Don Giovanni Ristorante

Very friendly staff. Drinks arrived quickly. House salad was super fresh with unexpected bonus of fresh red and green peppers and kalamata olives. Gazpacho on the specials menu was excellent. Everyone enjoyed their pasta and entrees. It was crowded and a little loud but we were not rushed.

When I told I was coming here for a work lunch, I was not excited. Since work was paying, I really wanted something a bit fancier given the area. I’d walked by this place a multitude of times and it always looked interesting, but the reviews on Unilocal gave me pause from actually trying it out. What the hell, I went anyway. The place is decorated nicely as an old school Italian place, and given how much Sinatra they played I was certainly a fan of the music. Service was very attentive with not just the waiter, but also the busboy and manager helping out. Granted we were one of the only tables, but many times the manager especially wouldn’t have been bothered. That definitely contradicts some of the negative reviews here.
We got a few appetizers to start: mozzarella caprese, mussels in marinara sauce, and portobello mushrooms over spinach. The mussels were slightly overcooked, but were on the large side and their sauce was very good. The mozzarella was better than expected but the tomatoes that came with it weren’t good at all. The portobello mushrooms were the winner of the bunch; they didn’t last long and luckily I was able to grab the majority of the spinach they came with. For my main I got the chicken martino which is their version of chicken rollini (stuffed with prosciutto, spinach, and fontina cheese). This thing was the size of an infant. They could’ve cooked it a bit better given how heavy the egg batter on the outside was and the fact that there was still flour on a few small parts of it, but I still ate it. The inside was strange; essentially it was a chopped up mixture of the 3 ingredients rather than them being rolled into the breast. It was in a simple butter sauce. I managed to eat a little less than half and took the rest to go. It wasn’t terrible but it’d be a stretch to all it good either.
Why only 1 star here? The problem is how sick I got later on in the day. Given that I didn’t even push myself to eat a ton, that’s a real problem. I’d wager to bet it had to do with my chicken rollatini so I ended up tossing the other half of it I saved. There’s no excuse for a restaurant making you sick. While I was the only one to get sick, I can’t in good conscience recommend anyone coming here after experiencing that. Too bad.

Negative reviews must be from competitors, paid slammers, or ignoramuses. I’ve never had a bad dish at either Don Giovanni location. In fact, the food is delectable, delicious, and imaginative. Tonight we had pear and arugula salad – yum!, chopped Mediterranean salad – crisp, fresh, tasty, green lasagne, delish and rich, and 4-​cheese pizza that cannot be beaten in New York. Nice staff, too.

So we were in the area and looking for somewhere to eat for lunch (around 2 PM on a Saturday), we walked in and loved how cute the décor was!
We shared Bruschetta, Lobster Ravioli, and Lemon Chicken. maybe we were really hungry but we LOVED our meal. My friend has been to Italy and she said this ravioli tasted better than what she had in Italy. The food came out fast and hot. During our entire meal our waiter kept checking in on us; I honestly haven’t experienced service like this in a long time.
We left a very generous tip, something we don’t usually do. Also there was a heart drawn around our bill which was super cute and gave it a personalized touch, we even took a picture. I was very pleased the service/​food and will return soon.

This restaurant was close to where I was staying for a weekend in NYC. Given its proximity and the outdoor seating, I decided to stop in. Twice, since it was so good. The portobello mushroom appetizer was great. The seasoning of the mushroom was very nice; not overpowering with balsamic vinegar as it can be in many places. I also got the pasta with arrabbiata sauce. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the sauce was nice and fresh tasting. On both visits, service was good and I found the staff to be very nice and friendly.

Really slow service, low quality food. Unfortunately this is a serious tourist trap. Only go here if you’re desperate.

The pizza was good but the linguine with clams were clam shells & chopped clam meet probably from a can. No fresh clams. And it came in a cream sauce. I didn’t understand that. So this dish is how I measure an Italian Resturant & this one failed. The pizza was good and décor plus outdoor seating is nice. So go there for a pizza and sit outside. A big negatory for the clams.

One of the worst services I’ve experienced in a restaurant. We were here with a group of around 8 and were seated 20 minutes later, even though we booked online and the restaurant was half empty. We were finally seated, and it took another 20 minutes to get menus. No glasses, no water, no nothing. The waitress comes back much later to take oor order, and of course, messes it up. I got the chicken parm, which was nothing extraordinary, but salty. At the end of our dinner, the waitress argued with us that we tipped her too little, even though we gave her more than 25% of what the bill said, more than what is ideal for tip, and to be honest, she was a terrible waitress so she was lucky she even got tip in the first place. We will NOT be coming here again. Go to Little Italy instead!

