Giovanni's Italian Restaurant - Restaurant Impossible Update

Photo - Robert Irvine Facebook

On this week's episode of Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine and his crew are in Sylacauga, Alabama to makeover Giovanni's Italian Restaurant. Giovanni's Italian Restaurant is owned by Chrissy who is struggling to keep the family restaurant open after the sudden death of her sister.  The restaurant is outdated and Robert Irvine will need to help Chrissy rediscover her passion to help turn the Giovanni's around.

As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Giovanni's Italian Restaurant to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews are post Restaurant: Impossible):

Positive Reviews:

• "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!"
• "We met our son’s from Auburn to eat a late lunch with. It was a good half way point between Birmingham and Auburn. Food was really good. We ordered baked spaghetti, chicken parmigiana, lasagna, pizza, cheese bread and calzone. They served a good complimentary sourdough bread with garlic butter melted on. Waitresses were very attentive. Only negative was didn’t get all of our food at the same time. It took longer to get calzone and pizza. The restaurant looked like it was newly remodeled inside"
• "The food was wonderful and the staff was friendly and very attentive. Great atmosphere, we will be back!"
• "Love the remodel, and enjoy the food. It’s always good and fresh. Waitresses have always been pleasant and welcoming."
• "Absolutely amazing food. Great value and taste. Love this restaurant and will absolutely go there again"

Negative Reviews:

• "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"
• "I ordered the steak meal. On the menu it was listed with garlic mashed potatoes and spicy broccolini. It is brought to the table and there is asparagus and a polenta situation. When found a waitress (we where at a party, it was busy) I double checked the menu (to be sure I read it correctly) I asked the waitress who told me “oh it was changed but it’s so good” I do not eat asparagus (and I told her that) or polenta or any kind. 26.00 for a meal and I only ate the steak. Very disappointed! Oh and they completely forgot my child’s dish. At least I wasn’t charged for that. This was my first time back since remodel and was not impressed, would also point out no compensation was offered nor an apology"
• "Very, very disappointed, reduced size inside, and only a 1 sided menu. No variety at all!"
• "The restaurant has been remodeled. And not in a good way. The chairs are harder now and there are no more booths. Also there was always a slight natural gas smell, but now it is overwhelming. The food is pretty much the same but they have removed some favorites like baked Ziti, bacon cheddar fries, cheese ravioli, and philly cheese fries."

*Reviews from Yelp, TripAdvisor, Google

Other News and Links:

• The Restaurant Impossible makeover for Giovanni's Italian Restaurant happened in February 2022.
• Here is the Giovanni's Facebook page which they frequently update and it appears they do not have a website.
• On their Facebook page, it seems like they have a lot of fans and there is excitement for the restaurant to succeed after the Restaurant Impossible makeover
• Here are the reviews for Giovanni's Italian Restaurant from Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google.

Conclusion:

The reviews for Giovanni's Italian Restaurant since the Restaurant Impossible makeover have been mixed.  There are mixed reviews on the food with some people loving it and others complaining about it. It also seems that some people love the makeover while others have complaints about the chairs.  It appears that there a lot of people rooting for the restaurant and the family on the restaurant's Facebook page, so hopefully they are able to turn things around.


*Visit Our Restaurant Impossible Update Page to see all Restaurant: Impossible updates, and which restaurants are open, closed, or have been sold. Also Like Us on Facebook and Follow Us on Twitter