I really want to like it because I want to support local businesses. However I'd expect Olive Garden quality in the flavor of their sauces because of the price point of their food. The flavor is just not there. We would go way more if this improved. read more

Food is terrible and seating I don't recommend at all Unfriendly people!! Never received refills..Chairs were so uncomfortable..

I've been dining with Giovannis for 30 years. My husband and son have always favored the lasagna, while my favorite is the eggplant parmesan. Dinner accompanied by a Caesar salad with in-house made dressing tops off a delicious meal. I can always find room for one of Momma Giovannis delectable homemade desserts. Tarimasu is my favorite, followed closely by Limoncello. This wonderful family owned restaurant has been a staple in our town for a long, long time. I give them ***** stars. read more

Always have great food. Their marinara is definitely top drawer. Portion sizes are enough to share and the service is good.

The food and service were great. The crust in the calzone was both crispy and very light and tender. My wife ordered lasagna also very good. We couldn't eat it all and it made a great lunch the next day. Wish they had a wine list. read more

Food tastes like white bread boiled in water. Disgusting. They have some NERVE to slap the label of Italian food on their cuisine. What an insult to the people of Italy and to any poor unsuspecting patrons tastebuds. Do yourself a favor and skip this place. read more

My first visit here, and I ordered the Grilled Chicken Orecchiette. My server was very friendly and prompt. The food however, left much to be desired. First, orecchiette is a type of pasta. That wasn't what was in my dish. It was penne pasta, and an over abundance of it. The Serving was huge, but besides the pasta, the sauce was very watery, and the overall flavor didn't impress me. The chicken was well hidden in the pile of pasta. They could've dispensed with about half of the pasta, and thickened up the sauce. Overall, I don't think I will be going back. I'm disappointed, because we don't have a lot of choices in Sylacauga. read more

We have eaten here many times, however the owners should hire someone to manage the restaurant. We drive about 30 miles to the restaurant and we always check the website to make sure they are open 3 times we have been turned down for service. 1st Time a year ago we arrived 45 minutes before closing and were told we could only purchase take out because they were already cleaning up? Say What? 2nd time about 6 months ago arrived, walked in and we were told they were closing due business was slow and no one was coming in. 3rd time this past Sunday afternoon about 4:00 pm, paper bag taped to the door: We are closed due to the weather...it was raining, Does the kitchen not have a roof ??? I guess whoever made the decision to close didn't feel like working and just wanted to go home. Pizza and salad is pretty good but management has no concern for customers that have driven 30 miles to be rejected for some lame excuses not to stay open till the advertised business hours. Sucks... Hire someone to manage the restaurant !!! read more

It's ok. I got my food to go, so this isn't about the tempature as much it is about the flavor. When i ordered the process was smooth enough, they have the bread listed on your menu as a ciabatta loaf, but when i ordered it the person on the phone was confused by what i wanted. I've never been in before and she asked was it the table bread, sure i guess. Either way we were talking about the same thing it seems. I ordered the lasagna as my entree with a side salad. The lasagna is not better than Olive Garden honestly, it had hunks of meat in it which i am not used to. It is very saucey which i do appreciate to dip my bread in. That was honestly the best part of the meal. I would like to go back and try an in house experience. read more

Giovanni's Italian Restaurant - Bread - Italian Near Me - Sylacauga, Alabama

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I grew up in Sylacauga and have been wanting to try this place. Well, we finally did. The food was good, not the best I've ever had...but it was good. My wife had the spaghetti with meat sauce. I had the meat lovers pizza. The atmosphere was bad. It was dark and seemed to have far more space than tables. The chairs are those uncomfortable metal chairs that seem to be all the rage. We hate them. Now the service. ...it was not busy when we got there. There were four tables including ours (party of 2). We waited entirely to long for someone to take our order. My wife wanted to switch from water to unsweetened iced tea, that took three requests. My tea glass ran dry halfway through my meal and never got refilled. read more

Great atmosphere- large portions on the lasagna. Great stop between Birmingham and Lake Martin for the family. read more

Giovanni's Italian Restaurant - shelves of condiments - Italian Near Me - Sylacauga, Alabama

We had Calzone, and it was exceptionally tasty. Too much food for one person. I look forward to trying other dishes at this establishment.

