Il Giardino

Homemade authentic Italian that’s wonderful in portion sizes that are generous, but not huge. We had great service from an Italian woman who provided timely and knowledgeable service. We would come back.

Perhaps the best Italian restaurant we have ever eaten in. Highly recommend the calamari appetizer, caprese salad, ravioli with to-​die-​for meat sauce and a yummy orange and chocolate «salami» with chocolate gelato dessert. Our server Mark was excellent and we sat out on the patio and enjoyed the beautiful weather celebrating an early Valentine’s Day dinner.

It’s really hard to find an authentic Italian food experience in touristy areas. Il Giardino did NOT disappoint. As someone who lives in Manhattan, NYC, we go out to dinner a lot, and when visiting family here in Palm Springs, we had an Italian craving.
The atmosphere is simple, cosy and approachable, so you can just enjoy the people you are with, and not feel drowned out by the over trendy feeling that a lot of new restaurants have.
I love that stuff too, but sometimes you just want a simple, well cooked meal, in a nice place that’s conducive to relaxing and conversation.
The pasta was homemade and delicious. I also tried a salad, and anti-​pasti and the special of the day which was the branzino. Simply cooked, not over spiced, and 100% flavorful.
The dish was complemented by a side of their delicious home made pasta in a light garlic butter sauce.
For dessert, we shared their strawberry Tiramisu which was fantastic… and the espresso finished the meal off beautifully.
When visiting Palm Springs, if you want a nice, simple experience with high quality food. Definitely go here.
We met the chef, who was wonderfully warm and gracious, and thanked us for visiting her «kitchen»
The owner, was a terrific host, and our server made us feel tremendously welcome.
Spoken like a true Italian!!! Love it.

Awesome!
First night in Palm Springs and searched for best Italian restaurant on Unilocal.Good reviews steered us toward Il Giardino and we weren’t disappointed. Started with calamari — amazing. Bruschetta was the best we’ve ever had. Lightly toasted bread held up very well — much betterr than the usual stuff that’s so crunchy that everything falls apart on the first bite.
Waiter Mark was friendly and very helpful with suggestions and we allowed him to pick our entrees. Best Eggplant Parmesan ever. And the Penne with a light cream sauce and the homemade sausage was equally delicious. Told Mark to surprise us with dessert and he presented a Tiramisu that was the perfect finish to as fine a meal as we’ve had in a long time.
We wished our Italian chef friend Sacha had been with us because typically, nothing is up to his standards. We are privileged to have eaten many meals out with him and many more prepared by him either in his home or ours, and I am confident that he would have found no fault in any of the dishes at Il Giardino.
Authentic food. Try it… You won’t be disappointed.

Food is good service the same nothing fancy in décor with the main entrees over-​priced. Talked with one table after leaving the restaurant they felt the same, we’re not happy with the bill of $ 160 for 3 people.

Hellz to the yes! This place is fabulous. We happened to stop in based on Unilocal reviews and are so glad we did! From the moment you walk in the door, the service is fantastic! Friendly but not overbearing.
We ordered calamari and the rosa salad to start. The sauce in the calamari was something I’ll dream about. The calamari themselves were tender and flavorful. The burrata salad also delicious. For mains we had a beef special and the lasagna. Pasta is made fresh and the cheese melts in your mouth so perfectly.
Couldn’t be happier with our choice last night, you should consider a visit before this place is too hard to get into!

My factors are equally food, service, value and ambience. Storefront but once inside has feel of intimate quality restaurant. Definitely, a place to go.

After reading a couple of reviews We were a little concerned re portion sizes but decided to give it a try. Not only was everything plentiful but also delicious. Mark, our server, was well informed and also quite entertaining. The lasagna was terrific, the calamari though a tiny bit tough was sooo good. Just the right amount of bite to the sauce. We will be back very soon.

Didn’t feel like waiting out in the cold for a indefinite amount of time at The Rooster and the Pig. We walked across the street and found this place. I ordered the pasta a la Norma. Really good and unusual. Eggplant and smoked ricotta with a tomato sauce. Yum. My friend had the chicken and was dying over how good it was. You can tell these folks caring about quality food and doing things right.

What an amazing dinner. The food was so fresh and well prepared. The staff very sweet and helpful.

This place is wonderful! Our waiter Mark was knowledgeable about the wine and menu and made us feel right at home. My hubby had the special which was swordfish and pasta, he said it was the best swordfish he ever had. I had the ravioli, Loved it! Ate every bite. The portions were just right. We left feeling satisfied but not stuffed. We will be back! For sure!

I feel sorry for giving them 3* because they actually did a good job. The service was especially great. But the price was too expensive for 3 people. The restaurant didn’t look fancy. The lights and carpets weren’t beautiful.
About the food: I ordered a fish with a small tomato soup. My husband ordered a salmon with a small tomato soup. My son ordered lamb chops with a small tomato soup. After the meal we had a tiramisu. The dinner cost $ 152.

