Giovanni’s Pasta Pizza Palace

As pointed out in other reviews they add 18% gratuity for ALL checks no matter the size of the party. Didn’t really matter for us as the service was not bad and the staff was friendly.
We got some appetizers and a large pepperoni pizza.
The appetizers were obviously not made fresh, stuff I could have gotten at the food lion frozen section.
The worst part was sitting outside with the view of the kitchen inside. After ordering our pizza we noticed that they weren’t using fresh dough. Their crust was a frozen pre made one or maybe something baked earlier in the day. You could tell, because the crust sucked. The pizza overall was just bland stuff you’d expect from a fast food chain.
Anyway the food was not worth the price, the taste was mediocre at best. I know it’s a tourist area but there are other pizza places on the strip that at least use fresh dough. Will definitely not go again.

We are on vacation wanting a great Italian experience however it was the worse. The food was at best, average or below average. However the service was horrible and they added a 18% tip when they were rude and extremely unprofessional. You can guarantee we will never eat there again and I will tell every person I ever come in contact with to avoid this place like the plague.

So good! We had a great experience here, and the food was absolutely delicious. Our server was so sweet and gave us the best service of anywhere we had while we were on vacation. I would most definitely come back again.

Service is really slow, but the servers are nice… and the automatically add 18% gratuity to every table… but it is a tourist area so no real surprise I think it is high though… especially ainc ether service leaves something to be desire… still waiting on our food…

Good experience it’s in the tourist area right on the beach. They validate parking and if you dine there again saving the first receipt you get a discount. Very friendly and nice staff and experience

One of the best traditional and authentic Italian in Va. Needs to add some modern cuisine to menu and bring the price point down. I have lived in non-​tourist Italy and this is as close as you can get and why the 5 stars. It’s real Italian.
However:
Wall sign in back is bad.
Service ok but missed on details like automatic water and timing. Food came out too fast and we did not get a prep on deserts and it took too long for her make her pitch. It’s a lack of attention to detail in service that if crowded, gets much worse.
Auto gratuity will kill this place because Unilocal ratings get tanked. It needs to go. Youth customers hate it. Servers get lazy with it too, just like Italy!!!

Really good pizza. Got in and got our food fairly quickly. Only downside is the automatic 18% tip added to your bill and not splitting check among people at our table. With an automatic tip it seems that the servers don’t have to earn their tip.

So there are pro’s and con’s to this place! The downside is the Automatic 18% gratuity added to all checks and they will not split bills!!! That’s the bad stuff!!! The good stuff: the Food was awesome. We started with the Garlic Knot Appetizer. It was made with fresh garlic and parmesan, and the marinara dipping sauce was great. It was so good I kept the garlic that fell off the bread to add to my pizza. Overall, the pizza was okay. Not the best but it was tasty and fresh! I recommend if you are in the area and craving Italian.

Omg’sh this place is wonderful! It’s not fancy. My husband said 4 stars because there are nicer looking places to consider but I personally don’t care if it’s not fancy looking. The staff is really nice. The food is great. Husband got spaghetti and meatballs. He wanted more. I got a seafood dish with linguini, scallops, shrimp, artichoke hearts, yellow peppers and whole olives with a creamy red sauce and it was somewhat spicy. Loved it. Also got the tirimisu and cannoli. Very good again. We came in November so it was off season and very quiet. Highly recommend you try it.

We ordered a cheese pizza and a pizza with spinach, tomato and mushrooms. It was horrible. The crust taste just like the cheapest frozen pizza. I tried to finish it with adding olive oil and cheese. But it didn’t help. We had to replace our order to chicken parmesan sandwich, garlic bread and calamari. They were okay. And staff were nice. Just don’t order pizza there!

Their chicken parmesan pasta was the best! The frozen drinks were excellent. Everyone there were pleasant and great customer service.

Service was good, but the food lacked deep flavor. It really seemed like you could buy the canned sauces and dough at the store and make the dishes. This is not to say that the food was bad. It was just not remarkable. Calamari seemed to be majority breading and oil.
Portions are large, so definitely considering going here if you are hungry. Giovanni’s has beach prices ($ 10 – 15 a dish).

