I had the honor of planning the 70th Birthday party at Giovanni's for Ms. Marsha Sokolow. I recommend this restaurant with very high marks. The food was delicious! The hospitality we received from the staff was impeccable. From preplanning to the end of the event; the entire staff was kind, engaging, hands on and available to serve. We had the family style Chicken Marsala. The portions were plenteous. Marsha, the honoree was also very pleased with the outcome. read more

Giovanni's Restaurant - Happy 70th Birthday Marsha! - Italian Near Me - Munster, Indiana

See all

We received a gift card for Giovanni's so we thought we would give it a try- and it is within walking distance from our home. Wow- the garlic rolls are out of this world- along with the garlic oil dipping sauce! My husband ordered the FRESH,stuffed with crabmeat, flounder- unbelievably delicious! I ordered the chicken Parmesan, which was good, but a little disappointing- maybe a tad dry? The service was wonderful . We came on a Friday night and we're seated right away. Live music was a plus! We will be back It is a bit dark inside, and I wish they could have outside seating, but all in all, a nice dining experience! read more

Ahh, they catered our wedding 11 years ago, we decided to go back in time for our anniversary. Everything went smoothly till our server got an 8 top, so the tempo went bye bye. Our main sat under the heat lamp a bit too long so the pasta dish soaked up all the sauce and it's was SALTY. Our nice server kindly took it off our bill. We will be back. read more

See all

The food was great and the service was great we sat in the bar area nice to watch the football game

We frequent Giovanns's fairly regularly, 8 of us went on Sunday, April 6, 2025. We have enjoyed Giovannis nearly every time, and this time was no different. We sat near the musician, Terry Higgins, little loud where we sat, kind if hard to carry on a conversation, but he is awesome. Our server Trinity was amazing, took such great care of us ! Libations are always good. Everyone enjoyed their meals, all except for one who ordered the jumbo filet. My first thought is don't order a filet at an Italian restaurant. It barely fit into the filet category, i mean everyone who sampled it thought it was liver. Anyway, don't not go on account of that, just don't order the jumbo filet. Try it for yourself, and enjoy !! read more

Discovered this amazing restaurant on Yelp. Celebrated my sister's birthday along with a few other friends. I can't stop raving about this little gem that I had never heard of & I'm really surprised. The food was delicious, priced reasonably, ambience so cozy & service impeccable! I've been to many Italian restaurants, Rosebud in Munster, Rosebud on Taylor Street & Rush st, Petterinos, Carmine's, Baccanalias on Oakley & Francisca's on Taylor to name a few, & in my opinion Giovanna's is top on my list for excellent Italian food, juicy steaks & service! I will definitely return soon to celebrate birthdays & many more meals at Giovanni! read more

Excellent service, food and cleanliness. Next time to Hammond I'll b back Try the lasagna and salad and u won't be disappointed. read more

One Word (Super) Food was great ,service great ,music romantic, these people care about their business and it showed.Will be going back.

This place gets my vote because I am in walking distance of the restaurant so it is very easy to just walk over and grab a seat at the bar. They have live music most night which is great. The place has been here forever. The menu is full of options as well as the bar. They have plenty of daily specials. The gnocchi is my stand out dish here. There is plenty of gnocchi for multiple days. I also eat a lot of their pizza which is above average for sure. Never tried the steaks or the seafood but I have heard that they are also good. Closed Sundays. read more

The service is good. The ambiance is nice and the food is great! Nice for a date night!

