Giovanni's

Recommends

kodiak_j

Joined 5 years ago

Nice little spot.... A friend and I stumbled upon Giovanni's one hot Sunday afternoon coming back from a car show in Santa Barbara. As we drove past it we could a see quite a few people sitting outside.

Walking up to the restaurant leads you past the outside dining area which is actually quite large. I can definitely understand why as the surroundings are very nice. It is situated on the corner of Linden Avenue, which is almost a mini State St (Santa Barbara) that leads down the beach. Although you can't see the ocean from the dining area, the relaxed atmosphere of the beach community can definitely be felt here.

However, walking inside the restaurant is in complete contrast to the beach community. Inside is a dark somewhat outdated pizzerias.

The food is above average. I ordered the torpedo sandwich a mixed meat sandwich with salami, ham and mortadella. Although it took a while to arrive, it was worth the wait.

Expecting a typical sub sandwich, I was surprised to find the sandwich to be a bit larger than I had imagined. The lettuce was almost a salad on its own, having been mixed with chopped tomatoes and seasond with salt, pepper and some type of dressing or vinaigrette. The only drawback was that the side was just a back of potato chips.

This seems to be theme at the restaurant. Everything seems nice, but is dragged down by something next to it.

If you go here, don't go in expecting too much. The food is good. The surroundings are nice. Just make sure you eat outside.

...I'm taking it upon myself to review the typical places anyone would eat, whether they are small hole-in-the-wall spots or 5 star restaurants. If you have any places to suggest or have a comment on my review, go ahead and let me know. You can write me at kodiak_j at yahoo. You can figure out the rest.