You gotta have a few clunkers to appreciate a good meal.
up there with one of the worse meals I ever had. Nothing about this place is remotely pleasant, the food was hands down disgusting, oily, over salted and it tasted old and rancid.
The quality of the food is garbage…

I’m writing this review as a reminder to myself to never order delivery from this place, it generally takes 70 minutes, few frustrating phone calls, and a loss of appetite. Go elsewhere!

Some of the best authentic ITALIAN cuisine in the city. I’m a vegetarian and they’re always able to accommodate me. My favorite dish is the broccoli rusticana without the chicken. It is soooooo comforting

I like their food. The pizzas are good –better than patsy. Their pasta dishes are big & filling which leaves me happy & satisfied. Delivery can be timely but ok. I never had the opportunity to eat in so I can’t say.

I only had pizza delivered but they had clam topping which I love. I also really liked the mushroom and the pie in general. Very old school style.

I was excited to try Don Giovanni… I mean how bad can brick oven pizza be? Turns out this is the worst Italian food I’ve had in NYC. None of the food taste very fresh or homemade.

Being right below the north end of the high line makes this place super convenient after a stroll in the park. I came with 3 other people and we each shared an entrée with each other (got 2 entrees total). It was more than enough, especially because the dishes are so rich.
The waiters were friendly and the place really started filling up (seemed like we were some of the first for dinner on a Sunday night). I think it’s hard to mess up Italian food but if it can happen, it definitely doesn’t at this place.
Also, they should heat up the bread they give you at the beginning. It’s cold!

This is a great Italian eatery that is literally just a block away from the Highline. Definitely if you have the time, go up and visit the park as well, they’ve recently renovated it and put in new trees and flowers. Anyway back to Don Giovanni. I came in very late at night around 10:45 maybe, but that’s okay since they’re open until midnight. I ordered a side of meatballs with marinara sauce as an appetizer, and Spaghetti Carbonara as my main entrée. The meatballs were ON POINT! Very big and plump straight out of the oven, and that sauce was soo good I requested to have more of it so I could take it home to serve it on my own pasta! The Spaghetti Carbonara was okayish, I mean it tasted good but I would have held off on the salt. The bacon they used to garnish was salty enough, the egg sauce really could have used ½ less salt. But overlooking all that, everything was very good. My waitress was very attentive and served my food with a charming smile.

I was extremely disappointed with Don Giovanni.
1) The bathrooms were terrible. Unclean and incredibly tiny! I’m not normally picky about bathrooms, but you couldn’t even take ONE step without bumping into a wall.
2) Service was slow and really bad. It took us forever to have our orderes taken and once we got our food, we never saw our waiter again! I tried to flag him down for some water and eventually got his attention after walking up to him. He then promised me a refill. After five minutes of waiting, he still hadn’t gotten the water, so I just walked up to the bar and refilled it myself. Our check took forever as well. Our overall meal time was over TWO HOURS!
3) I ordered the Genovese (Spinach, Basil, Onions, Garlic, Green Peppers). Pizza was decent, but I guess that’s what you expect when you’re eating pizza in New York city.
Overall, not incredibly impressed.

Ok, the food is a full solid 3 star, not 4, sorry Don Giovanni. But we had the BEST waiter. This really friendly, professional, dynamic Israeli guy who just took over and got us what we needed in a timely fashion and simply read our tables needs on pointe. The wood brick oven pizza was YUM. not my favorite combo on top but that was our fault (we picked something with figs and truffle oil and it just didn’t mesh). My salad was not bad if watery, our daughter’s spaghetti with meatballs was her favorite meal in NYC (so salty!). The outside patio was a pleasure and. well, the SERVICE was great!

Would say this place has OK Italian food. I think the appeal comes from the outdoor seating, big windows, and warm yellow lighting. It looks cozy, but the couple of times that I’ve been it’s been a bit loud inside. Sitting outdoors was better, but the food was average. I ordered the rigatoni special with eggplant and mozzarella. The rigatoni pasta was weirdly split into pieces, but the sauce tasted good. Our waiter was helpful and attentive.
If you want true Italian pasta I would walk a few blocks north to Pepe Giallo (but know they don’t have pizza).

My wife and I absolutely love this place for several reasons. First, the brick oven pizza is delicious. We get a margarita pizza with meatballs and it is fantastic every time.
Secondly, we have tried almost every pasta dish and they are all hearty in portions and wonderful in taste.
Thirdly, the outside front patio is very scenic being on 10^th Ave and if you have a car, like we do, we always park in-​front of the restaurant which is such a treat in NYC.
Lastly, the ambiance inside our out is always warm, inviting and cozy. Don’t fall for the Italian restaurants in Little Italy but instead head over Don Giovanni’s…you won’t regret it.