My wife and I each ordered a Caesar salad and for $11 it was tiny. I thought maybe the waiter had the order wrong and split one salad but sadly that was not the caseI asked the waiter if I should get the veal marsala or the veal piccata. He said he liked the piccata better because the marsala was too sweet. I’ve never had Marsala that I thought was too sweet, so I Thought maybe the waiter just didn’t like food like that. Well sadly, he was right. the marsala was so sweet it tasted like sugar had been added to the dish.This was the last night of our four nights stay and every other restaurant we visited we enjoyed very muchI would definitely not return to this place
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Kelly “KD” Dixon
Delicious dinner, stared with crab cakes, very flavourful lots of crab (not filled with breadcrumbs), lobster ravioli was amazing. Osso Bucco was hearty and delicious, finished off with Tiramisu. Great dinner topped off with a lovely conversation with the owne. Highly recommend when in Carmel. Lots of locals seem to dine here.
Okay food, service and vibe are good.Slightly overpriced.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Cynthia Robbins
Nice looking restaurant and the Dad daughter team is very sweet. However the menu did not match the menu on open table and my husband only wanted one thing which he did no get. We were offered a discount because he was upset. Was ready to say water under the bridge until I got food poisoning.I believe it was because the cannelloni was not heated well enough. It had a nice taste but it was not hot when it came to the table. It was lukewarm. I had indigestion and thought it was from the wine but I woke up hours later with a terrible pain sweating and almost vomited. The pain lasted into the next day.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
DougM
We loved the cannelloni and our overall experience. The service could not have been better ( thank you Kelly). The restaurant has charm and is my new favorite in Carmel. It is a bit pricey but you get food that justifies it.
Jordan Bliese
Delicious and lovely food with terrific drinks
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Caesar Salad, Calamari, Fish
Judith X
Food is below the average. The restaurant is very tiny, and the service is rude. A little price company the environment and service. The quality is small, so be sure to order one and a half main courses for an adult.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
BunnyD
Carmel's Bistro Giovanni is our favorite restaurant in Carmel and it is ALWAYS just great in every category. We have been going there since its opening a long time ago and it never changes, always a fantastic experience with excellent food and service.
Ajinkya Rasam
It can't get better.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Doodlebugluv
Quaint little Italian place with great seafood. We ordered the crab cakes and Burrata appetizers. The port wine tamarind sauce with the crab cakes was delightfully unexpected and the burrata was reminiscent of my time in Florence.
It’s my birthday and I rarely, in 30+ years of GF and DF restrictions, expect a spectacular birthday meal that doesn’t send me into gastrointestinal distress… WOW… Bistro Giovanni IS WORTH FLYING ACROSS THE COUNTRY‼️ UNBELIEVABLE, the BEST I’ve ever experienced and I’m so grateful for the most INCREDIBLE MEAL I’ve had in decades! Thank you for the food, the people, the atmosphere- CANNOT WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR!!!Dietary restrictions: GF, DF
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Caesar Salad, Chocolate Mousse, Lobster Ravioli, Chicken Piccata, Salad, Misto Di Mare, Sauce
Heather M.
Always a great meal here at this cozy little bistro in. Carmel. The service is top notch- and the owner even still comes around and Uncorks the wine after all these years. The basil Gorgonzola soup was amazing!! Perfect for dipping their cheesy garlic bread. The carbonara pasta was creamy and delish. The cauliflower gnocchi with creamy sundried Gorgonzola sauce was a treat. The lasagna is also decadent and filled with sausage and cheese. The star of the show is the rigatoni and meatballs- something special about that sauce! You have to try it! And of course ending with the homemade tirimisu.
The lasagna was outstanding, my husband ordered osso bucco which was also very good. Good service and generous portions. It was my birthday and I was treated to a delicious chocolate dessert. The owner of the restaurant came over to inquire how everything was during our dinner. It was a wonderful birthday dinner.
Wendy Tsang
I am so happy that we got to discover one of the great Italian restaurants in Carmel. We started with the salad with feta cheese and we like the combination but not so much on the feta cheese. So maybe on the side next time. My husband has the lasagna and they make their own pasta and it was really good. But I really wish that it had more meat inside. The lobster ravioli with freshly homemade pasta and the mushroom spinach with white truffle sauce is out of this world! That must have been the best ravioli I have ever eaten in my life. They gave a nice little cake for my husband's birthday celebration which we appreciate. Later on we spoke with the nice gentleman Firok and his daughter Kelly. It's always nice to meet the people behind the business and listen to their fascinating story. The murals are absolutely charming and beautiful. We really enjoyed our experience and food here!I wished they would also do steak too tho. I bet it would be awesome :)Thank you for the wonderful hospitality!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lobster Ravioli
Missis Ella
It was dinner time again. We decided on an Italian restaurant – Carmel’s Bistro Giovanni.The service was annoyed and grumpy. He welcomed us accordingly and simply seated us at a table for two without asking. Something like this usually makes me suspicious. I then first checked the toilet (if it isn't well maintained, I immediately draw conclusions about the condition of the kitchen) and what I discovered was something I had never seen in my life. Once again there was only one toilet for the entire store and the toilet had apparently broken out of the wall. They then simply supported them with a wooden stake. What else can you say - a no-go for me. So got up and got out. The waitress looked at us completely dumbfounded. He's probably never experienced anything like this, where people get up and leave before they order. He then called after us: “I give you another table”. But another table wasn't our problem and wouldn't have been our solution either...
