Giuseppe's Italian Restaurant — Restaurant in Virginia

So this my second visit in 6 years. We happened upon this lovely little trattoria the first time and had a very pleasant experience. Upon our return to the burg, we were excited to return. Now I must state that as a lifelong restauranteur, I do not eat in corporate franchise eating stores, that being said I am accused at times of being jaded and overly pessimistic….so there’s that.

Upon arriving on a Thursday evening at 730 with a reservation seated quickly in the main dining room. Water tasted of the pool we had just come from, and could not hear anything as the acoustics in the room are bad. Moved to the bar, asked and received bottled water, ordered cocktails….good so far! Noticed who I perceived to be the founders son making his way around talking to regulars, awesome! Ordered the mozzarella appetizer, which was described as “ burrata mozzarella with arugula, roasted garlic and white truffle pesto ( ?), crispy prosciutto and local honey, sounds fantastic!

Received a ball of mozzarella with 18 leaves of baby arugula as pale as the falling autumn leaves outside, the tub of chopped garlic in citric acid was deftly bound with some bottled white truffle oil and bread crumb? And very literally 2 specks of some form of crispy cured meat. This was accompanied by two incredibly dense and over baked pizza dough “bread” things, of which was accompanied by the highlight of our stay little foil wrapped packets of real butter! Everyone was kind, our tequila was delicious, but our dinner was had elsewhere, I should know better than to hold expectations, had our first experience not been so favorable maybe this one would have...

My husband and I had some mishaps while searching for dinner in Williamsburg on a Friday night. We pulled up to where we thought we wanted to go and no one was there. I started driving towards another restaurant that came to mind that was near Giuseppe's. Well, I was not a fan of how that looked on the outside either (it looked more like a bar than a restaurant where we could have dinner) as well as the parking situation. Desperate, I saw Giuseppe's and we decided to go as it kept getting later and later in the evening.

We were quickly seated at a two top near the bar. Service was very prompt. We placed our order and fresh bread was brought to the table. I cannot say I love the bread at Giuseppe's but I do not hate it either. It is warm and it is soft, so that counts for something. I had a salad before my meal and my husband chose the lentil soup. His lentil soup was amazing. I am not really a soup loving kind of girl, but it was so good. It was also his first time eating lentils (he's picky) and he loved it also.

I ordered the shrimp scampi dish and it was very good. I kept telling myself I would not eat the whole dish but I could not help myself. The sauce was amazing and the noodles and shrimp were cooked perfectly. My husband had no complaints about his chicken parmesan. We finished our meal with a dessert. I do not remember what it is called but it is a ball of chocolate and vanilla gelato with a cherry in the middle and a chocolate shell. Y'all it was so good, go get it now.

Giuseppe's really turned our evening around and we now have a new place to go in Williamsburg. I love finding places like...

My husband and I stopped in for dinner on a busy Saturday night. We happily sat at the bar because the menu looked great and we wanted to give this restaurant a try. The cocktail and wine selection was pretty good. For our appetizer we chose the seasonal buratta and it was excellent! It was a beautiful and creamy buratta sitting atop a bed of tangy vinaigrette, with tasty sweet pea coulis and red pepper remoulade. The slight sweetness of the pea coulis and red pepper sauces were beautiful with the fresh cheese. For our entrees my husband chose the eggplant parmesan and I had the Josephine chicken. We both got a cup of the famous lentil soup which is hearty, comforting, and perfectly seasoned. The eggplant parm was crispy and the sauce was fantastic. The Josephine chicken was dreamy. Now I think goat cheese and arugula should always go on top of my chicken picatta! Everything we ate was fresh, high quality, and delicious. While we enjoyed our meal we noticed every member of the dining staff working together to get the guests their food and beverages as efficiently as possible. It's great to see that kind of teamwork. One of the owners, Anthony, was working just as hard as the rest of his staff, and always had a smile on his face. I know the kitchen was hustling too, they were getting plates on the tables very quickly. Great...