We came in about an hour and a half before the store closed. They were not crowded and there was not wait. We were asked to sit anywhere we wanted to sit. Our server was very attentive, and she got our drinks and bread out quickly. We quickly noticed though that she was the only staff member hustling to do anything. The other staff seemed slow and distracted. The other server literally walked slowly around and was obviously not nearly as attentive. We placed our order and waited about 30 minutes. We noticed others received their food even after we placed our orders. We asked our server. She said our food was about to come out. We waited another 10 minutes. The server then came out and asked to take our order again as our order had "disappeared". She took our order again and stated it would only take about 10 minutes to prepare. 20 minutes later I asked the slower server to check on our food. She literally did not say a word and just walked away. She could not care at all about our order. Our original server (who was running all over the place helping others) came back out and let us know our food is about to be ready. This was about 10 minutes before the place closes. We asked to speak to the manager. The food was delivered. The manager came and she seemed quite disturbed that we asked for a manager. She stated that the ordering system lost our order because of wifi issues and they can "give us a few cents credit if we like but that is all she can do". I just said, "whatever you feel you need to do". She walked away. Our original server came back and apologized when she brought out the bill. I do not feel it was her fault at all. But I do feel the owners need to know this occurred. I have eaten at this place before and I have never had flippant staff or a "manager" seem so rude. Our original server did a good job. But she deserves better help from the owners. The food was a little cold. The bread was way too buttered. Oh, and they never offered to refill our drinks...not once. read more

As strange as it may sound, their ranch dressing is the best around. It's a little thinner than most without the weird buttermilk wang that some have. My favorite sandwich is the Italian Cheesesteak. My favorite meal is the chicken fingers fried "Greek style". The pizza can be a little greasy on top from all of the cheese. read more

Wife and I stumbled upon a neat Italian restaurant in Sylacauga. They wiped down some outside tables so we did not have to eat in the car. Nice gesture great meal. Wife had the Muffuletta, she said it was awesome, I had The Godfather, wow. Both meals were big enough to so we have another meal tomorrow. Pasta salad side dish outstanding. They will see us again. read more

When I got in it smelled pretty good so I got a pepperoni pizza cheese sticks and wings and it was awesome and food was pretty quick

Ate here over the years, can remember when it on old Sylacauga Highway, but was in town and first time ate here since Covid started in 2020 man has it changed smaller menu and larger price. Like a plan cheese pizza is almost $20 plus $2 each topping. Pizza sauce was sweet but good, service was slow even though they was one guy in there at a table .No one was watch door we stood there waiting till that guy yelled to the back. When we left they was only handful of tables being used and still we had to wait to even pay I waited so long I almost walked out with out paying. I was great place but now with bad service and higher prices it not worth stopping in anymore. read more

Loved it! Place was super busy, but the service was still good. Bread, Caesar salad and eggplant fries were all pretty good starters. I had the spaghetti and meatballs. Meatballs were really good but the sauce was incredible!!! Definitely would order this again. Wife had linguine and shrimp that was also very good. She says 4.5/5 stars, I say 4! Overall, great time and we'll be back! read more

5.0 star rating3/7/2020 Where to begin . Talk about a diamond in the rough place . The place is not the most eye catching for an Italian restaurant but it doesn't what it can . Let's talk drinks for all my ice lovers their ice is the perfect kind for chewing .Small round pebbles. Great news for kids with young kids 5 and under eat free . The service is friendly but not quickest But not too terribly slow The food is delicious my only advice is to ask for a second plate for the kids cheese ravioli. 3 Raviolis drenched in red meat sauce They do give you a hard or soft Italian need french in olive oil and garlic . It's good but messy A little sad they had no fries but the did offer us a substitute for our sandwiches The food is served in like a basket you put pencils in with deli paper so that could change to something a little more upscale Their kids menu is limited ( cheese ravioli, chicken fingers or fettuccine Alfredo 5.99 ) So if you're kid doesn't like anything on kids menu be ready to eat off the adult Their pizza is a grand slam and is very much identical to what we had back in NY ( the good news is the owner and chef are true Blue newyorkers so they know what good pizza should be) the only sad thing is it's only sold by the pie and not the slice . It would be great to sell it by the slice but pizzas made fresh from scratch. The salad bar is limited as well but none the less Delicious We plan on coming back very soon read more