My wife and I each ordered a Caesar salad and for $11 it was tiny. I thought maybe the waiter had the order wrong and split one salad but sadly that was not the caseI asked the waiter if I should get the veal marsala or the veal piccata. He said he liked the piccata better because the marsala was too sweet. I’ve never had Marsala that I thought was too sweet, so I Thought maybe the waiter just didn’t like food like that. Well sadly, he was right. the marsala was so sweet it tasted like sugar had been added to the dish.This was the last night of our four nights stay and every other restaurant we visited we enjoyed very muchI would definitely not return to this place
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Delicious dinner, stared with crab cakes, very flavourful lots of crab (not filled with breadcrumbs), lobster ravioli was amazing. Osso Bucco was hearty and delicious, finished off with Tiramisu. Great dinner topped off with a lovely conversation with the owne. Highly recommend when in Carmel. Lots of locals seem to dine here.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Crab Cakes, Lobster Ravioli, Osso Bucco
Okay food, service and vibe are good.Slightly overpriced.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Nice looking restaurant and the Dad daughter team is very sweet. However the menu did not match the menu on open table and my husband only wanted one thing which he did no get. We were offered a discount because he was upset. Was ready to say water under the bridge until I got food poisoning.I believe it was because the cannelloni was not heated well enough. It had a nice taste but it was not hot when it came to the table. It was lukewarm. I had indigestion and thought it was from the wine but I woke up hours later with a terrible pain sweating and almost vomited. The pain lasted into the next day.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
We loved the cannelloni and our overall experience. The service could not have been better ( thank you Kelly). The restaurant has charm and is my new favorite in Carmel. It is a bit pricey but you get food that justifies it.
Delicious and lovely food with terrific drinks
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Caesar Salad, Calamari, Fish
Food is below the average. The restaurant is very tiny, and the service is rude. A little price company the environment and service. The quality is small, so be sure to order one and a half main courses for an adult.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Carmel's Bistro Giovanni is our favorite restaurant in Carmel and it is ALWAYS just great in every category. We have been going there since its opening a long time ago and it never changes, always a fantastic experience with excellent food and service.
It can't get better.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Quaint little Italian place with great seafood. We ordered the crab cakes and Burrata appetizers. The port wine tamarind sauce with the crab cakes was delightfully unexpected and the burrata was reminiscent of my time in Florence.
Restaurantji Recommends
It’s my birthday and I rarely, in 30+ years of GF and DF restrictions, expect a spectacular birthday meal that doesn’t send me into gastrointestinal distress… WOW… Bistro Giovanni IS WORTH FLYING ACROSS THE COUNTRY‼️ UNBELIEVABLE, the BEST I’ve ever experienced and I’m so grateful for the most INCREDIBLE MEAL I’ve had in decades! Thank you for the food, the people, the atmosphere- CANNOT WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR!!!Dietary restrictions: GF, DF
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Caesar Salad, Chocolate Mousse, Lobster Ravioli, Chicken Piccata, Salad, Misto Di Mare, Sauce
Always a great meal here at this cozy little bistro in. Carmel. The service is top notch- and the owner even still comes around and Uncorks the wine after all these years. The basil Gorgonzola soup was amazing!! Perfect for dipping their cheesy garlic bread. The carbonara pasta was creamy and delish. The cauliflower gnocchi with creamy sundried Gorgonzola sauce was a treat. The lasagna is also decadent and filled with sausage and cheese. The star of the show is the rigatoni and meatballs- something special about that sauce! You have to try it! And of course ending with the homemade tirimisu.
The lasagna was outstanding, my husband ordered osso bucco which was also very good. Good service and generous portions. It was my birthday and I was treated to a delicious chocolate dessert. The owner of the restaurant came over to inquire how everything was during our dinner. It was a wonderful birthday dinner.
I am so happy that we got to discover one of the great Italian restaurants in Carmel. We started with the salad with feta cheese and we like the combination but not so much on the feta cheese. So maybe on the side next time. My husband has the lasagna and they make their own pasta and it was really good. But I really wish that it had more meat inside. The lobster ravioli with freshly homemade pasta and the mushroom spinach with white truffle sauce is out of this world! That must have been the best ravioli I have ever eaten in my life. They gave a nice little cake for my husband's birthday celebration which we appreciate. Later on we spoke with the nice gentleman Firok and his daughter Kelly. It's always nice to meet the people behind the business and listen to their fascinating story. The murals are absolutely charming and beautiful. We really enjoyed our experience and food here!I wished they would also do steak too tho. I bet it would be awesome :)Thank you for the wonderful hospitality!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Lobster Ravioli
It was dinner time again. We decided on an Italian restaurant – Carmel’s Bistro Giovanni.The service was annoyed and grumpy. He welcomed us accordingly and simply seated us at a table for two without asking. Something like this usually makes me suspicious. I then first checked the toilet (if it isn't well maintained, I immediately draw conclusions about the condition of the kitchen) and what I discovered was something I had never seen in my life. Once again there was only one toilet for the entire store and the toilet had apparently broken out of the wall. They then simply supported them with a wooden stake. What else can you say - a no-go for me. So got up and got out. The waitress looked at us completely dumbfounded. He's probably never experienced anything like this, where people get up and leave before they order. He then called after us: “I give you another table”. But another table wasn't our problem and wouldn't have been our solution either...
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1