Highly recommended, Excellent service! Food, outstanding! Hospitality Excellent! Great family restaurant. Enjoyed every moment with my family savoring every bite. read more

My family of 9 just finished what was the worst dinners we have ever had at , what is supposed to be , a fine dining restaurant. My crab cake was as thin an a pancake and full of breading that was charred. There was no crab flavor at all, just breading. My husband had veal parmigiana that was so hard and tough, he had his meal replaced with something else. He has never done that at any place we have ever been. My son had lobster that was like rubber and my daughter's veggies were heavy with charcoal flavor. The service was good and the management was receptive to our complaints but the food was just plain unacceptable which means this place is certainly off our list of restaurants. read more

I came here craving a steak and ended up with a different dish. This restaurant is a fine dining type of place. With gentle piano music playing, it surely welcomed me during my visit. I tried the Italian Wedding soup, which was different than I would have thought, but in a good way. I ordered a salad with house dressing, which was basically an Italian dressing. It was very smooth and blended right with the lettuce. I wish it included croutons and cucumbers. They also served a bread basket with two different types of bread. One was a traditional type of Italian bread, almost a baguette. The other was a garlic type roll. The roll was a little harder than I would have liked. They were also served with butter, an oil, and a grated cheese. These really gave the bread flavor and led me to eat most of the basket. I came here planning to get a steak, but instead I ordered spaghetti with meat sauce and a meatball. My girlfriend, however, did order the Ribeye. The spaghetti was a lot better than I intended it to be! They gave a good amount of sauce and it went great on top of the noodles. The steak was average. I would have enjoyed it more if it had less fat. The service was great and our server was very friendly! Overall, the food was satisfying and I'm sure I'll be back soon to explore their menu deeper! read more

Everything was perfect. I Had never been here. Our server was amazingly courteous, attentive, and knowledgeable. Our wine and meals were so good, and the portion sizes were x 3 for the price. I had a chocolate martini for dessert, and I can't tell you how perfect the overall experience, including the ambiance, was. My significant other an I tipped our server well, and we will be back. I'm glad I didn't go off of others reviews of this establishment because I always want to experience something myself before judging. This experience is something I'll always remember and was a great way to start off 2023 with my significant other. There are many reasons they have been around as many years as they have! We will be back! read more

See all

Food was awesome and the service was excellent. We also enjoyed the live music. Will be back soon.

Good food and friendly service. House salad dressing is yummy. Would definitely go again.

Highly recommend the eggplant! Generous pour in the martinis and so many great appetizers!

Went with a small group. Service was friendly but terribly slow. I only wanted 1 glass of wine which was good because I was never offered a second. Food was solidly mediocre, even worse considering the price. Another guest said his filet was the worst he'd ever had. read more

This used to be a solid old school Italian restaurant for years. I remember as a kid when it was just a pizzeria. Food the last few times subpar, and it took forever to get this subpar food in a not too busy restaurant. There have been changes in ownership over the years....hopefully they can get it together. read more

Heard it was good so I took the family and a few guests there and everyone was happy. Took home wonderful leftovers. Can't wait to go again. Reminds me of the old school Italian restaurants in my neighborhood in chicago that have all disappeared. read more

Old school steak house. Have been a couple times. Your experience depends on Your server. First time in, had a delightful experience. 2nd, great, 3rd.. not so much. Food was sent back. As a former server, I could easily see it had sat in the window far too long. Server took a long time coming back to check on us, my group was almost finished. She had my steak recooked. However she dropped it off& I no longer had any silverware. After she was done chatting with the bartender about her Bra, yes that was the conversation, she noticed me getting up & removing silverware from another table. Laughing said Oh You got it.. My group went elsewhere for dessert. read more

My wife and I stopped here for dinner before a show at the hard rock food was good. Service was great.

Great little restaurant! Clean with a nice ambiance. Food is really good and reasonably priced. With so many Italian restaurants in the area. This is still our favorite... Also they have a nice bar area with a piano player on the weekends. read more

Wonderful local Italian restaurant with the best bread service around that includes garlic rolls with olive oil and Parmesan cheese on the side. Food is delicious and prices are quite reasonable. Very old school feel read more

Eggplant Parm 10/10! Fresh bread, great service, pianist playing every time we have dinner and great value overall on the food!! My favorite restaurant in NWI! read more

