We have heard good things about Giovanni's so we tried it last night (Friday.) like usual you expect it to be busy (any good restaurant on a Friday night.) we waited for about 10 mins to be seated. When we walked into the dining room the noise was deafening! There were 2 large groups having bday and Christmas parties, we felt out numbered for sure. Our waitress was quick to our table when we ordered drinks. My daughters Pepsi was out fairly quickly it our cafe of wine took forever!!! Probably 20 mins! We almost canceled it! The house salad took another 10 mins and the dressing (the house was so loaded with garlic it hurt our lips!) Pizza arrived in another 15-20 mins and was coldish) my daughters calzone took another 10 or more minutes to arrive! No offer of a discount or free dessert nothing! May or may not try again, we'll see! read more

Craving Italian? Me too, so I call ahead and ask if they have happy hour "yes between 4-6pm". Ok cool, my husband and I show up at 4:30pm to find a very annoyed bar keep who tells us she doesn't ave happy hour specials and we need to sit in the dining area not the bar. Uhhh the hostess comes out and tries to convince her make a special, she flat is rude and says "no... ok? Bye" and turns her back on us. So needless to say we went somewhere else. We've even to Giovanni's 100 times and never had such bad service we didn't even get to order. What the heck? We're not going back. read more

So over this place! Covid excuses will take you just so far. Get it together or get out of the business. People will only ingratiate you for so long. read more

Worst experience ever. Would have had to sit and watch everyone eat if my husband didn't share his pizza with me. We ordered the pizza with plans to take home but our food never came. Took about 20 minutes after everyone got their food before ours was ready. Packed it up to take home. No apology or anything read more

Linguini with Red Clam Sauce!!! Not every Italian restaurant has it on the menu. This place is only one of 2 in the area I am aware of so far. I thought the other place, Jimmy's, was pretty good, and it is! I fell in love with this dish in another state. I knew Giovanni's has been around for many years so I thought I would give it a try. OMG !!! This place is THE BEST for this dish! read more

It's a fun atmosphere but the food is fairly average. They do stay busy but you never have to wait long. The wait staff are generally friendly and provide great service read more

This is usually one of our go to places for food and service with consistency and quality, but not tonite. The house salad was different, the sauce on the pasta and sausage tasted like canned tomato soup, and pizza was off. Second time in the last couple months we have had the same inept waitress. Maybe they changed ownership or management. The older lady at the register always asked how things were but the guy behind the register tonite could not of cared less. He looked like I was putting him out when I commented on the crappy waitress. Very disappointing experience! read more

Just moved to the area and have tried everyone who would deliver, then tried Giovanni and they are now our go to pizza place.

Nice place just wish we would have known it was limited menu before going they could have advertised it!

Awesome food service was a little slow but then I was there in the middle of the afternoon during shift changes and interviews apparently but food was phenomenal drinks good just remember don't forget the people that struggling in the middle of the afternoon read more

I absolutely love this place! Everyone that works here is amazing and the food, regardless of limited menu, is always fresh and OUTSTANDING! read more

Giovanni's was perfect for our baseball team and family party of 30. The pizza was great and the service was good. Highly recommend!

We're visiting family over the holidays, and we ate here to celebrate our sister-in-law's birthday. One family member told us this pizza was better than Marion's Pizza (another location pizza place). I quickly learned this was absolutely false. Giovanni's pizza was unsatisfactory. Simply below average taste. However, we my wife ordered the bow tie pasta with sausage mixed with a creamy sauce, and it was really good. So there's that. Service was not great. Granted, we ate in a group of 18 adults, but it seemed like the two waitresses made their own jobs a lot harder than what it needed to be. Our brother-in-law ordered a two topping 9" pizza, and he never received it. The waitress asked a couple times if he got it, yet there was still nothing. She then said she'd put a rush on the pizza to be made, yet he still didn't receive it. He ultimately got the pizza when we were all done and leaving to pay for our meals. 2 1/2 hours later of waiting for pizza. Oh well. They did the right thing and didn't charge him for it. Food wasn't great. Service wasn't great. If you go, maybe don't go in a large group. read more

