Giovanni's Ristorante

Paul was a great waiter

Highly recommend this as a place for a business lunch.

Amazing food and portions are enormous. Great place.

The standard for perfection in the national capital region

The service and food never disappoint. Angelo was very attentive and helpful with making our meal exceptional. Thank you!

Giovanni's is one of Ottawa's oldest and finest dining experiences. It's been in business for 36 years. I am not a food critic nor do I try to be. I do however have a food sensitivity. Don't do well with food cooked in olive oil that is anything less than high quality and fresh. I had the Penne with capers and anchovies, as well as a cheese and portobello mushroom appetizer. It was extraordinarily fresh and appropriately seasoned. Not too salty or overpowering. Extremely fresh and tasty ingredients. Nice to see an enduring commitment to quality when so many restaurants are driving down the quality of what they do. Would highly recommend it and will be back.

Great service. Good food. Efficient staff. However I think it’s a little bit expensive. I recommend it

Everything was great

Very good, will be going back! Appetizers were very good, wine was great and a fair price + the pasta that was featured was fantastic.

We went in for my boyfriends birthday and I don’t think I would ever go back. I have worked in the restaurant industry for years and I thought that although the service was excellent however the food was not worth the price. It felt like we were eating at a chain restaurant like Baton Rouge. With so many new restaurants opening in Ottawa Giovanni’s would be my last choice going forward. Plus the waiter didn’t even acknowledge my boyfriends birthday even though it was on the reservation which was disappointing.

Food was great...felt it was a bit overpriced. Service seemed very rushed and the noise level was too high. I will repeat the food was great.

The food was excellent, the sevice outstanding, and my birthday dinner pricelrss.

Service was great and the restaurant was extremely busy. It was the noise level that was a turn off. It was hard to hear my companion.

Server was rude and food is overpriced. Would not recommend.

We had an excellent meal at Giovanni’s. The noise level in the main part of the restaurant would have made conversation difficult. The host kindly showed us to back room which was lovely and quiet. Decent menu of conventional Italian dishes. From downtown it was a 10 minute cab ride to the “Little Italy” neighbourhood.

Always a pleasure to dine at Giovanni's, my "go to" Italian spot in Ottawa. High quality food and wine and attentive and efficient service. Never disappoints.

We had an amazing experience and had a wonderful server. The food was delicious and we cannot wait to go back!

One of Ottawa’s best Italian restaurants. Great food and service. Given the small size of the dining rooms and the tight tables, noise levels tend to be a bit high. Food quality was great. Pricey though, so not an everyday place to go but for a nice treat, well worth it.

Pricey. Poor bread. Rest great professional service.

Have had many lunches here over the years and was never disappointed. Our first dinner experience was just as expected. The food and service were both excellent. The dining room has a nice ambience, although it is small with closely spaced tables and a subsequently high noise level (not for those looking for a quiet, romantic dinner). That said , we all left happy and well sated.

The food was excellent, the service was impeccable.
However, the level of noise was way too high - maybe the younger people like it loud, but when one has to shout to be heard, it becomes very unpleasant. I would also suggest that, looking around the restaurant, I noticed that for the most part, the clients were middle-aged or older.

Furthermore, my friend and I were sitting on the side of the bar, that is, the last table before the bar; at one point and for over half an hour, there were so many persons waiting in line at the bar that my friend was literally being pushed and tossed, people actually leaning on her chair. Again, so many individuals cramped in a small space meant noise, a lot of noise.

My friend and I may be older but our hearing is still excellent. I would never bring a friend who is hard of hearing, or who is wearing a hearing aid; in the first instance, we would not be able to converse, in the latter case, the amplification of the noise with the aid would be intolerable.

From the moment we walked in the restaurant to the time we left, the experience was as memorable as the food was delicious. Paul, our server, was fantastic. Thanks Giovanni's, I'll be back!

Giovanni’s never fails to go above and beyond in customer service, it always looks lovely and the food is delicious!

One of our guests have sold her house

Took my best friend here for his birthday. Best Italian food in Ottawa, and excellent service. Our server Karsten was funny and quick!

Absolutely outstanding! The food was excellent, the service was amazing and the price point was great for the experience we had. Will definitely be returning back soon!

Birthday celebration

Food was some of the best Italian cuisine I have ever tasted. Pasta was fresh and sauces tasted amazing. Service was very pleasant and very helpful. Will be back

My boyfriend took me to Giovanni’s for my 30th birthday. I’m a 100% satisfied with my evening. Service was excellent and the food was amazing. The foie gras entrée was perfect and the Wagyu steak tasted like heaven.

We’ll be back.

C'était notre deuxième fois et comme toujours nous avons été très satisfait, la nourriture, le service (fantastique) le coût est un peu élevé mais pour une occasion spéciale ça vaut la peine. Dommage personne ne parle français.

Overall great dining experience if you like higher intensity environment

We were in Toronto starting our Canada Capital tour. We read about Giovanni’s in Best of Toronto and online.
We took a 20 minute ride from our hotel to the Italian section of town.
We were greeted at the entrance by Lewis he welcomed us like old friends. My wife ordered a pasta dish special we shared a salad. She has several allergies and all where handle with no problem. I had Gnocchi the best I have had anywhere in the world. There are several rooms all crowded for a Thursday evening.
We highly recommended this establishment top marks across the board. We are from metro NYC area been to many Italian restaurants through the world
Giovanni’s gets top high marks in all categories
Will be back next time we are in town

Enjoyed everything! The appetizers (some kind of cheese only from Italy) and the Italian sausage just about the best things I ever tasted. Staff was great!

food was great but if looking to have easy conversation, found it too loud.

Great food, very tentative servers and free valet is a nice touch.

Superb! Great for celebrating a special occasion as it is not inexpensive. One of the best Italian restaurants in Ottawa.

We had a wonderful experience at Giovanni’s! We had just left another restaurant which had not taken my boyfriend’s nut allergy seriously and had brought nuts out to the table, when they assured us that the kitchen was aware. Honestly going to Giovanni’s totally turned our night around! The food was delicious, service outstanding (free valet was a very nice touch), and they took the nut allergy seriously and made sure to do everything they could to make us feel comfortable and trusting! We were celebrating my mom’s birthday and they brought out a lovely birthday dessert for her, a nice touch! Highly recommend and we will definitely be coming back!

Podrían habernos regalado el postre, dada la cena romántica

Exceeded our expectations. Will return and highly recommended.

My husband and my combined birthday dinner was incredibly delicious and the service was amazing. I would have given 5 stars for service but the hostess who greated us at the front was not very welcoming and made me feel a little judged. Other than that, food and atmosphere was amazing.