My husband and I have been dining at Giovanni's for decades, and it has been in existence for decades before we started to dine there. Its pleasant staff serves old world italian cuisine in a casual setting that is unique and reflects the owner/chef Giovanni's interests over his life including hunting, raising prize winning dogs and growing grapes. He used to have a pianist playing old popular classics at least on Saturday nights, which we enjoyed, but lately that music is piped in, possibly because the economy is not what it used to be in the area since all the hotels closed and many of those occupying the old bungalow colonies are now primarily the Hasidim who eat out only in establishments that adhere to the laws of kashrut, and because gone with the hotels are all their downstate guests, their employees and the entertainers, musicians, photographers, and florists who made a living supplying services required by the hotels. But I'm glad to say that Giovanni is one of the few restaurants that has survived all of those changes as well as the Covid epidemic and is still serving wonderful food. I love his spaghetti with white clam sauce, especially the little neck clams still in their shells because all the ingredients are simple and fresh and there's nothing in it that's out of a can, such as chopped clams. His mixed seafood: clams, mussels. shrimp and calamari over pasta in a light red sauce is also excellent.My husband adores his veal parmigiana with its delicious tomato sauce. Dinners come with nice freshly baked bread and a salad, usually with iceberg lettuce, not my favorite green. but occasionally he serves it with fresh mixed lettuce grown in his garden I wish he'd serve mixed greens all the time, and I wouldn't mind paying more for it with a generous serving of tomatoes. read more

Let me start by saying DO NOT JUDGE THE BOOK BY THE COVER! We were looking for somewhere new to go eat and I searched on Yelp. Found Giovanni's Inn and was hesitant bc of the mixed reviews! Well let me say thank God I didn't listen to the people who gave a horrible review! From the minute the waitress Kristen came to our table we felt like home! Unfortunately, we didn't know that Wednesdays and Thursdays is pizza and apps only and Friday-Sunday is regular food menu no pizza! Fortunately, we got lucky and came on a Thursday! The pizza was absolutely delicious. We ordered a margarita and a plain cheese half sausage. We saw the muscles on the menu but were hesitant until Kristen said they were delicious. She told us all about Giovanni. He's 89 and grows all his herbs, tomatoes. Makes his own wine and bakes his own bread and also butchers his own meat. We ordered the muscles! Well let me tell you make sure you order them! I'm Italian and they were the best muscles I've ever had. It was a big portion and to top it off comes with Giovanni's bread! We are excited to go back Friday-Sunday and have food! When we finished eating Giovanni came in from outside (that's where the pizza oven is) and introduced himself and we talked for about 20 minutes about how it all became! This man is unreal! We learned all about him from when he came over from Italy to date! Very impressive! I hope this review gets you to go try it! I promise it's worth the trip! Simply amazing! read more

Giovanni's Inn - Cheese pie half sausage - Italian Near Me - Wurtsboro, New York

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Good service and great food. Outdoor seating. Pizza on wed and Thur is the best neapolitan pizza north of Arthur Ave. hidden gem and don't forget homemade racotta cheese cake. read more

Excellent food and service. We had a party of 5 and we were seated right away. The specials were all wonderful and the menu has a lot of options. Our group included some picky eaters and they were very happy. The space reminded me of the old school Italian restaurants. Our waitress was attentive and explained the menu perfectly. She even caught on that we were celebrating a birthday and arranged for the dessert to have a candle. We will definitely be back. read more

We recently tried out this charming little spot near our home. The food was fantastic with great sized portions. The staff is so kind and welcoming. We wanted for nothing! The ricotta cheesecake was the. Eat I've had eating out! Mussels were delicious and the homemade bread was a treat! Highly recommend. We will be back to try their pizza for sure. read more

A hidden gem! Best pizza and cocktails in Sullivan County. Excellent customer service. Comfortable, no-frills, chill vibe. Family-friendly environment. Good date night idea. Thank you! read more

Giovanni's Inn - Backyard, garden, patio, outdoor pizza oven - Italian Near Me - Wurtsboro, New York

This place has been around forever and it looks it. The outside hasn't been painted/maintained in years -- never a good sign -- and the quirky, eclectic interior is in desperate need of a makeover. My wife's chicken parm was tough and she gave up after one bite. Her sautéed broccoli was frozen: she took a bite and someone had either forgotten to nuke it or steam it long enough. My calamari with spaghetti was edible, but nothing special. We got out of there as fast as we could. Giovanni's might have passed its sell by date. read more

Local restaurant with very good Italian and seafood dishes. Friendly staff and good service. We tried it for the first time and will return.

Great service. Great food ! No better food in the Hudson valley. Pure and fresh , local ...if you know traditional Italian food you know this is the real deal. read more

I have not been here in a while but honestly have been craving it there food is to die for

Best pizza outside of NYC I've had. Mussels were very good. Plus, the outdoor dinner under grape vines is cozy.

