Giardino

Lets put it this way, Giardino’s gets the job done.
Came here for V-​day after hearing about how great this place is from my boyfriends family. We came here at 7:00 and valet was very friendly, he let us park anywhere we wanted since he doesn’t drive stick, at least he was being honest. It was pretty packed when we got there but we were seated right away since we had a reservation.
The place itself is kind of old school in the main dining room and lobby but I still could say that there is some sort of charm. The room was dimly lit with candles so it was very romantic, but I can see why others have written that the place looks outdated considering the colors on the wall.
I took a look at the menu and noticed it was only pre fixe with a small amount of options, but they at least had an equal amount of meat and seafood options to please everyone. Dishes ranged from chicken parm, veal marsala, pasta with clam sauce, eggplant parm, chicken francese, just a lot of classics. Since I know I always make the mistake of filling up too quick on appetizers, I decided to just get the large dish of veal marsala which came with a side of roasted potatoes and veggies for $ 30 which was worth every dollar because the pieces were huge and the amount of wine sauce was perfect with mushrooms. My boyfriends white claim dish with linguine looked huge and smelled delicious.
What I also loved aside from the delicious food was the great service, the waiter didn’t pressure us to place an order fast and he didn’t pressure us to have dessert either. This place has an extensive wine menu from burgundy to pinot grigio and zinfandel that wasn’t cheap quality.
The dessert menu looked amazing but I was so stuffed that I couldn’t even attempt it, the homemade cheesecake with ricotta cake, apple crumb cake, & lava cake really caught my eye though for something to try for next time. They also had a list of dessert wines and coffee with baileys [who doesn’t like coffee with alcohol psssh].
Overall this place gave us a quick romantic dinner, and it didn’t cost more then 30 – 50 a person.
I also saw gorgeous private dining rooms here so this place is perfect for any occasion!

The place is okay. A bit dated and old school Italian restaurant. Renovation should be considered. The menu for Valentine’s Day Dinner was a VERY short list of their usual menu.
The food was ok. Not spectacular and not bad either.

I have liked this place for years but haven’t been here for quite some time. The menu used to be bigger but it’s still pretty good.
The calamari is nice. It’s soft and lightly coated with flour. It’s so easy to overcook calamari and they don’t. We got 2 different orders of calamari. First we got the one on special (it’s fried and it had peppers and cheese and broccoli rabe in some kind of sauce). It was a tasty sauce but for me it killed the crispiness so I had an order of regular fried calamari in addition.
I got the Giardino salad and it was huge. So I was happy with that.
My dining partner had the Veal Scallopine Sorrentino (had to look it up). It’s topped with cheese and prosciutto in a wine sauce. I had some of that and it was really excellent. Almost like a veal pizza.
I had the whole Branzini. It was kind of pricey but pretty big. I got it whole and it appeared to be at least 1.5 pounds. I liked it very much because I love that kind of fish but I think I enjoyed the veal more.
I finished with Italian cheesecake and it was decent. Not as fluffy as I thought it would be but really good with a slight lemon flavor.
And lastly, he service is friendly. Can’t complain there. That’s all I can tell you for now!

We had our baby shower here yesterday and overall, I was disappointed with the experience. I have eaten at Giardino on many other occasions and have thoroughly enjoyed myself every time. That’s why what happened yesterday was such a let-​down. Let me start by back-​tracking a little– Giardino was my first and only choice for our baby shower venue. We contacted Joe back in December and he was great about setting up a menu/​package for us. We signed our contract in person and then finalized the menu via email on ¹²⁄₂₉.
When we arrived at the restaurant, I was so excited to see that they had printed out a cute, custom menu for our guests. Unfortunately, the food items listed on the menu were INCORRECT. As I mentioned before, we had finalized everything via email– so there was really no margin for error. Per our contract, soft drinks were supposed to be in pitchers on the table. When I looked around, not only WEREN’T pitchers of soda available on the table, but my guests didn’t even realize that drinks were available for them to order. I actually had to ask the waitstaff to go around and take drink orders for my guests! When guests ran out of water, I had to ask the staff to place carafes of water on the table for them. The waitstaff also never came around to take drink refill orders so for the most part, everyone was dying of thirst. The shower cake, though delicious, was crushed in the back when they brought it out. Finally, coffee and tea, which were also supposed to have been included in our package, were NEVER offered to our guests. I had to remind the waitstaff that coffee and tea were included in the package, and then make an announcement myself to the guests that they were welcome to order hot beverages.
The total bill (tip included) came out to $ 911.27 (plus the $ 100 deposit I had made earlier… so $ 1,011.27). Giardino charged us a gratuity of 20% ($ 136.57) for some of the most bullshit service I have ever gotten in what is supposed to be an upscale restaurant. Don’t get me wrong– The waitstaff were friendly and polite but having worked in the restaurant business myself for several years, I can honestly say that the service we received yesterday should have garnered at most 10%.
Overall, I am disappointed with the experience we had here. This is going to be our first and only child, and I really wanted our baby shower to be special. I will probably be back to Giardino to eat, but I cannot comfortably recommend their services for large groups.

