A diner from Rochester, NY
Jan 27, 2009
Giovanni’s Trattoria
4768 Lake Ave
Rochester NY, 14612
On Saturday my girlfriends and I headed out for an early dinner. We had heard that Giovanni’s had opened in Charlotte and excitedly anticipated a new restaurant endeavor.
We arrived ~4:30pm, the sign read open but the door was locked. A very sweet young woman unlocked the door and we were seated right away as we were the only guests. From the kitchen we could here loud clanks and obsenities. We were assured that the dishwasher had just cut himself again.?. Our menus were an appealing read and we had plenty of time to peruse as the cook had stepped out and his return “should be” soon. Being in no hurry we stayed. Still bundled up in our winter gear we ordered drinks but were told no alcohol was being served. We requested coffee as it was freezing. In came the chef and we were ready to order.
I myself ordered the Chicken Salmbocca and baked potato. I was not told that there were no potatoes until after my dish was placed in front of me. The chicken was thin, dry and salty to the point that it was inedible. After one bite I was done. The stuffed rigatoni was specifically requested to be prepared with a non meat based sauce by our vegetarian dinner companion. The sauce was obviously meat based when it arrived at the table, when the waitress was questioned she replied “I wrote it on the order but will have to check” she came back promptly to pick up the dish and replaced it. The second plate looked the same but a very trustworthy & hungry vegetarian managed a few bites before pushing her plate aside. The third item was a chicken parm covered in thick hamburger based meat sauce. To each his own on this one.
The bill arrived and I was surprised to find that we weren’t comped for any of the meals. I am not looking for a free meal but at the very least I did not expect to be charged for a potato that was not available. I expressed my concern “I understand that it was my choice not to eat the chicken because I did not find it edible however I didn’t get my side” she promptly went into the Kitchen and returned with $3 off our bill. I just couldn’t let it go and requested to see the manager/owner. NOT to request anything free, in fact I followed the waitress with the cash in hand to pay the bill. However I thought that our experience needed to be brought to someone’s attention.
The waitress entered the kitchen and I standing in the bar area at this point heard “What the F*** does she want a f****** free meal?” Out walked a short stocky man with a base ball cap and blood shot eyes. With all the professionalism I could muster I opened with “I would like to start by saying that I could hear your obscenities in the kitchen” he interrupted me rolling his eyes and stating “this is why you wanted to talk to me” I continued, now shaking and blood boiling “yes, you are the manager and first off I would like to say…” he interrupted “this is why I stay in the kitchen and turned and went back through the double doors. I was infuriated. Never in my life would I have expected to be treated this way in a restaurant especially by someone claiming to be the manager/owner. And never before would I have ever expected to do this but I tipped $20 to the waitress and stormed out the door, cash in hand. We all felt a little ashamed at first but I pay for two things when I go out to dinner, the food and the experience, received neither of them and was insulted.
To sum it up………….DO NOT GO TO GIOVANNI’S TRATTORIA…..bad food and bad business. Spread the word.
4768 Lake Ave
Rochester NY, 14612
On Saturday my girlfriends and I headed out for an early dinner. We had heard that Giovanni’s had opened in Charlotte and excitedly anticipated a new restaurant endeavor.
We arrived ~4:30pm, the sign read open but the door was locked. A very sweet young woman unlocked the door and we were seated right away as we were the only guests. From the kitchen we could here loud clanks and obsenities. We were assured that the dishwasher had just cut himself again.?. Our menus were an appealing read and we had plenty of time to peruse as the cook had stepped out and his return “should be” soon. Being in no hurry we stayed. Still bundled up in our winter gear we ordered drinks but were told no alcohol was being served. We requested coffee as it was freezing. In came the chef and we were ready to order.
I myself ordered the Chicken Salmbocca and baked potato. I was not told that there were no potatoes until after my dish was placed in front of me. The chicken was thin, dry and salty to the point that it was inedible. After one bite I was done. The stuffed rigatoni was specifically requested to be prepared with a non meat based sauce by our vegetarian dinner companion. The sauce was obviously meat based when it arrived at the table, when the waitress was questioned she replied “I wrote it on the order but will have to check” she came back promptly to pick up the dish and replaced it. The second plate looked the same but a very trustworthy & hungry vegetarian managed a few bites before pushing her plate aside. The third item was a chicken parm covered in thick hamburger based meat sauce. To each his own on this one.
The bill arrived and I was surprised to find that we weren’t comped for any of the meals. I am not looking for a free meal but at the very least I did not expect to be charged for a potato that was not available. I expressed my concern “I understand that it was my choice not to eat the chicken because I did not find it edible however I didn’t get my side” she promptly went into the Kitchen and returned with $3 off our bill. I just couldn’t let it go and requested to see the manager/owner. NOT to request anything free, in fact I followed the waitress with the cash in hand to pay the bill. However I thought that our experience needed to be brought to someone’s attention.
The waitress entered the kitchen and I standing in the bar area at this point heard “What the F*** does she want a f****** free meal?” Out walked a short stocky man with a base ball cap and blood shot eyes. With all the professionalism I could muster I opened with “I would like to start by saying that I could hear your obscenities in the kitchen” he interrupted me rolling his eyes and stating “this is why you wanted to talk to me” I continued, now shaking and blood boiling “yes, you are the manager and first off I would like to say…” he interrupted “this is why I stay in the kitchen and turned and went back through the double doors. I was infuriated. Never in my life would I have expected to be treated this way in a restaurant especially by someone claiming to be the manager/owner. And never before would I have ever expected to do this but I tipped $20 to the waitress and stormed out the door, cash in hand. We all felt a little ashamed at first but I pay for two things when I go out to dinner, the food and the experience, received neither of them and was insulted.
To sum it up………….DO NOT GO TO GIOVANNI’S TRATTORIA…..bad food and bad business. Spread the word.
