Giovanni's experience

[poptarte_22@yahoo.com]

Last nite our restaurant experience was not a good one. Of the 8 at our table, in a not too busy place, only one was served first and he had to send his plate back to re-warm! Gradually, at 15 or 20 mins. intervals between some others were served, and only half the salads even had dressing on them! It took 15 more mins. for them to be returned with dressing on the side!

When all 7 of us were eating, the waiter annunced to person #8 that they had run out of chicken! What took them so long to discover this?? Surely as he made up 3 or 4 chicken plates he knew he was short!!

The last diner agreed to shrimp and then waited anothr 20 or so minutes for that meal. No requested bread orders were ever re-filled...and when the owner came out to apologize he was making lame excuses, and ignored our remarks, speaking only French to one person who understood him.

Other visits to this establishment were just fine, but last nite was disgusting and we were given no 'compensation' for the poor service and our discomfort.

Won't be returning there anytime soon....all 8 of us.

Reading so many other reports on local eateries, and not great experiences, it seems as if this time of the season there is less interest or caring on the part of the restaurant managers, Easter being over and so many snowbirds leaving. Watch out next season!

[artsnob]

Sounds just like our exxperience at Mel's Diner...

[poptarte_22@yahoo.com]

Yesterday I followed the web board comments on several restaurants locally and decided against all mentioned due to the reports, but seems we still made a mistake! I'd think that the restaurants reading the posts would be certainly taking heed of our feelings in regard to their food and services, and cleanliness.

The wait staffs are doing their very best but need the support of their managers/owners and guidelines to purchasing sufficient amounts of food, that is most upsetting.

Hoping next season will show much improvement.

[gringal]

Since the restaurant reviews normally name the places, please tell us where you went so we'll know "Who dun it". Thanks.

[cedros]

Strange OP. I wonder what restaurant they are talking about. Is it in Mexico?

[ajijicis4me]

Please do all of us a favor and post the name of the restaurant, so we don't get stuck like you did.

Did you complain to the owner? It doesn't do any good to complain on a webboard about an anonymous restaurant.

[bennie]

why is this a secret? people complain about restaurants all the time on the webboard.

[poptarte_22@yahoo.com]

I didn't think I could enter the name of the place, it was Giovanni's in the west end.

The owner did approach our table and made some remarks in French to one guest who spoke French, he ignored my added comments. "How long does it take to realize that with 4 orders for chicken you only have enuf for 3, then another half hour to (unfreeze?) the shrimps." We actually all ate seperately and it took over 2 hrs. leaving us late to meet friends.

The other thing: he only serves his own homemade wines. They are palateable but not interesting...I think he should at least offer other commercial wine choices. Some drank beer instead of the red wine. Not a satisfactory drink with dinner.

Not to bash the place to bits, but hoping to save others from this experience.

Then again, it may be ok next time, except for the wine choice.

[gringal]

Giovanni's has been in so many locations over the years that I've lost track. My one and only experience was when he was at the place where the Red Piano is now, and it was unsatisfactory. My husband had an okay fish plate; I had a tough chicken plate.

I also agree that there should be more choices in wine.

[Carnivore]

Giovanni's: Poptarte - Here's a previous post from this same web-site this past fall. There have been many over the years. This forum has a tremendous archive of posts that go back a long way. Not much changes though. If a restaurant constantly pops up as bad then it usually remains that way until it closes. On the other hand the numerous restaurants that get great reviews have been around a lengthy period and will likely remain in business for some time to come. Despite being a small community it's obvious that there are people who care very much about where they dine. Like diners everywhere they want: Good food, good service, good value, nice surroundings, cleanliness and..........of equal importance....honesty! Actually, Chapala.com and this particular forum (La Cocina) is the most important resource base for information about the real state of the restaurant industry at Lakeside. There's good and there's bad!

Previous post: Do the math! Fifteen years ago when Giovanni was still the operator of Trattoria di Axixic which is located immediately across from the OXXO store on the Carretera he also used to claim that his house wine was "homemade". It was somewhat unusual in taste and for a while we believed his claim until a waiter, one day when Giovanni was absent, told us that Giovanni simply mixed a one litre bottle of Padre Kino (Domecq) with a four litre jug of Chauvenet. The few times we tried the food at this former Giovanni restaurant we were reasonably quick to determine that the food was definitely not Italian and even more definitely "not good at all!"

Over the years we tried some of his later locations and sadly nothing ever changed for the good!
From the comments within this thread it's probably the same with his current "house wine" and maybe some like it but here's a fact: Both Padre Kino and Chauvenet (both made in Baja California, Mexico) are currently available at 44pesos per litre. A litre is 33.8 fluid ounces so that works out to 1.3pesos per ounce. Therefore a glass containing a six ounce serving of wine would have a cost of 7.8pesos per glass. If you're paying 35 pesos a glass then dear old Giovanni is marking up the product by 450% and his net (product) yield on a glass is 27.2 pesos.
One of these days some people who simply think that when they go to a restaurant it's because the operator just absolutely loves what they are doing and just adores people. That just might be the case sometimes, somewhere.....but it's not likely the case here at Lakeside. The restaurant business here is likely about as "tough" as it can get. A very short season within which they have to make enough money to survive during the other seven slow months of the year and an extremely budget conscious clientele. Unless the restaurant has been able to establish a clientele comprised of both expats and nationals then their future is always desperately at risk.
Giovanni's is a perfect example. At last count, in fifteen years, he's had a dozen or more locations and the food today is no better than it was at the beginning of the parade! He obviously has to make as much as he can as often as he can on anything he sells. That usually results in an inferior product........like the wine!

