This is the real thing! Â Authentic Italian food in little ole east Texas. Â Giovanni and his wife treat you like honored guests. Â The ambiance is not what you might expect. Â It is quite like being in someone's home. Â It is not fancy. Â In fact, it is a bit dilapidated. but the FOOD! Â I have not gotten anything this "Italian" in San Francisco or Chicago.
If you want typical Italian, go to Olive Garden. Â If you want homemade, handmade, lovingly made food, come to Giovanni's. Â They even grow and mash their own chickpeas to make humus from scratch!
If you are lucky, Giovanni will play the harmonica after supper.
We drive 20 minutes to get there and we eat there often.
Where to start, went there with a group if 4. Seems like a great, local eatery. By the reviews, was really positive about the food and dining experience. Â Owner brings out a community bowl of salad for our table to share. Well, we were not the only table to share, I tasted a spearmint taste in my italian salad, then a chewy foreign object, Â so what did I pull out of my mouth, A CHEWED UP PIECE OF GUM. That was not mine! Disgusting!!!!. Walked out! Â Sorry . Will never ever give this restaurant another chance!!!!!!!!
Review Source:This place is a must! Authentic Italian in NE Texas?! Â Never would have imagined.
I drove by a few weeks ago with my husband and knew I wanted to try it. The restaurant is actually a small, purple house with a white sign reading "The Italian Restaurant. "
Given the limited choices for restaurants near us, I decided to try Giovanni's for my birthday dinner.
We arrived at 6:30pm and were the only customers. Usually we gauge how good a restaurant is by the crowd, but it's Linden.
We were greeted by Giovanni and his wife. He asked if we wanted an Italian meal,which we did, so he brought no menus. We brought our own bottle of wine and he and his wife began bringing courses. Shrimp Alfredo, salad with a delicious balsamic vinegarette, cubes of ribeye, zucchini, squash, broccoli, lasagna, and manicotti. His wife also prepared a birthday cake, creme caramel, and a coconut truffle. The food was amazing!
But it was the atmosphere and personality that topped off our dining experience. Music from The Godfather played in the background, and as we began dessert Giovanni presented his harmonica and played music for us.
Bellisimo!
What a major disappointment. My wife and I heard good comments about this restaurant and we were staying nearby for our 20th wedding anniversary and so this sounded like the perfect spot. We thought we'd try lunch since they advertise serving lunch and dinner and we had some other places we wanted to visit and would not be nearby for dinner.
The owner's wife put two wine glasses on our table - my glass was cracked and my wife's glass had lipstick on it from not being washed well. The table cloths were not cloth at all, but plastic and it was sticky from not being cleaned. My wife went to the only restroom and a huge cockroach was in there. Why we didn't leave at that point, I don't know, but we stayed.
We were going to order lasagna, but the owner (Giovanni) said, no, let me make you a special meal. Do you like seafood? Yes. Rice? Yes. I'll make you a special meal. We said okay.
The meal was shrimp fettuccine in an Alfredo sauce, rice mixed with some peas and cauliflower that seemed to be warmed up leftovers. Afterwards they brought out desert - a coconut cake (that was cold like it was just taken from the refrigerator, creme brûlée that was still partially frozen and a sesame cracker.
The bill came to $20 per person plus tax. We vowed to never, ever visit this place again whenever we return to the area.
We had an amazing and wholly memorable dinner here on March 24, 2012 after the Texas Music Awards. Giovanni himself is a wonderful host - he had us in tears several times with his jokes.
We had a group of 7 and rather than bring us a menu he recommended several items that he thought we would like after asking a few questions about our tastes. We were happy to take his advice and it really paid off. Everything we ate was absolutely delicious. The price he charged us was more than fair and we received incredible value.
Even though the food was top notch perhaps the very best part of the evening was Giovanni himself. At one point he played harmonica for us and we were blown away. Not only is he accomplished, but he made us feel as we'd stepped into Italy. Quite an accomplishment for little Linden, TX!
It's a mystery to me how a multi-lingual engineer ended up owning and cooking in his own restaurant in a tiny Northeast Texas town, but I'm glad he did and I'm so glad we ended up spending an evening with him.
I've dined a couple of times at this out of the way nondescript eatery that is the most delightful Italian restaurant run by Italian's you could find in all of East Texas. Â Go with the idea of staying awhile while the proprietor whips up a special dinner; or you may select from a variety of meals offered on the menu. The meals are prepared using very fresh ingredients with some such as his own cheese made in house. If you are a good customer he may even play you a tune on his harmonica. We'll go back often.
Review Source:Those of you who are familiar with Linden know that dining opportunities are, ummm... limited. Â If the truck stop on 59 has run out of fried chicken, even more so.
Strange as it seems, that sequence of events led us to venture into town and try a new restaurant that had opened only a couple of months ago, and little did we know that it would lead us down an unexpected  gastronomical path.
Giovanni's is a novel concept - an Italian restaurant run by Italians! Â We went on a Sunday evening and our party of five was the only guests in the place, although I understand they're busier on weekdays and at lunch. Â The proprietor greeted us in somewhat halting English, and then offered us a complimentary glass of wine while we decided on dinner.
He provided us with menus with a standard assortment of Italian fare available, but then suggested that while we could order from those offerings if we liked, he'd prefer that we let him cook us a traditional multi-course Italian meal. Â "I'll fix you something nice - you'll like it!"
The antipasto began with miniature thin crust cheese pizzas, followed closely by a plate of seared, seasoned steak cut into cubes.
The primo was fettucine alfredo, which he was quick to point out was made fresh to order - they don't pre-cook any ingredients. Â If you're in a hurry, be aware that this takes extra time, and that eating here is more of a journey rather than a destination.
Il secondo was fresh lasagna, which was bubbling hot and wonderfully tasty. Â The pasta was not overdone or mushy, and it was accompanied by a fresh greens salad with a Lemon vinaigrette. Â We couldn't quite identify what cheese was used to make the lasagna, and when asked, Giovanni proudly revealed that they didn't use a commercial cheese, that his wife makes the cheese they use at home!
During the meal, his wife was alternately cooking, serving, and clearing plates the whole time, but when we tried to strike a conversation with her, she smilingly and bashfully admitted that her English "was no so good."
The cotorno was a wonderful seafood paella, with generous portions of fried fish, mussels, and other seafood (he said that he sometimes uses shrimp, but had run out) on a bed of seasoned rice. Â It was hearty, filling, and redolent with fragrant spices and seasonings. Â
Although we were all becoming satiated quickly, the food kept coming - next was a plate of spinach manicotti, which gave up nothing to the previous courses - it was another delicious, well prepared experience.
Il dolce was a plate of assorted cakes and pastries with fruit. Â While we nibbled at dessert, our host came and visited with us, telling us about his life in Italy, how he'd arrived in the backwaters of Northeast Texas, and how he was something of an amateur musician in addition to an accomplished chef. Â It didn't take much prodding for him to retrieve a Hohner harmonica and serenade us with a couple of songs, both performed with great virtuosity.
What an experience! Â Our dinner was easily two hours, but it was a relaxed, comfortable affair that was beyond our wildest expectations. Â Go when you have time to wait, arrive hungry, and keep an open mind to trying new dishes and experiences. Â I think you'll like it.
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