Cafe Giovanni

Great restaurant, excellent food. I’m giving only 3 stars because of a bad experience with bartender Scott. This unhappy employee should not be helping customers. He gave me the rudest reply when I asked him a simple question. He didn’t even let me finish the question, as a matter of fact. He assumed something totally wrong about my question and gave me the rudest reply, out loud to embarrass me at the bar. Despite the unfair treatment, I still tipped him. Very disappointing to say the least.

My husband and I ordered a couple of the more standard pasta dishes and salads. What we had was very good. The piña colada was great, though I’m not sure there was much alcohol in it. Our server was in training, so it wasn’t exactly a 5-​star experience, but we have no complaints.

New Year’s Eve! Food was amazing! Server was super attentive. Entertainment was piano and singers. Wonderful evening. Classy yet not stuffy.

We loved this restaurant! The food was delicious and they were able to accomdate my husband’s gluten free needs with excellent options. The service was excellent too. Next time we are in New Orleans we will definitely come back.

Everything was wonderful from service, to drinks, to food. Our server recommended the angeline, which is essentially a blood orange Moscow mule and my friend had the big easy long island (mango flavored) which he ended up getting two. We had numerous appetizers and for the main course I had the pesce venetian. Extremely succulent. The dessert options were great as well but I didn’t have room!

Took a friend here for his birthday, overall we enjoyed it. The environment was nice, the staff was nice, but somewhat, slow. We had the following:
— Chef Duke’s Oven Baked Cheesy Garlic Bread with Marinara — how can you go wrong with cheesy garlic bread? It was delicious and cheesy!
— Oysters Giovanni — Lightly Fried & Served on a Stained Glass of Five Sauces — supposedly this is an award winning dish. the oysters were very small! (hence the pictures) All I tasted was breading and sauce. no oysters!
— Spicy Caprese Seafood Plate — Louisiana Crawfish & Shrimp in a Spicy Aioli Sauce Over a Sliced Tomato & Mozzarella — very light and refreshing, a well balanced appetizer
— Sautéed Louisiana Shrimp in a Sweet & Spicy Sauce, Portabella Mushroom, Fried Green Tomato & Creamy Corn Grits — delicious, but I just wish they had a little more grits, it would of balanced out the saltiness of the sauce
— Quattro Formaggio al Forno — Sautéed Breaded Veal Baked to a Golden Brown With Marinara & Four Cheeses, Served with Penne Tossed in a Rosé Sauce — delicious, and cheesy! A very hearty dish!
Overall, we had a good time here. The ambience was nice, and the food was not bad.

Slow serving staff, complete confusion with the event logistics and our menu, and tons of misunderstandings with the bill. Really need to get your act together! Food is ok, but you can’t exchange/​leave out anything, and tough luck if you have food allergies (they are not accommodating). Two stars for the chocolate mousse.

As restaurant experiences go, this one was fun. This is a very nice restaurant without being stuffy at all. Our server, Brandy, was fun and attentive. My friend is very picky and inquisitive and put her through the paces. She didn’t flinch and in fact provided us exceptional service, while answering every question even if it meant hunting down the answer.
The atmosphere is warm, clean, and inviting. Live music was not being provided this evening, but I understand it usually is, so I’ll have to return to get and review that experience.
The food is excellent. It’s clear the chef and his staff know what they are doing and take great pride in doing it. We started with the brochette that was the best I have ever had anywhere. I had the Duke’s Fillet and it was done to perfection. My friend had the veil and reported it to me as tender and excellent. For desert I had a espresso martini and liked it very much.
Overall a very fun and worthwhile dining experience.

When I’m told that the spaghetti and meatballs are «award winning» I expect to taste a nice fresh, bright sauce (gravy, Sugo) and a very tender meatball. I usually don’t order this dish because my family has their own «sauce/​meatball» recipe and I’m usually disappointed in restaurants. We should have ordered something else I guess. Was that sage I tasted in the meatball or too much thyme? Either way it didn’t taste like basil or parsley either. It was tender but I’ve never tasted a meatball quire like it. The sauce tasted jarred. My husband called this dish «worse than chow hall spaghetti». We had great service and the rolls were fresh and tasted hand made. Our salads were fresh and very good. Doubt we would eat here again.

Food was exceptionally delicious. Taste was mind blowing. The server made the meal an experience to remember… Brandy… We will be back.

FANTASTIC LIVE MUSIC! A little opera and some great American song book. They earned and received four times my usual live music tip.
The food was awesome;
We shared the best ever fried oysters, unbelievable!
She had the crab & avocado salad and I had the pork prime rib; the best pork I’ve ever had. It was a wonderful meal with exceptional entertainment. We can’t wait for our next meal there!