• Like This

• Quote
• MultiQuote

[More Liana]

The one time I was invited to comida at Giovanni's a cockroach ran out from under my plate and across the table. Never again.

[ajijicis4me]

The one time I was invited to comida at Giovanni's a cockroach ran out from under my plate and across the table. Never again.

There are cockroaches everywhere in Mexico and certainly at most every restaurant. I suggest you do not eat out. In fact many homes here have cockroaches.

[More Liana]

There are cockroaches everywhere in Mexico and certainly at most every restaurant. I suggest you do not eat out. In fact many homes here have cockroaches.

You made me laugh, thank you.

As most everybody around this board knows, I've lived in Mexico for 32 years now and have eaten comida in a fonda, a cocina económica, or a restaurant about once a week, sometimes more often. At one time in my life I was a professional chef, and even now, in my capacity as a food writer, I am frequently invited to tour restaurant kitchens. I've seen most anything you can see in a restaurant, and have eaten things you might not even consider edible.

The only time a cockroach ever approached me in a restaurant was that one occasion at Giovanni's.

[Lexy]

You made me laugh, thank you.

As most everybody around this board knows, I've lived in Mexico for 32 years now and have eaten comida in a fonda, a cocina económica, or a restaurant about once a week, sometimes more often. At one time in my life I was a professional chef, and even now, in my capacity as a food writer, I am frequently invited to tour restaurant kitchens. I've seen most anything you can see in a restaurant, and have eaten things you might not even consider edible.

The only time a cockroach ever approached me in a restaurant was that one occasion at Giovanni's.

It's quite possible that cockroach is Giovanni's pet roach and it goes with him each time he changes location. If you can survive the awful Chauvenet that G. serves, that roach is just entertainment. It probably wasn't supposed to leave the kitchen.

Lexy

[lakeside7]

The one time I was invited to comida at Giovanni's a cockroach ran out from under my plate and across the table. Never again.

Did you see the movie Vitor Victoria ..great movie ...I was in Florida at the time and in a resturant and the same thing happened to me

[jkgourmet]

And I ate a scorpion in Northern Thailand. Considered a BBQ specialty in that part of the world.

[bennie]

ajijicis4me, roaches are not acceptable for dining. i dont have them, & restaurants that do are off limits. never happened yet @a restaurant here. good places call exterminators, each to his own. be careful where you dine.

[ajijicis4me]

ajijicis4me, roaches are not acceptable for dining. i dont have them, & restaurants that do are off limits. never happened yet @a restaurant here. good places call exterminators, each to his own. be careful where you dine.

Not acceptable for me either, bust most restaurants will have them. You won't see them as they usually only come out at night. Your home could have them and you wouldn't know it. They can live for months without food and water.

[Shelley Ronnfeldt]

I certainly respect the OP's right to post an honest restaurant review of Giovanni's. However, what I don't get is people's constant need to bring up and rehash the number of times the restaurant has moved. I just don't understand what difference it makes. So the rent got too high, or he found a place he liked better, or whatever. He has been in this location for at least three years. It is certainly true that his wine selection is lacking. I happen to have had many good meals there, but don't doubt that others haven't had the same experience. But WHY do we care how many locations he's had?

[artsnob]

G's current restaurant is for sale, with no lookers, maybe he has given up I know we have given up with him at that location, when Tabarca is just down the road and superb

[gringal]

Okay........to lighten it up about bugs. My first visit to Mexico, many years ago, my host took me to the finest hotel in town for breakfast. First came fresh orange juice. A fairly small bug (probably a baby roach) was in it, still wiggling. My host pointed this out to the waiter, as in "animales!" The waiter took a spoon, scooped out the bug and declared, happily "see, NO animales!". No further comment.

Let's see, given a choice between Giovanni's and Tabarka..........no contest. With or without the occasional roach.

[Carnivore]

Recently it was reported on this web-site that Tabarka is soon to move and are already working on their new location which is apparently on Rio Zula (the street that runs south from the Carreterra to towards the lake). Tabarka is currently located at the north east corner of Rio Bravo and the Carretera. (South of the Carretera the name changes to Rio Zula.)

[ajijicis4me]

I certainly respect the OP's right to post an honest restaurant review of Giovanni's. However, what I don't get is people's constant need to bring up and rehash the number of times the restaurant has moved. I just don't understand what difference it makes. So the rent got too high, or he found a place he liked better, or whatever. He has been in this location for at least three years. It is certainly true that his wine selection is lacking. I happen to have had many good meals there, but don't doubt that others haven't had the same experience. But WHY do we care how many locations he's had?

Most restaurants move or go out of business when the owner of the property decides to raise the rent far beyond what is fair. Then the restaurant and the property sits vacant for a year. This is the Mexican way of doing business, shoot yourself in the foot and never learn. They need to follow the American slogan 'half a loaf is better than none". It never ceases to amaze me.

[CocinaMod]

Let's remember the purpose of this forum is to give credible opinions based on dining experiences at restaurants. Opinions of the owners themseles are really unnecessary.

And, now, I'm shutting this one down because I'm tired of editing it.