Terrible. Never saw an antipasto tray with SALTINE CRACKERS. The salads were dull and tasteless I ordered the sausage and peppers. The dish smelled rancid. I gave it back to the waitress to disgard , not eating one piece . The plate was untouched and she didn't inquire why I didn't eat any of it . She was completely uninterested and clueless. I didn't realize making baked potatoes was so hard. They' only have them on the weekends. The ONLY positive part of the restaurant is the bathroom . It's clean and smalls fantastic. Will never go back again. The new owners should stick to what they know and it's not Italian food. read more

We love the cozy atmosphere and the remodeling that was done by the new owners. I had the filet with mushrooms and it was delicious, cooked to perfection. My husband likes the blackened charred prime rib on the weekends. The music has been a plus. I highly recommend giving this place a try. Also, kudos to Elizabeth, Tommy and Sharon for their great service. read more

The food was cold and the steak was definitely not aged as stated in the menu. The atmosphere is family however the decor needs a refresh. Maybe the four stars that was rated before was from all family and friends. read more

Giovanni's Restaurant - The bread is awesome! Eat more bread! - Italian Near Me - Munster, Indiana

We have been here a few times in the past. I really enjoy their Chicken Vesuvio, however tonight I wanted to try something else. It was Valentine's Day 2020 and I got to choose where to eat. We hadn't eaten Italian in a while so that's where my mind was headed. Since moving to Indiana a little over 2 years ago, we don't usually visit our favorite places. This was my favorite for chicken vesuvio. Others have tried and failed. Tonight I wanted veal parmesan. Hate me for it but I enjoy it. No appetizer this night, even though it was a special day. We both needed to save room for the large portions we know are coming. Salad, rolls & entree. Sometimes simply things are the way to go. My husband dined on a small pizza. We aren't really "all- you- can- eat" people. You learn your limits as you experience life. Dinner was delicious and the rolls....we brought some home. read more

Worst food . No flavor . Tasteless sauce . I actually got food poisoning badly from there . I wouldn't recommend it to anybody. Bunch of children running around serving tables and a bunch of old people serving cocktails. You can tell that nothing is put into their food or presentation from the kitchen. Very disappointed and disgusting read more

Good place if you want to drink and be loud and obnoxious. This was the third time we tried this restaurant since it re opened. Service was subpar food was warm, (Not Hot.) Waitress got my spouses order wrong. Their excuse was that had 2 large parties in the back. Funny , that same thing happened to a good friend of ours. They had poor service and the food was cold. So disappointed. Won't be returning. read more

My friends and I just stopped in to have a couple drinks at the bar. We ended up staying for dinner which was great! The bread was warm and fresh. The girls that were bartending were very attentive. Great, friendly staff! read more

We love this restaurant. Its local, has a friendly atmosphere, serves classical Italian food for great prices and we love to ur waiter Tommy. What is not to like with this gem of a restaurant? read more

Excellent service. Delicious food. Reasonable prices. Went to Giovanni's with a friend on a Friday night. We had reservations and got in no problem. Drinks were nice and strong. Fillet was cooked perfectly and he mentioned the mashed potatoes were the best he's ever had. I had a pasta with shrimp. Taste was phenomenal, portion size was very good and Shrimp or perfectly cooked. My tiramisu was light and very tasty. I will be back very soon. read more

We're always excited to come here and meet with our friends from the Chicagoland area as we live in NWI. The food is authentic and our service is always exceptional. Our waiter, Tommy, is the best! read more