Went here with my coworker one night — she had chicken fettuccini Alfredo and and loved it. I had a house special — veal locicero — like a piccata but with some added elements — artichokes and baby shrimp. It had great flavor but the veal wasn’t as tender as I like. The service was great and the entertainment was amazing. A fabulous classical pianist played while we dined and male and female opera singers accompanied him. They were all wonderful but the man stole the show when he donned a napkin on his face and sang Phantom of the Opera. It was a riot. I would recommend a stop here when in NOLA

Came here to try out their Coolinary Menu. Food was great for the price. I started with the spicy seafood caprese which was delicious. I then got the seafood avocado salad for my entrée and it was really good. I would give them 5 stars if the service was a little better. The place didn’t look too busy with a lot of empty tables but our server seemed to be rushing all the time. She was also late in putting our drink orders in.

Okay Food, Great Service
The food was good, more average than exceptional. What made the restaurant most memorable was the great waiter who was fun and friendly.

Ordered up!!! Seafood Avocado salad, cheesy garlic bread, fettuccine Alfredo, two of the specials that night, crawfish and shrimp Monica and soft shell crab pasta. Lastly southern style Louisiana voodoo shrimp as seen and won on iron chef. We fished by sharing tiramisu.
All of these dishes were very good. I really loved the fresh crab on the salad, large portion perfect for sharing. The voodoo shrimp has a bit of an Asian flare. However this misplaced southern girl can’t pass up shrimp and grits. It sat atop a portobello mushroom and a fried green tomato that melded together perfectly. The fettuccine got «this is second best next to mom’s.» Everyone enjoyed their food. The other pasta specials were very good a nice fusion of Louisiana and Italy. The tiramisu was average. We are spoiled on the tiramisu. Americans love to cheat and use lady fingers (actually I have found this in other countries too)
Back to the restaurant, we lucked out and went on a night with live entertainment. This was so much fun. Three rotating singers with huge smiles and a piano player. If your in the French quarter this is a don’t miss.

Visited this restaurant and I’m very happy i did. Staff was very friendly and on point in timeliness between beverages and each dish of our dinner. I had the soup of the day and it was delicious, not too spicy, and just what I needed after a long day at the Jazz festival. Then came the bruschetta that bread was soooo good! Both our dishes were great, light, and delicious! I can’t remember the name of the dish I ordered but I know it was on the night special menu. My sister had the Louisiana pasta and they made it with chicken as she is allergic to shell fish. She was very happy with her dish. My pasta was amazing just the right portion and so light, I’m glad I ordered. Time for dessert, the cheesecake with pralines was phenomenal! It was delicate, fluffy, balanced, and not too sweet but sweet at the same time, if you know what I mean. I highly recommend it and of course I’ll be back next time I’m in town. Thanks to the chefs and staff for a great dinner!

We made reservations because we like being entertained while dining and heard the singing here is great. They seated us in the back room, next to a table of 18. Need I say noisy? We asked for another table and they said they didn’t have any. 10 minutes later another couple came in and didn’t like the noise, asked for another table and got it. What’s with that?
We wanted to enjoy a glass of wine while listening to music, but the waiter kept rushing us for our order. Then to top it off, the singer had her back to us the whole time. She never once turned around to face the back room. Super disappointing.
I had a Caesar salad and my husband had a caprese. Both were fine. I then ordered veal Parmesan, which wasn’t great. Very small piece of veal, over fried, and chewy. The red sauce was just ok. My husband ordered the braised beef which was a daily special and it was terrible. The meat was super dry and chewy and had no flavor. We saw the chef delivering food to some tables, but not to ours.
Overall, a sad $ 100 dinner. Should have gone elsewhere.

Great food, but the wait staff turns tables too fast!
The food at Café Giovanni is good, but part of a dining experience is being able to take your time, have a conversation, and enjoy the food. This is not possible at Café Giovanni. When I was there for French Quarter Music Fest, we had to ask our server three times to slow down and give us more time. The staff wants to turn tables quickly, and I’m sure they have been instructed to do so, but this doesn’t make for a pleasant dining experience when you have to shoo your waiter away, and they hover by the table, waiting to turn it. I won’t go back for this reason, there are too many great restaurants in New Orleans to put up with this kind of service.

came highly recommended. Food ok. Overprized. Dissapointed. Meat balls were undercooked and bread never came.

We were there a few weeks ago and were so excited to try the tasting menu with the wine pairings and to hear the singers. The food was fair, at best. I did like the fried oyster appetizer, but nothing else really stood out. Unfortunately, I don’t feel that I’d need to dine here again. The restaurant was packed. The meal took 3 hours and we didn’t receive our first course for over an hour after we ordered. The chef never came out to meet us, I’m not sure if he/​she typically does.