Giovanni's tends to leave me somewhat frustrated. My gamer friends and I tend to head there fairly often, usually after a trip to Bookery Fantasy to pick up comics and other nerdity. But, very rarely do I ever feel like I've had a *good* meal at Giovanni's. First up, the service. For whatever reason, Giovanni's always seems to take forever when we visit. Usually, we end up there around 4:00 on a Saturday, well before the dinner rush, so there shouldn't be too much delay in service. This actually became a point of contention within our group at one point, as my wife and I refused to go to Giovanni's for fear of missing a movie showing. While service is cordial, it's outright slow. The food at Giovanni's is reasonably good. Their pizzas are crispy and covered with delicious toppings. Their house salad dressing is particularly notable, as it's pure garlicky deliciousness. Seriously. I will eat that stuff just spread on crackers. Entrees themselves, though? More hit or miss. Their gnocchi is a bit doughy, and it's swimming in their watery marinara sauce; you just can't dump enough Parmesan on it to make it taste good. I've seen others complain about Giovanni's sauce as well, and I can't help but wonder if it's homemade or not. It certainly doesn't taste like it. I like to support family owned restaurants, but the key thing there is that you have to do a good job to stay in business. Giovanni's feels outdated and bland, especially when there are so many other good Italian restaurants in the Dayton area. I'll take Tony's in Englewood or Mama DiSalvo's over Giovanni's any day of the week. read more

This was our third chace for this place and it was another FAILURE! SERVICE SUCKS! This time we didn't even get to eat. Was poorly greeted and sat at a booth with no acknowledgement for 30 mins. They were not busy at the time either. People in other sections were getting sat, drinks, orders and food that came in after us. We were very patient and wanting to give a fair chance but, once again disappointed by your staff. This is not my first review of this place but it is my last because I will not be back and will not encourage any one to go there ever again. read more

How can there be so few reviews of this place here on Yelp? This is the best pizza in town, hands down. If you get there on an "off day", like Tuesday through Thursday, you will usually be seated immediately. Since they are not busy, the pizza comes out so fast you wonder how they can do it! The pizza itself is excellent. Just the right amount of "crispy" so that you can hold it easily. And the taste? It's good, very good. You really have to try it. read more

This place is a gem. The food is very good. The pizza is excellent Dayton style thin crust. It's an old school neighborhood place. It's the kind of mom and pop place that is a rare commodity these days. If you're in the mood for Italian food, please skip Olive Garden in favor of Giovanni's. read more

This place has gone way downhill. We used to ate here a few times years ago and loved the food! But tonight the whole experience was Blech. I ordered cavatelli with meat sauce. The pasta looked like earthworms and had the texture of gummy worms. They sat us in a oddly shaped table in the corner. At first we thought oh this is romantic and quaint but it was anything but! They had rented out that room to a gigantic very loud and crude party of card gamers. There were plenty of seats in the other room. My husband ordered the April bourbon special and it was good. We ended up sharing his meal since mine was horrible. Then the check out. We had to wait for a while as kitchen staff walked all around us not even acknowledging us. Then when we finally got to check out the woman did not ask us anything about our meal. My husband told her to have a nice night as we left and she grunted. Our server was very nice though and apologized for the loud card party goers. Waste of $45. Not a great 15 year anniversary date night. read more

I grew up in Ohio and moved to California 12 years ago and to this day I have yet to have a better piece of thin crust pizza. Those that are not giving very good reviews don't know how luck they are to have a mom and pop place that has stayed the same for so long. I try to get to Giovanni's every time I am back to visit. If you like thin crust pizza then this is the place to go in Fairborn or anywhere else for that matter. read more

We called ahead on Christmas Eve, they said they could accommodate our party of five and they would put our name down for a fifteen min arrival. We arrived and they acted like they had no idea we were coming and it was obvious they had a big party incoming and we were unwelcome, they acted like they didn't have a table available but the restaurant was half empty. We didn't get our menus until a big party had been sat and they had placed their orders, approximately 15 min. Luckily I placed our appetizer order almost as soon as we sat down. It took approximately 45-50 min to get our entrees. Service was very slow. The food was good, we had a cheese pizza for the app and for the entrees the wife had fettuccine alfredo, which was excellent and I had the spaghetti with meat sauce that was very good, my daughter especially liked it because she kept stealing bites off my plate. We didn't get any bread with butter and the salad that accompanied the meals was very dissapointing. The cheese pizza was good. My daughter's had the minestrone soup, which they commented, was improved from our last visit. Overall the food was good, gave the 3 stars due to the service, it needed significant improvement and was very slow. I'll try to make it back in the next 6 months to write another review. read more