The place was terrible. The owner or manager was very rude. He told us upon arriving to walk outside and wait. After being seated it took forever to see a waiter. And once he arrived he rushed us into ordering. We then randomly recieved calamari. We were puzzled then shortly 2 or 3 waiters said that they weren’t for us and haggled us about it. We just agreed to pay for it so they’d leave us alone. The waiter took his time refilling refreshments. So long that i had to actually go up to the desk and ask. The philly cheese wasn’t very good either. Please guys go somewhere else its awful

Although admittedly snobby about my pizza as an NYC native, this place simply wasn’t good. The pizza crust was way too thick & crispy & tasted defrosted, the sauce was mediocre at best & not authentic tasting, the sangria was overly juicey and pretty gross… and the calamari was extremely oily. Really not worth a trip.

My two friends and I were hungry and decided we would stop in for pizza. It didn’t look that crowded and when we went in we were seated immediately. We waited a few minutes and our server came over. She was pleasant but quiet so it was difficult to hear. We decided to get a medium pizza to split and one person requested a coffee. After a few minutes we received water. We waited, and waited, and waited. 15 minutes later our friend got her coffee. About ten minutes after that we asked how much longer and were told a little while longer. Five minutes after that we were getting restless and requested bread.
After another ten minutes we started to ask again about or food. The waitress told us again a little while longer. At this point we were ready to go as we waited 50 minutes for just a pizza. We asked for the checks since we ordered the coffee and told her we didn’t want the pizza. She said ok and that she was going to get her manager. The manager came over and said she would check on her food. A minute later she came out with the pizza. When she placed it she apologized and told us she would give us a 10% discount and free dessert. The discount wasn’t actually worth it due to the automatic 18% gratuity added to any table no matter the party size. The food wasn’t that great considering we waited an hour for one pizza. Mind you a table of six came in around 10 and all their food was brought out to them in about 20 mins. Don’t bother wasting your time here. The food may smell good but this place is a terrible. Mind you we just waited 5 mins for our change.

Pretty good overall. Hubby and I shared a small Greek Pizza. Kids menu a little overpriced. Paid 8.99 for a hot dog, fries, and drink for each kid. They add 18% gratuity to every check which is understandable if you’ve ever been a server.

Well the first time I went I loved it they accept dogs to stay with you outside, and the food was great and I went back for a second time… It was like they got rid of the servers with good customer service they completely ignored us until we were ready to leave,. However this a review for the food the food was great huge portion size no complaints at all with that

I’m 44, and I just had the best pizza of my life. The crust, the sauce, OMG. I started telling my wife «This is really good pizza,» then escalated to «This might be one of the best pizzas I’ve ever had.» I didn’t want to overstate, but by the time we were on the last 2 pieces, I knew. No more holding back. We’re from Minnesota, and we’ve never had anything like that. And the garlic bread? Woof.

I was looking for a sit-​down pizza joint along the strip, but certain places (like 204 Pizza) looked like pizza without any pageantry. My group found Giovanni’s and I’m glad we did.
We sat outside and got a great view of the crowd. It was a nice summer night. I ordered a strawberry daquiri, which was very good. I tried the Piba Colada too and it was very good also. The beers on tap are quite limited.
We started with spnuach artichoke dip. It came with pita bread and was probably the best spinach artichoke dip I ever had. It tasted real fresh and not like it was a frozen meal heated up like you’d see at most restaurants.
For dinner I got the Seafood Diablo and it was GREAT. It packs a spicy punch. It is shrimp, scallops, calamari, banana peppers, black olives, artichoke hearts over a bed of linguini. My only complaint was that the shrimp tails were not removed. It was very solid overall.
The bread that comes with the table is very good. It tastes like it’s made at the restaurant, and the olive oil provided tastes like it has wine sauce in it or something. Very, very good. It was good to dip my bread in the diablo sauce, too.
The service is good, although our server was a little slow when it came to getting the bill. She couldn’t speak English that well either, but she was nice. The 18% gratuity automatically added is… interesting. Some places just do that I guess. It is what it is.
All in all, I enjoyed it thoroughly. I tried the chicken parmesan and it was very good too. I was VERY full and it was pretty much the only meal I had in ten hours. We all raved about the food quality. Wasn’t frozen food heated up, at least in our estimation.
I’d definitely try this place if you’re at the beach. A nice meal that will fill your appetite.

Excellent food
The best pizza I ever had
The service was good too
And one of the least expensive meals we had