Wonderfully prepared and presented Sicilian-​Milanese style pasta and fish (branzino with orange sauce) in a serviceable space. Lovely friendly service.

What a great find. Just wonderful Italian food made by Teresa, with the front of the house run by her husband Rosario. It has a warm, friendly, casual atmosphere, knowledgable attentive servers and most importantly reasonably priced food that is very, very good.
Two examples of classics: I’ve never had a better Minestrone and the Tiramisu was creamy, chocolaty, light and best of all, large. I had the left-​over for breakfast :)
Perfect pasta and flavorful sauces.
Teresa and Rosario both made sure to connect with all the customers — not just the obligatory ‘How’s your meal?’ They are rightfully proud of their restaurant.
Go, you won’t be disappointed.

We showed up on their doorstep around 8 PM on a very quiet night at Il Giardino when they had decided to close early. Even with the restaurant in close-​down mode, they invited us in. It turns out this place is owned by an Italian couple. He handles the front of the house and she’s the chef.
I had a delicious glass of Pinot Grigio and my wife and I both had Spaghetti Vongole, one of their specials for the day. The spaghetti was home made and the white sauce was just spicy enough with lots of clams. Even their bread was delicious!
I’m giving the restaurant 4-​stars since I’ve only been there once and had one dish, but if my visit is indicative of the service and food at Il Giardino, get over to this wonderful Italian restaurant and order yourself a great lunch or dinner! If we return to Palm Springs, the owners can count on our being there!

Our second visit to this excellent little restaurant in Palm Springs. Accompanied by our former Sausalito neighbors, we enjoyed excellently prepared authentic Italian pasta dishes that featured Milano and Sicilian seasoning and preparation. The service was excellent and the crowd in the restaurant all seem to enjoy the upbeat atmosphere!
A great dining experience in Palm Springs!

Wow. I heard some good things about this place, but was blown away by how wonderfully authentic the Italian food was. Started with some sautéed Calamari, which was markedly different from the Grilled or Fried I’ve had in the past. Awesome…
Tried my friend’s lasagna plate and very good… Ravioli was homemade and the Bolognese sauce was as if Grandma herself was in the kitchen making it. Another in our party had the Lamb Chops and said they were beautifully sauced, Rosemary potatoes and zucchini that came with it were good too.
I had the Penne with Beef tenderloin on a Pomodoro Sauce … very nice… Service couldn’t have been better.
A few minor things … since they don’t take reservations unless you have a party of more than 4, it would be nice if they had a waiting area or there was always someone there to greet people. sometimes people looked uncomfortable when they first arrived and found themselves standing in the middle of the place. One couple opted not to stay because the place was full. This shouldn’t be as much of a problem once the weather permits people to sit outside.
The lights outside are tacky. people would not believe that the flashing lights would be the sign of a nice place like this. They reminded us of going into an arcade… if they at least were just lit, that would be much better.

I like to support new restaurants whenever I can, so me and few friends were excited to give the new Italian place, Il Giardino, a try. I read the brief article in the Desert Sun about the owners, from Sicily, so I was expecting some authentic Sicilian food. Wow, what a huge disappointment! Not sure where to start. I“ll give a pass to the décor, because buying stock art (wine bottles and flowers, of course) from TJ Maxx doesn’t count.
When we were seated, the wife of the owner (I think) or some older lady stopped by and immediately started speaking Italian to us… awkward– an obvious attempt to let us know that they are Italians and you’re going to get ‘real’ Italian food… strange. Also, our waiter told us, you will not find this kind of food anywhere in the US. I know it was meant as positive, but he may want to re-​think that. Also, when we asked him about their wine, he said he ‘wasn’t much of a wine guy.‘
Our first dish was the eggplant appetizer. $ 14 for a few dollops of too sweet eggplant and one small crisp. The next and what turned out to be the last dish, their special. Carbonara, which is pancetta/​bacon, pepper, pecorino and egg (preferably cracked at the table). Anything close to that would have been great. Unfortunately, it was a pile of mush, basically the eggs were scrambled with no virtually no bacon– just a sad dish.
We did ask if the pasta was made in house, but no surprise, it wasn’t. Wouldn’t you think, if you were opening a new, Italian restaurant, you’re from Italy/​Sicily, you would at the very least make your pasta? It’s not the hard.
This place was awful!

I was also there on their 2^nd day by chance. We arrived at 9:30pm as they were closing up, but the owner invited us in anyway. They could not have been more warm and friendly and told us not to rush. I was surprised at the menu that it wasn’t the basic Italian food you see everywhere, but had their own Milan twist on dishes. How lucky for us. We each had something different from the menu and all licked are plates clean.
There are so few really terrific restaurants in Palm Springs, that we jump when some place new opens. The last few openings have been so disappointing so this was a real treat.
If the food was this wonderful on their 2^nd day, I can only hope that they will be around for a long time.

Real homemade Italian food, from a real Italian family!
Excellent food, great service, and one of the owners, a chef, came over to greet us and see how are dinner was…
Highly recommend!