We hadn't made a booking but we arrived in early enough to get a table, which was lucky because the placed ended up being full. While being Good Friday, the Ras Mumhan was in town so there were plenty of people to fill up the place.
After being seated and given our order, a complimentary bread basket with dipping oil was placed on our table. It was much welcomed and we tucked into the nice chewy crusted bread.
For a starter I went for the Carpaccio and for a main the Tagliatelle with Beef Ragu. The Carpaccio was fine, lots of tasty beef along with plenty of arugula and parmesan. I did need to leave some parmesan for a finish; there was more than enough to go with the beef. The Ragu main was ok, a bit bland truth be told. I may have liked it more if it was served with spaghetti instead of tagliatelle. I had two glasses of house white wine which was just fabulous. It started with distinctive sherry flavour that ran to a subtle smooth finish. Very surprising. Alas I cannot remember its name.
Unfortunately Giovannelli was understaffed on this occasion. There was only one person manning the front of house and while she played a blinder serving everyone, it was slow. Also the main course took a long while to make it to our table. It appears the kitchen might have been understaffed also?
Overall for the price, the food could have been a bit better and the service a lot better. They should not take bookings / seat people when they are understaffed in my opinion.
FYI they don't take credit or debit cards, but there is an ATM a few doors down. read more