Amazing food! Service is impeccable! Antipasto Salad is so fresh and the dressing is perfect! Spaghetti and Meatballs is my go to and there is always plenty leftover. read more

My husband and I met a friend here for lunch. It was absolutely delicious. We all got something different and each of us spent half the lunch talking about how great the food was. The restaurant atmosphere is super cool. The staff were very friendly. read more

Excellent food and service. Ambiance is quiet and family friendly or great for a date night. Top tier authentic Italian food.

Went for lunch. The service and food were great!!! The waitress got our drink order and came out with hot buttery garlic bread. YUM!! Then we ordered kids pizza and split and salad for 2 with one order of 7 layer lasagna!!! We had to get to go boxes. We are all the bread and almost licked the bowl from the Caesar salad. Pizza and the rest of the lasagna are what's for supper read more

. very very oily pizza in general... crust too thin to withhold toppings.. once pizza is cooked it the crust is soaked with oil the bread is completely NASTY and soggy.. read more

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The food was just ok but I'll try them again because they are local and nice people. It's a nice set up.

Great place for a mid afternoon meal with friends. Food was fantastic. The 4 of us got something different and swapped tasting samples. We traveled 45 minutes to get here and left calling our friends telling them how good it was. A must weekday outing for retired folks. And the next door flea market was a bonus. read more

I've been driving by this place for the last few years and decided to get a couple of meals to go, chicken parmigiana and a chicken salad. The chicken had been deep fried(overcooked) and had chicken put on it and maybe under a hot burner to melt it. I've never been to an Italian restaurant that didn't provide a salad with an entree. The chicken salad was pretty good, nothing "special" about it. The ordering system was complicated by using a third party and was given a "pick up number" and was told to call and it would be brought out. Upon arrival, found out that wasn't the case. Maybe, I'll retry on an evening when I have time to dine in. Maybe. read more

Calzone was soggy and over priced and enough for 2 Caesars salad dressing tasted more like mayo everything was way over priced. Portions too large. Service was good read more

Pizza was great! Loved it! Pasta was pretty good. Service was good! Salad bar had many options. Recommend to everyone read more

Giovanni's Italian Restaurant - Alfredo with shrimp - Italian Near Me - Sylacauga, Alabama

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My first visit to this restaurant. The food was fantastic. I had the baked ziti. Very large portions. It comes with the salad bar. Pasta salad on the salad bar was really good. Staff was very friendly. Would definitely recommend and will be returning. read more

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Very disappointed with the quality of food given the hype of the tv show makeover. Hope next visit will show improvement.

Where to begin . Talk about a diamond in the rough place . The place is not the most eye catching for an Italian restaurant but it doesn't what it can . Let's talk drinks for all my ice lovers their ice is the perfect kind for chewing .Small round pebbles. Great news for kids with young kids 5 and under eat free . The service is friendly but not quickest But not too terribly slow The food is delicious my only advice is to ask for a second plate for the kids cheese ravioli. 3 Raviolis drenched in red meat sauce They do give you a hard or soft Italian need french in olive oil and garlic . It's good but messy A little sad they had no fries but the did offer us a substitute for our sandwiches The food is served in like a basket you put pencils in with deli paper so that could change to something a little more upscale Their kids menu is limited ( cheese ravioli, chicken fingers or fettuccine Alfredo 5.99 ) So if you're kid doesn't like anything on kids menu be ready to eat off the adult Their pizza is a grand slam and is very much identical to what we had back in NY ( the good news is the owner and chef are true Blue newyorkers so they know what good pizza should be) the only sad thing is it's only sold by the pie and not the slice . It would be great to sell it by the slice but pizzas made fresh from scratch. The salad bar is limited as well but none the less Delicious We plan on coming back very soon read more