Small menu but special. Food is outstanding! Giovanni , Son and staff a treat you like family. Been a customer for 30. Years. We don't get to go often but the food is ayes excellent! read more

It doesn't look like much on the outside but the inside is like a trip to old New York. Food was good, service was pleasant and friendly but a bit slow. I made the mistake of ordering the linguini with Alfredo Sauce-Alfredo needs more pepper and it doesn't pair well with linguini. I ended up giving it to my fiancé and he shared his eggplant with me. Oddest thing was no bread-what Italian restaurant doesn't offer complimentary bread?! read more

It's a strange looking place inside, but the food is fantastic. I have not had the opportunity to try the pizza, but I've heard good things. read more

Unbelievably amazing pizza, but since they pandemic their menu has been drastically reduced which is a shame. Many of the dishes we used to order are no longer offered, so our visits are now only on Wednesday or Thursday when they do their pizzas. If they bring back the full menu they had prior to 2020, I'm happy to give them five stars as their food is delicious and the staff is wonderful. Just sad to see such a massive reduction in dishes they offer. read more

I've been here twice, and both experiences were excellent, so I'm not sure why such low rating. Let's talk food first. Was here last night for Wednesday night pizza. They cook the pizza outdoors to in their brick oven. Margarita pizza - love that mozzarella cheese! And that balanced aroma of fresh basil. The basil is picked straight from their garden! Literally, one of the chefs went to the garden several times to grab basil and bring it back into the kitchen. Custom grilled eggplant and sausage pizza - my husband liked this more, but I liked the Margarita my me. I really like the doughy crust of the pizza. It was a bit wet for my liking, but it was still delicious. We drove upstate on a Wednesday evening specifically for their summer Wednesday night pizza - obviously, pizza is the main attraction this night, but they have some stuff from their regular menu too. We also had clams - that sauce is phenomenal. My mouth is salivating as I type and reminisce. Stewed rabbit penne - delicious, that rabbit was like chicken but leaner and had a slightly different flavor. We sat in the garden which was a bit buggy (bug spray took care of that), but very nice. I don't have deets of our first visit on a non-Wednesday, but I remember I had risotto, and it was so good. Full menu in effect on non-pizza nights. Oh, I also want to add that the main chef is born and raised in Italy primarily. Dining here felt like I was in a country home in Italy. read more

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The food sucked I usually go to colandreas pizza in Middletown but thought I'd try local very small portions for ur money an if I'd known I would not have left tip the only thing going for the place is it looks nice. Sorry but had to be honest I was highly upset read more

I just had hands down, the BEST Sicilian pie I've ever had. The crust was crunchy on the outside and doughy on the inside with perfect flavor. The sauce is on the sweeter side with a perfect tang, the cheese was excellent. I've never had a Sicilian that blew my doors off like this did. I only ordered it because it was one of this weeks specials, so happy I did. I eat A LOT of pizza; I've been to all of the big names between Jersey, NYC, and New Haven. I've never had a Sicilian like this. read more

Go on a Wednesday night between Memorial Day and Labor Day for the pizza. This is some of the best pizza in New York. Right up there with Patsy's, Grimaldi's and Lombardi's. It's made in an out door woodfired oven and topped with basil right out of the garden beside it. You can enjoy it outside at a table underneath the grapevines by a fire or inside in the dining room. read more

Giovanni's Inn - Best pizza. We asked for ours burnt. Rates up there with Patsy's NYC. - Italian Near Me - Wurtsboro, New York

What should say about their succulent pizza once it hits your taste buds you realize this no ordinary pizza. Your taste buds dance with joy,overwhelmed with freshness. I traveled over an hour and will do it again.. Best Pizza I have ever tasted in New York. read more

Amazing pizza - worth it! Beautiful brick oven. Reminds me of an old school italian backyard.

I went here on a Thursday night and it was really sub-par. It's a very average place to eat. I DO NOT! recommend this restaurant for any meal. I ordered a Caesar salad and it was a regular salad with lettuce, tomato and unions with a very lousy salad dressing that tasted nothing like Caesar dressing. My eggplant Parma was like a eating a lousy frozen dinner. You can get a far better meal in Pine Bush at Joey tomatoes. read more

Very Eclectic italian dinery adorned with postcards from Italy, and ribbons from the owner's dog show awards. Wednesday night is a limited menu; reserved for wood fired pizza night and live music. I LOVE everything about this place. It's America meets Italy. It's history with old world charm. Doesn't look like much from the outside with a overly rustic (almost rundown) appearance but once you're inside you FEEL HOME. The bar is right ahead and with live music on the right. It brought me back to 1990 in Lake Como in northern Italy where me, and my then-fiance had lunch together in a cabin that he romantically reserved for just the two of us. Ok service: outstanding. Love these girls. Usually, single people get lost in the dining room but they did pay attention. Four stars for that and thank you. Food: very good. Piping hot clams possilipo and very hot pie. Price: eh, a little too high ($13) for a small 10-inch margarita pie that might feed two if you get something like a salad or in my case clams to share but it was really delicious. Clams were $16 and glass of wine $5. $42 out the door WITH TIP for just little ol me. really enjoyed myself though. I would have sat outside with the chef who is making the pies in the outdoor wood fire grill but it was raining and hot. read more