This is the letter was written Giovanni's about our recent dining experience. I have yet to receive a response... September 21, 2023 Giovanni's Restaurant 603 Ridge Road Munster, IN 46321 (219) 836-6220 To whom this may concern, The reason for this correspondence is to give you some insight into my recent visit to your restaurant on Sept. 20, 2023. We started out at Bottom's-Up restaurant, but their kitchen is closed and then we thought, heck what about Giovanni's, always great food, nice atmosphere and friendly staff. We were seated in the bar area, great table, our waitress 'Melina' was the best, and tipped her well. Unfortunately, our meals did not make even a 2 Star compliment - very disappointed in our entrees, not even close to the previous owner's menu, sorry to say. The Entrees were very disappointing. My friend Valery expressed her disappointment about her meal to Melina. "V" had the Short Ribs which were very dry, and her Risotto was doused with a lot of gravy that was incredibly salty. Melina apologized, and I believe she walked up to the front Hostess area where she may have spoken to the women there, she did not come back, no one came to our table Owner/Chef to discuss our meal and disappointment, so we waited, had another glass of wine and when we received our check there was no courtesy, "sorry about your meal, we discounted a few drinks or we took off an entrée. If this is a highly rated restaurant in Munster, you have failed. I have never had a bad experience with the previous ownership. Now that we reviewed "V's" meal, I would like to mention my disappointment in my Eggplant Parm. First, it was overcooked, and very mealy tasting, you certainly added enough cheese but barley any sauce. I could not even re-heat because it was over cooked and no sauce, so I would need to add my own, but then the eggplant is not going to be eatable, so what a waste to even try to re-heat. What it comes down to is you really did not take care of your customer; you dropped the ball. Again, no one ever came to the table during or at the end of our meal, no concern... I don't really know how to end this letter, but the only thing I can come up with is "shame on you for not handling your customers' disappointment that evening". read more

This is an old fashioned spot well worth a visit. Garlic rolls are wonderful. Seafood is fresh- surprising based on landlocked location. Had a feast for 6 adults for a modest $250 including tip and drinks. read more

I had the Atlantic sole and my husband had the meat ravioli. I had the soup of the day which was cream of spinach Parmesan and it was outstanding. Our main entrees came fast and everything was hot. The garlic butter rolls still steal the show. Our waitress was extremely professional without being instructive. Terry Higgins was playing this night and I recommend going when he's there. He puts on a great show. He's excellent at reading the room and is never too loud or inappropriate. We had an excellent experience overall read more

We visited Giovanni's on the weekend. It was the first time back after Covid. We had a reservation and were promptly seated in a mostly full dining room. We had a fairly new server who did well. If he was unsure about any menu item he checked and got back to us. We started with the mussels appetizer which was good. My wife ordered pasta and clams which she liked. I ordered the prime rib which is my go to dish when available. Unfortunately they didn't have any less than medium. I rolled the dice and asked for the rarest available. My bad. The piece I got was medium + and tough. Next time I'll order something else. They give you a lot of food. After i got home I realized they didn't bring my veggies. No bid deal as I was full. They had two guys playing live music which was something we haven't experienced in a while. They played mostly oldies. I highly recommend they drop the ABBA song from their playlist as it was comically awful. All in all good experience and we will be back read more

Our family has been going here since the 90's lol... and it take me this long to check in and review??? Yelp! FAIL! Giovanni's has been around for a long time, it's established and they've pretty much perfected their menu. The rolls are made fresh in the kitchen but, the bread is ordered in - just a fun fact. The steaks are always cooked EXACTLY how you order them, the pastas are Phenom and the sauces are delicious. The lamb... if you've never gotten the lamb chops or tried the leg of lamb special when it's available then you're missing out big time! Butternut Squash Ravioli - Delicious and stuffed generously! It's worth trying if you want something a little out of the ordinary or new. Desserts... Oh Lord the desserts, they've got plenty of choices and the have a few dessert items that change daily too. Here is a picture of the standard desserts - Picture- http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/hb9DuLNCYV3VfE0LbQeSUg?select=91Rlh0B9OdzoWCWwGcl9kg Cappuccino here is very good too and come with Biscotti. Check out the Bar and Lounge area for a nice relaxed time too, this place usually has an older crowd, reserved and refined like Giovanni's. Drinks are a bit more expensive than the other local places but, it's the environment... cheap drinks for cheap bars... you know how it goes. Well worth it though! The service here is excellent, always has been and probably always will be, like I'd said; this place has been around for a long time, they know what they're doing and they know how to keep their customers coming back. SYOY read more

See all