I'm a local and have eaten here many times. It used to be pretty good, but it has really declined over the past 4-5 years. I ordered Chicken Parmesan a few days ago. It came with garlic bread, pasta and a Caesar salad. The dressing for the salad was so salty that it made the salad inedible. The garlic bread was oily and mushy; not toasted at all. The chicken was burnt. Red sauce is incredibly oily. I have been at at Giovanni's maybe once every 4-6 months for the past couple of years hoping that it would be better. I will not be back. read more

I stopped by for the lunch buffet. The salad bar was limited but fresh. Same for buffet. Limited choices but really quite good. I sampled a little of everything, including the two soup choices, was happy with all. One lady handling everything up front and doing a good job considering there were sixteen patrons at 11:30 am. While more expensive than a burger and coke it was real food and certainly worth a try. I'll be back. read more

Giovanni's Italian Restaurant - Italian Near Me - Sylacauga, Alabama

Giovanni's has now moved to a location on US 280, next to the Pickle Patch Market. Check out my food shots from our recent Sunday brunch.... Still my top pick for Italian food!!! read more

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I'll start off by saying DO NOT EAT HERE!!! I'm currently, as of writing this post, sick with the worst food poisoning I've ever had. I know for a fact it was this place because yesterday, 09/16/22, Giovanni's was the only thing I ate that day and I've been sick since. I knew something was off when I walked in and there was a distinctive odor of rot and decay. The walls, tables, floors, menus, even the salt and pepper shakers were all somehow greasy yet also sticky. Everything was dirty and grimy and yet I pushed through thinking "Hey, at least maybe the food is good!" And oh how wrong I was. I ordered eggplant fries that were completely flavorless and bland resting in a sauce I couldn't even identify that tasted like it had been sitting in a cooler for months. I also had the meat lover's calzone because I figured that it's hard to mess up a calzone and again oh how I was wrong. Somehow the outside shell was burnt but the inside was doughy and undercooked. Most of the meat inside wasn't cooked properly and the cheese overwhelmed everything. I guess the chef thought he could cover all his mistakes with cheese but no, it was rancid, greasy and disgusting. I took the rest home with me thinking I might try it again later but after feeling sick I threw it out, not even wanting to risk giving it to my dog. So now I'm huddled in my bathroom switching between the toilet and shower and I feel like absolute death. If you made it this far then please, I beg of you, don't eat here. Don't do it to yourself. Go to El Vaquero's instead. TRUST ME read more

Good but not incredible. For the price you would think it would be all fresh ingredients but it is not. For instance, the mushrooms are clearly canned mushrooms not fresh. Therefore, the price is too high to rate them really high. Overall it is quality food. Oh and if your a group of 5-6 there is limited choices. Plenty of seating for 2-4 or 8+ plus. But a family with 3 kids is kinda limited unless you want to take up a huge table. read more

Giovanni's Italian Restaurant - Current menu- love the prices that are "???" - Italian Near Me - Sylacauga, Alabama

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I would like to start with the inside I would give that a 4 star it was nicely done. But as for the food I had spaghetti with meat sauce and it was horrible absolutely no flavor whatsoever and was swimming in water!!!! In my opinion I do not believe that they are Italian whom are running it and the menu was very limited. Maybe it has new ownership not sure but it needs more attention to the food !!!!! Unfortunately will not return read more

What a terrific find! We had the deep dish supreme pizza. They serve the sauce on the side like you would with a calzone, so basically you get as much or little sauce as you'd like. The sauce is once of the best pizza sauces I've had: robust and containing like basil. The Italian sausage was actual Italian sausage not fake nuggets of something claiming to be Italian sausage. The ingredients of the pie were distinctive and very well seasoned. And the dough...great pizza starts with great dough, and by golly this was delicious. The portions were ample. This is a definite do-it-again spot! The service was great, and they made sure our to-go order was perfect. read more

We went today all you get is the entree no salad or bread unless you pay extra can not even get a side salad have to get a salad for 4 and the lettuce was huge chunks the serving as are not as large and prices higher our meal had two small pieces of chicken and an abundance of shell pasta will not be back was better before the make over. Service was super slow read more