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The food was horrible and didn't taste authentic at all. The olives are cheap olives from a can. They are not even Mediterranean. I noticed the dirty kitchen on our way out so I looked up the health inspection review.... See for yourself... It is posted publicly on gcchd.org. read more

We have been coming here for a long time, but they have gone downhill in the last few years. The place looks dirty, the pizza crust is hard unless you remember to ask for lightly baked. Some of the waitresses are rude and mean and the ladies bathroom had no soap, paper towel roll lying on the counter, one bathroom toilet out of order (and it's been that way for quite some time). I would not recommend this place anymore. read more

Was our go too pizza place for many, many, many years. Couple weeks ago the crust was different and paper thin, (did not like) when I questioned them there response was "we were so busy we ran out of fresh dough and had to use frozen dough". that was an acceptable excuse. Went back on a slow afternoon and the same dough, paper thin. Your crust was always thin but a very, very good part of your pie.. Still better than most. read more

I used to live in Fairborn many years ago in 1986 to 1990. That's when I first discovered Giovanni's. Actually my Dad did because he used to work for Dayton Power and Light and the Fairborn offices were right across the street from Giovanni's. It IMMEDIATELY turned into my favorite pizza over every other pizza in the Dayton area. And there are several other good ones like Marion's, Cassano's, etc. (at least at the time). Well, I've lived away from Ohio for many years but still come back to see my parents and friends. Every trip back includes at LEAST one trip to Giovanni's. Last trip in April 2012 I went twice in three days! haha! Anyway, we went again tonight and I just had to sit down and punch out a quick review to say the pizza is still amazing and the prices are so awesome! HIGHLY recommend the pizza even if you're staying in Dayton...it's a 20 mins drive!! Do it!! You'll be glad you did! Get a jumbo deluxe as is, no extra cheese or anything!! Yummy!! read more

My angel hair pasta with shrimp and artichokes was excellent. Cheesy garlic bread excellent. Large portions. Attentive service. Short wait for seating at 6:30 pm weekday. read more

Giovanni's - Italian Near Me - Fairborn, Ohio

I have never eaten here before so I cannot even comment on the food. However we were going to tonight and while we were waiting my father in law sat at the bar. After 10 minutes of everyone around him getting served he got up and came over. He did not say anything just that he wasn't served. My husband asked what he wanted to drink and went and sat down. After 5 minutes of the waitress walking around my husband asked if the bar was closed. She said yes we don't have a bartender. He said oh I seen drinks were being served to others but you look like you are cleaning up and she very rudely said that's because I am. So my husband came to stand next to me. The people next to him were wide eyed. about 5 minutes later she served another couple at the bar. After 2 groups of 2 people got sick of waiting and left they were going to seat us. As soon as we realized our waitress was going to be the same rude lady we left. read more

This place has amazing pizza. Like so good I haven't even tried anything else. My friends tell me the other traditional Italian options are great as well but I can't get past this pizza. read more

If I was able to give negative stars I would. First, the pepperoni rolls. They were so hard that a knife barely cut through it, and there was very little pepperoni. I could've used these as a weapon to knock someone out. Next, the raspberry vinaigrette dressing, tasted like rotting fruit, and the salad was white chopped lettuce w a couple rings of onions. And the pasta sauce, was just tomato sauce w very little spices or seasoning. The meatballs had so much parmesan cheese mixed in that it almost choked me. The only thing good that I had was the gnocchi's. I had a lot of hope for this place, but I'm beyond disappointed. I found this place so despicable that I would not serve this food to detainees in Guantanamo Bay. It seems to me that the people who like this food are people who have never left the Fairborn area, and are probably the same type of people who think Chef Boyardee is great tasting as well. There are way better places for Italian food in the Dayton area, and this place is by no means Italian. Chef Ramsay would have a field day here read more

Not impressed. I got the pizza, which was as good as Donatos..not bad pizza but I expect more from a restaurant! Boyfriend got the Calzone, it was alright but the sauce it came with tasted like canned sauce. A lot of older crowd here, not sure if that is the norm though. We came in through the back entrance and didn't see any signs or anything so just sat ourselves. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do as our waiter so rudely told us. You have to go to the podium in the middle of the room. It would have been nice if that had been made clear...a guy that came in after us did the same thing. I wouldn't recommend it. read more

