waitress approached the table with an attitude that could only be described as one of the worst I've encountered. Her demeanor was accompanied by a series of sarcastic and snarky comments, which I'm willing to detail if anyone is interested. Nonetheless, we brushed off the sarcasm and carried on with our evening.

We ordered appetizers; the calamari was good, while the seafood salad was a disappointment. I advise against wasting your money on the latter. Our pasta orders were also placed, but they took an excessive 1.5 hours to arrive. Inquiring about the delay, we were told that the kitchen was working diligently and the dishes were nearly ready. However, when the waitress later informed a member of our group that a key ingredient for her dish had run out, it raised questions. It was perplexing since we were just informed that things were nearing completion. The waitress even sarcastically stated that if she could, she would step into the kitchen and cook it herself? This contradictory statement was puzzling, to say the least.

The concerned member of our party declined the dish, stating that it was now over 2 hours since we arrived and their hunger had waned. What followed was an unexpected argument between the waitress and our family member. The waitress seemed upset about the change of heart, asking why they no longer wanted to eat, despite the fact that the dish hadn't even been prepared by that point, well past 10 pm.

The pasta dishes eventually arrived, and another family member ordered the "far diavolo" pasta, the most expensive option on the menu. Sadly, it was a presentation disaster, and the quality of the pasta itself left much to be desired. In my case, the linguini pasta seemed of something from a box.

Sensing our dissatisfaction, we were offered complimentary dessert, which was a kind gesture. By this point, however, we simply wanted to head home. We suggested the possibility of complimentary drinks as a fair resolution, but the waitress returned stating that the owner couldn't comp items that had already been provided. This left us somewhat puzzled about the establishment's policy.

Ultimately, we paid our bill and left. The treatment my family and I received during this visit has left a negative impression that has lingered. I believe this review is necessary to share my honest experience. I sincerely hope that others do not undergo what we did. Unfortunately, I cannot foresee returning to this...

First time going after it was referred by a few friends, and unfortunately I can not see myself going back. Just under $300 for 2 people, and the food quality and service were on par with any local pizza shop.. I could not care less what I spend on a good meal and good service, it's why I look for nice new places to try, but I left this restaurant wondering how exactly they are even still in business..

We went on a Sunday night 9/23. Called ahead for reservations, hostess explained it's first come first serve.. no problem.. we arrived and waited about 10/15 minutes to be seated. From this point on the experience took a nose dive .. the server was friendly, but quite obviously inexperienced. They brought out bruschetta and knots but no plates or napkins or silverware. After requesting these items, we waited another 15 minutes for them to arrive. By that time the crostini's were soggy and disgusting. They said they had a full bar, but actually didn't have a lot of things we asked about. The only tequila they had was cuervo which really made me shake my head (why have cuervo at all in a nice restaurant?)..

When it came time to order a meal it was difficult... they were out of this, they didn't have that, they do have this but not what goes with it.. what?.... Get it together... I couldn't even order a steak, they were out.. after deciding on apps and entrees, we waited about 20 minutes before apps arrived. The salad was fine. The octopus was under grilled and poorly presented. The roasted asparagus was almost a joke, it looked like someone micro-waved it with some cheese for 2 minutes... 20 minutes later, 1 entree is delivered, salmon, and was not by any measure a hot meal, warm... Ish... Maybe... More than 5 minutes later the other entree and the sides are delivered.. The chicken parm was underwhelming and could have been had at just about any pizza shop.. the salmon was cold, poorly presented, and quite clearly farm raised garbage quality. The steamed broccoli was a single floret that looked to have been microwaved and served, and the spinach with garlic and oil was absolutely disgusting. I'm not sure what type of oil they drenched it in before plating it, but I couldn't stomach any more than a bite.

We arrived at 8... It took until almost 10 for us to get our meal and pay without any dilly-dallying on our part at all. The food was average for a local pizza shop, as was...

Please read full review. By far the best restaurant on the North Fork and only one other person could compare to another restaurant of like greatness which is #carbonenyc and we may even think that it could be better !!! #BestoftheBest #BestItalianFood #theforkincritic

Was truly an authentic meal. From walking in to leaving the restaurant the chef/ owner John was there with us to offer us small talk and extra bread w truly delightful shaved Parma ham NY has seen since we had some a friend flew back from Italy! - bread is accompanied with super fresh bruschetta and mini garlic knots.

There were 4 of us.

We order the fried calamari and fresh mozzarella and tomato- ABSOLUTELY can’t go wrong. The calamari was perfectly crispy, not oily at all and comes with a BOWL of the best most robust, slightly spicey and chunky marinara!!!!

Entrees- Guy 1 had eggplant parmasan- he said was better than any Nonnas! Hahahaha

Guy 2 ordered mussels marinara over bucatini- there were so many and they were so good all of us had to try some!!! Kudos!

Gal 1 had the cheese ravioli w a pink sauce- they were truly filled with the best ricotta, not watery, firm dough but not uncooked, she said “I’m inspired”. Hopefully I’ll get invited for dinner that night!

Gal 2 (me- the reviewer- The Forkin Critic) the best for last maybe- shall I indulge! I had the Pasta Alla Nonno- I would like to shake the hand of this Nonno personally for blessing this great world with one of the best recipes/ dishes to have hit my palette in YEARS!!!! It resembles the finest of ala vodka style pink sauces but that doesn’t do it any justice in descriptiom the still al dente button mushrooms that are added, w the lightest ribbons of prosciutto making it perfectly salty where needed. I cannot tell you how excited I was when I couldn’t finish it because I was so full and would get to treat myself to leftovers tonight!!!!! Chef John came over and we couldn’t praise the meal enough he is PURE CLASS -the kindest, quite gentle spoken, has a noble stance but not so much that you can’t shake his hand or give him a great big hug to thank him for one of the best meals we have ever had! We were blessed with a finished cannoli - it had a secret ingredient that Chef John shared but ... I dare not tell- we will let you all figure it out!!!! #nofoeats #nofodrinks #thankyou #nofofoodie #northforkbest...