Disappointing experience. Paid $ 23 for a penne pasta that was bland and chickenwas overcooked but the sauce was alrigjt

My husband and I were in search for the perfect venue to host my family’s Thanksgiving celebration, which happened to be our sons 1^st birthday! We wanted to do something very special and knew it would be difficult to find an amazing restaurant that would give us the service we wanted on such a busy day. Giardino’s came highly recommended, so we figured we would give them a call.
From the moment I called to schedule an appointment, I was greeted professionally and kindly. Upon visiting the restaurant EVERY staff member smiled and greeted me, despite how busy they were. The restaurant is very clean and updated. I reserved our date with manager Joseph on the spot and went with my gut feeling… AND am so happy we did!
Our sons birthday and Thanksgiving celebration could not have been more perfect. Everything was set up as promised. Karina and Gennaro the manager, made sure our celebration went smoothly. They were so so nice to all of our family members. The timing was perfectly mapped out and we received everything that was promised to us– and more! Their main dining room was busy as well (not surprisingly, being that it was Thanksgiving) BUT our service was not compromised what so ever.
Now the food… We come from an Italian family. Our uncles own a catering business in Westchester and very successful restaurants… We know good food… Giardino’s chef was amazing! All our family members raved about their dishes and loved every other dish that came out. It was delicious!
We HIGHLY recommend Giardino’s for your next event!

This was my first time at Giardino’s. My family and I reserved the small private party room to celebrate my Dad’s life after his passing. The room itself was warm and inviting. The food was great from beginning to end. And what an abundance of food! Our guests we very pleased with our choice of restaurant. I bet my Dad would have loved it too.
Thank you again Gennaro for all your help. Will see you again real soon.

I’m not an expert food critic and I do not claim to really know what makes good Italian fare, but overall I thought the food was terrific. The menu offered a wide selection and the daily specials not on the menu sounded really good too.
The atmosphere is very cozy, our area felt like a private family dining room.
The service was top-​notch. Our waiter checked up on us periodically, not too often to be annoying and not so infrequently as to make use feel like we’ve been forgotten, but just the right amount of attention.
There is also live music at 7PM on the weekends! The performer when we went was talented and even took requests. My children are usually shy but they somehow really liked this guy and even left the table to dance to the music.

I came here for a private party and I must say I am impressed.
— eggplant parm.: I’m not sure why I’ve never tried eggplant before but it was amazing
— pastas: flavored to perfection! Especially the alla vodka ! Or Shall I say, molto bene!
–pizza: Yumm! I’ll never eat dominos again
–salmon: although I felt as though there was something missing, it was pretty good. I guess everyone cooks it differently
Over all I had an amazing time. I don’t think I have ever experienced such amazing customer service anywhere else. I am glad they made our experience a night to remember. Thank you

A nice surprise tucked away on the corner of Douglaston Parkway. Décor is a bit dated but service was pretty good. Food was above average and portions were enormous. A decent choice if you’re craving Italian in the area.

Came here Friday night to celebrate my father’s birthday, from beginning to end everything was fabulous.
Mario was our server, he was very attentive and friendly. Gennaro the Maitre D came over very charismatic and friendly as well, verbally telling us the specials and made his continuous checks to see if everything was good at the table. Even the bus boys were always cleaning off the table and refilling water glasses.
The mussels, baked clams and fried calamari were great starters. We also had a rugoletta pizza to share between the six of us. Two of the specials were ordered, the ravioli was stuffed roasted peppers ricotta mozzarella with a lamb ragu sauce and a roasted branzino topped with tomato onions and a balsamic reduction. They were delicious!
For dessert Mario, Gennaro and the other server that night Andrew came to sing happy birthday nice and loudly. Ending the whole dinner wonderfully!
Big plus the live singer Kevin sang songs requested by the table and happy birthday with the staff.
It was a great time with great service and delicious food. We all left happy and full!

That Bean salad at the beginning, I’m obsessed over it! I can have that dish alone as a meal.
Portions here are humungo. The Calamari was perfect, the stuff clams– ok.
I couldnt get enough of the calamari so I ordered the:
Calamari Arrabbiata $ 20
Fried calamari sautéed with hot cherry peppers in a marinara/​penne
— Tangy and a little spicy, bit salty but good
Russo’s Original Linguini Clam Sauce $ 19
Little Neck clams chopped and sautéed in a white sauce
— This was great as well. Bland in comparison to my dish but in itself, wonderful.
My favorite was just the simple Chicken over spicy red sauce. I dont know what it was called but Mmm!
If you order spiked coffee and like Sambuca, one order comes with enough Sambuca to spike up at least 5 coffee’s.
Check in with Unilocal!Free glass of Wine!
Oh! And Birthday Celebrations come with Fireworks! Hahaha, quite the show!
* Parking across the street in the lot is Valet Only!

Excellent food. No worries on any entrée. Great people who appreciate their customers.