This place picks and chooses when and what they "have to offer". Deceptive to say the least when people make reservations and only have one thing available to them from the menu. Also, this is a frozen dough pizza. It's not fresh and it shows. If my Italian mother came here she'd probably spit this food out! With all the pizza available at least make it fresh! Idk how this place is in business and the locals seem to like it, guess they've never had pizza before! My god it was awful! Staff was great and friendly though! read more

My husband had wanted lasagna and we are not familiar with Fairborn nor this restaraunt but we wanted to give it a try. The food menu was very limited and so were the drinks. We sat at our booth and I noticed how cheap and low-income the placed look. The tablecloth was plastic with rips and holes. The drink cups were cheap plastic from someone's personal kitchen cabinet. We noticed this restaurant is NOT AT ALL diverse. We were the ONLY people of color there and it was crowded. We placed our order which was pizza, since there was no lasagna on an Italian menu. It took about 45 minutes for it to arrive. The pizza was awful. It had no flavor and no sauce. It was like eating a cracker with cheese and toppings. The price for our meal was ridiculous! It was not even worth half of the ticket. I had to take that pizza home and doctor it up to be able to finish it. read more

Calamari was good but it's served with sauce on it. I'd rather have it on the side. The oil wasn't hot enough because it was overly greasy. Gnocchi was wrinkly, which was weird because if it's fresh it should be smooth. Looked/tasted frozen. Red sauce was super bland, tasted like warmed tomato sauce from a can. Meatballs lacked flavor but were cooked well. Cesar salad was super small and either the dressing was watery or the lettuce was wet. Chicken was unseasoned. We went on a lunch break and 30 minutes after sitting down we just asked the server to make our order to-go. I probably wouldn't go back here except to maybe try the pizza but even that's unlikely. read more

The new bar area is very nice. Fresh Italian, classic. Great pizza and fet alfredo. You won't be disappointed. We go here almost anytime we are in the area. read more

Giovanni's - Italian Near Me - Fairborn, Ohio

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Service was great and the restaurant was very clean. Very impressed with the new expansion to add a bar. I had the 1/2 spaghetti and 1/2 ravioli with meatballs. Loved the meatballs themselves, but the sauce is mediocre. I may be spoiled by Mama DiSalvos. My friend got Eggplant Parmesean. It was tasty but the eggplant was mushy and the breading wasn't crispy. Very different than other places we've tried. We will go back but will probably stick to the pizza. read more

never has anything listed on their menu. so be aware in case the menu tricks you into a date night... they even didnt have pasta one night hubby and i cane through. waste of time. read more

Wes C Centerville OH My wife and my first visit on a Friday night - very busy with waiting line. Had 6:00 reservations and were seated within 10 minutes. Waitress was prompt, friendly and graciously helped us with our order. Delivered our drinks in short time. Then, the wait started -- 30-40 minutes before our food was delivered. Waitress was embarrassed and apologized. Both meals were hot, well portioned, and truly delicious. Enjoyable, casual atmosphere. Will certainly return. Will give the kitchen's speed the opportunity to improve. read more

Garlic dressing was no joke, it burns! Chic parm was great, healthy sized cutlet, sauce was OK read more

Sloooooow. People who arrived after us were served, ate and left before we received our food . The quality of the pizza is poor. The crust is very tough and it tastes like frozen pizza. We would have been better off getting pizza at a convenience store. read more

Love the pizza, might have it tonight for dinner, I have been there several times and each time the food is the same quality. They do have a nice salad selection also. read more

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This used to be one of our all time favorite restaurants. Sadly, I don't think we will ever go back. The last two times have been extremely disappointing. The service is just horrible. It never used to be like that. I understand Covid has changed some things, but the rudeness is over the top. The waitress yelled at us in front of the other patrons for asking when our pizza would be ready. She said she had served us before 9 other tables so we should be grateful? Nobody asked her to do that if it was true? That was after we waited close to 15 minutes to even order our food. Like I said this used to be a wonderful restaurant, but if things do not change quickly they will continue to lose regular customers. read more