Giovanni's in North Devon

Rude rude rude , left before we had our drinks. I don't come to a restaurant to pay for food for the waiter to be so rude.Had a lush curry in the Gurka very polite lush food. Won't ever be coming back here If you are having a bad day don't bring it to work!!!!!

The food was outstanding and arrived quickly, the staff were lovely and I can’t wait to come again!

We had a delicious feast here just before Christmas.Starters, mains and puddings - all perfect!Thank you all.

A very family friendly classic Italian experience. Food was excellent - both vegetarian and the meat. Would love to come back every time we are in this neck of the woods.

Words cannot describe the spectacular food I had this evening. I spent a while trying to decide what to have, then I stumbled upon the crayfish spaghetti dish. I was not disappointed. It was glorious. I then asked which wine would be best paired with the dish, and again, I was not disappointed in the slightest. My partner also really enjoyed his meal. The whole experience was exquisite. I thoroughly enjoyed myself as the food was beautiful and the staff were so lovely and seemed to be passionate about Italian cooking. 100% recommend!!

The food here was amazing! I had Insalata Caprese (pictured) to start, which was light, fresh and tasty. And then I had Penne Romana for main. I had gluten free pasta, and I find that many restaurants do not cook GF pasta for long enough. However, Giovanni's cooked it to perfection.

We arrived without a reservation with my 7yr old son and 4month old daughter. Not having a reservation wasnt a problem and the staff were really accommodating even with a pushchair in toe. When I asked if they had somewhere I could feed my baby girl they led me to a quiet spot in the restaurant which was perfect. All of the staff were lovely with my 7yr old son too. He ordered from the menu and even insisted on paying which the staff were wonderful about. It was like we were part of the family. The food was delicious and very reasonable. I cant recommend this place enough.

I ideally want to rate them 2.5 out of 5. We went on a Tuesday evening approx 8pm-the restaurant was nearly full so staff were busy- completely fair enough- but once we were seated it took over 15 mins for staff to take our order. But as I said- slow service possibly due to the busy restaurant?We ordered starters- one was white bait, the other was mushrooms with bread- well, what an utter disappointment. Stingy portions and the sauce the mushrooms came with tasted like tinned tomatoes. The “bread” offered was nothing more than 2x2 inches- like really?? I felt there was no love or passion in these dishes at all, and felt flat.Mains- Giovannis pizza and cannelloni- I tasted the pizza- not bad in taste, bit sloppy in the middle but not bad. I would happily switch it for the cannoli I ordered- x3 tubes of pasta with mince- no sides no bread, just three small cannelloni. It didn’t fill me at all. Again, felt loveless. The one thing that I noticed was that the other dishes being brought out looked amazing- the other pasta dishes- they looked incredible and I experienced food envy. Restaurants shouldn’t have to have other dishes better than others with more effort- they should all be the same. This was our last night near Barnstaple and this was unfortunately the most unsatisfying meal we have had so far. An utter disappointment as we heard such good reviews. If you are to visit- please avoid cannoli or lasagna, as you will be disappointed.Also no draught beer on the menu. So buying bottles became a lot more expensive.Overall disappointed. Really sorry Giovanni for this as I do not like to post negative reviews.

Epic pasta dishes and desserts. Friendly service and nice atmosphere. I can recommend.

A lovely little eatery opposite the theatre which would be a great start or end to any show that you choose to see.The entry was pleasant although its unusual being beckoned to a table by the waiting staff, who on reflection was being friendly but I'm just not accustomed to that methodology for getting people to a table.I sat in a quiet section of the layout and sat and took in all the pictures and nick naks that filled any space that might otherwise have looked bare.I was presented with the wine list and chose a bottle of the house red - the Sicilia Nero D"Avola, which I had not had before, but was full bodied and at the right temperature.For the starter I had the Bruscetta (spelt Bruschetta normally) and pronounced it with an "H" to have it parroted back in an accent that made the "C" a hard C and missed out the H altogether, but thats great, I love learning. This little starter, coveted by many a tomato eating European, had a lovely flavour with the Oregano giving the floral note and the garlic giving that little punch you are looking for with this peasants dish. A smidgen of black freshly milled pepper was added by the lady waiter and i was left to inhale my food, being as hungry as i was.For the main i had the Risotto Pescatora. This came out very quickly after the starter was taken away, which made me feel a little rushed, but i sat and quietly ate this rice dish laden with a flavour of the sea. Again i was offered fresh pepper and a funky electronic device despatched the pecorino cheese liberally over my meal. The plate was oozing fishy appeal and the flavour combinations were really good.After the main, i was quickly offered the dessert menu but took my time and didn't order anything for another 20 mins.For my dessert i had the Italian Crumble cake with vanilla ice cream. A light, soft and sweet custardy wedge of goodness was delivered, along with a bitter double espresso, went great together and was finished off with gusto.On paying and leaving, it was only on getting back to my hotel that i noted i had been charged too much for the wine and also for the main.So this is my main gripe, that along with having the feeling of being rushed throughout the meal.Would i return - yesWould i double check my bill before paying - oh yes.