Il Giardino Ristorante — Restaurant in Virginia Beach

I want to say that I have spent YEARS looking for a traditional sit down Italian restaurant with meals that taste like home. When I say they are now my favorite place, it is not me being dramatic. I have fallen severely in love with this place on one visit. I was beyond and above blown away by the food, service, and atmosphere. My heart has been stolen!

Let me get into our love story here: As soon as I came in we gave the car to the valet who was quick and kind. When we came in I was immediately greeted by Dean Martin playing softly through the restaurant while being seated immediately. Walking through I was blown away by how modern and lovely the inside was. Beautiful lights around a lovely tree sat in the middle of the restaurant, some cozy circle shaped booths and open tables. A see through clear wall separates the main dining area from the bar side that looked really trendy! (Almost moved over there, but I'm a booth girl!) It was Easter so I was craving a nice filling Italian meal. We started with the focaccia bread with oil and vinegar. The bread was absolutely delicious, crispy....and the mixture of oil and vinegar with the cheese and garlic makes it just right. My boyfriend ate almost the whole thing (I was taking it slow to save more room for my meal!) I ordered the chicken parm, being half Italian I can tell you...you can NEVER GO WRONG WITH CHICKEN PARM...It just has to be done right...and boy was it done right. The cutlet was thin, but not too thin...with a good coated breading, and the cheese on top...that's when you know...the cheese should be a little "well done"...almost burnt crisp! I'm telling you the cheese has to be that way! They absolutely killed it. Perfectly done..and their homemade sauce with the touch of sweetness and right amount of onion and garlic...I was in heaven. This was heaven for me. Our waiter was lovely, and came over to add parm to our plates or fresh ground pepper (yes, they come to you table to do that and it's so kind. Haven't seen that seen going to little Italy back home in nyc). My boyfriend ordered the chicken francese, and he literally turned to me and went "omg it melts in my mouth"....when I say my boyfriend normally just eats and gives little comments...but that one..he was blown away. I ended the night with a Napoleon. I was pleasantly stuffed but had to have a little dessert...man they just blew me away. Napoleon was crispy, flaky, a little buttery in the best way and those layers of cream?!? Bury me with that stuff. On top of it I had no idea, but we got a special. They were having a buy one get one free entree I had no idea about so it was a LOVELY SURPRISE. This was a perfect Easter dinner, and I am eternally grateful. Thank you again! Like a kiss on the cheek...

First and foremost, this review is only getting 3 stars because the server, Alex, was amazing. She was professional, knowledgeable, and attentive. One of the best I've had, and a true asset to the restaurant. I will preface the rest of the review with this - I'm an Italian from Chicago and we have some of the best authentic cooking in our restaurants outside of Italy. With that said, the food here was mediocre. It's a step above Olive Garden (barely) and below something like Romano's. The Caesar dressing had a very strong garlic taste to it and there was no grated Parmesan on top. It was almost unpleasant to eat. The calamari is frozen and flash fried, because there is no way it could be fresh and so rubbery. I had to chew and chew and chew.... You get the point. I'm guessing the veal cutlet in the veal Parmesan is also frozen because it, too, was very chewy. It was also overcooked with a dark brown crust to it. Their redeeming quality is that are some good finds on the wine list. Some are 2-3 times what you'd pay in a store (especially for bottom-shelf wines) while others are only slightly more and worth it. If you know your wines you'll make a good choice. I could make excuses for them (busy night) but that's not my place. And really, there's no excuse for rubber calamari and veal. Some restaurants can make frozen items taste good; that was not the case here. Perhaps their other dishes are better, but I won't be returning to find out. My guess is stick with chicken, pasta, or steak because they will likely be cooked from fresh stock. My last item to note - I visited on a Friday when there was live music in the piano bar. I give credit to the musician for being brave, because he had the worse voice of anyone I've heard in a piano bar. He also sang to recorded music (guitar, drums, bass) played from an electric piano, so it isn't a true "piano...

In all my years of dining out have I ever ran into an inconsiderate and despicable staff thank this place. After 3 days of eating fried foods, and pizza (typical kids menu items) my youngest son wanted some pasta with tomato sauce. So, After walking up and down the boardwalk a s Atlantic Ave we finally decided to go here for a nice dinner. We walk in, were asked if we had reservations, and responded with a no, we have 1.5 wait time for a table. It was about 8:15 and the place was 75% occupied at best and all outdoor seating was closed due to rain. I used to run high end places through NYC, the Westchester suburbs and the Hamptons so I did not question them or go there with the hostesses. I then asked is it possible to order out instead, as my young one 7 year old was running on fumes? She said, no we are slammed and cannot take any take out orders. I said ok, how about just one order for penne with tomato sauce for the young one. The rest of us can wait to eat. Once again, she said no I’m sorry, I can help you. I looked at her with disbelief and said are you serious and she repeated that we should try Chichos! This made my son come to tears as he was looking forward to eating at a nice place. Myself, my wife and other son were just shocked as if we’ve been punched in the gut! I’ve been in the restaurant business for a long time, and we dine out 1-2 times on weekly basis back home (not just on vacation) and never have we encountered a staff that gives zero Fs about the people they serve! Way to go El Giordono, way to train you staff with zero compassion and some common sense to at least assess the situation or at minimum check in with a manager to see if it was ok to feed one...