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Authentic as walking into Naples, Giovanni is legit and his food is incredible. He's from Vesuvius and his food tastes that way. From handmade pasta to bright and acidic Cesar salad with anchovies, to pizzas topped with garden picked arugula you really can't go wrong. Make a reservation for pizza on Wednesdays. Go for the family restaurant feeling, stay for the pasta with spicy few do Avola sauce. And take it for what it is -- family run, old school, and freaking delicious. read more

As soon as we walked in, we knew it would be a terrible experience. But, we were hungry and route 209 was closed due to an accident so we decided to stick it out. Terrible decision. It was pretty busy, so we didn't complain when we stood around awkwardly waiting for the hostess to finally seat us. It seems as if they crammed us into an extra table by the front door, with absolutely no room. The layout was pretty bizarre. After we're handed our menus, a waitress eventually brings a small bowl of Parmesan cheese and butter. About 15 minutes or so go by and we're still waiting for our waitress. The bartender comes over to take our drink order in the meantime. Another waitress comes by to tell us our waitress will be by ,"as soon as she gets the chance" and brings us a small basket of bread. My husband and I were all set to pay for our drinks and go elsewhere when our waitress appeared and apologized for our wait. We order and wait forever. The food was good. Not worth the price we paid, but was definitely decent. After we eat, we sot and wait for the waitress to come over. And wait. And wait. Makes eye contact with my husband but continues to walk by. When she comes back around, my husband finally asks the waitress for our check she tells my husband she'll get back to us. Disappears and comes back to ask if we'd like dessert or coffee. At this point we just want to leave so she says she'll send another waitress over with the check. She leaves someone else's container of leftover food on our table and walks away when we try to tell her its not ours. The other waitress comes over and hands us our check and tells us we can pay at the bar. I let her know that those leftovers aren't ours and she seems confused. She actually asks us, "oh so you paid already?" Wtf! You literally still have the check in your hand and the leftovers have nothing to do with the bill! We could've easily said yes and walked out without paying our expensive bill, but we're decent people who even left a tip. I left my husband to pay the bill because I couldn't stop laughing. Such a weird experience. Such a weird place with weird decor. I'm hoping their service was just a one time thing, because if that's how their service usually is... Over an hour and a half experience when all we had were 2 house salads, 2 entrees (one of which was a simple dish of penne w/garlic & oil) a root beer and a beer, is pretty unacceptable. read more

Dirty hoarder building. Deer heads on the walls, piles of papers and clutter throughout the dining room. Gross atmosphere and wait staff. Unpleasant smells and in need of a dusting and deep cleaning. Food was not appealing. Calamari cold and chewy as if it were days old. . . Left after that, decided not to order dinner! read more

after driving past this place weekly for close to 6 months, i finally asked my boyfriend to take me. WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG? this place is fantastic! first, the decor. lots of horse ribbons, odd art-i-facts, and plenty of taxidermy animal heads mounted on the walls. if this place hadn't been around for ages, i would say that they were cashing in on the hipster scene. but they are not. they are for real. the weekend menu is decent enough - for the middle of nowhere ny. if they upgraded to mesculan mix salad greens the prices would be fully justified. however, they have the most delightful old lady jazz pianist, who sings all the classics with a killer voice and looks like marylin monroe. this makes up for the 'maybe' overpriced weekend menu. but, the food is fresh (one time we had eggplant parm made from eggplants grown in the backyard!), and the desserts are not to be neglected. the real prize is their mid-week menu (in the summer!) when they fire up the pompeii style brick oven the the yard, and serve pizzas and other delicious items baked inside. AND, live music on wednesdays! you can sit around a bonfire, eat pizza, drink beer, and listen to neil young tunes until 10 pm. pretty sweet country living. i've been here in large groups (20+), in parties of two, and in reasonably sized dinner parties. the waitstaff is incredibly friendly and helpful. if you've been wondering whether or not to check this place out, don't wonder any longer. just go. if not for the food, for the ambiance :) read more

Food was good- nothing special, service very attentive and good, disappointed that brick oven pizza is only made Wednesday's Keep eating keep living!!! read more

Food reminds my family of our Grandma's cooking (she's from Naples, as is the chef) -- always a great, inviting, atmosphere with amazing owners who care deeply about what they put out. A must try if you are around the area! read more

Love this place! It's in the middle of nowhere off of Route 209, which is just off of Route 17. If you are traveling through Orange County this is a nice place to stop in lieu of the busy-ness of Middletown, NY. Very classic woodsy, charming place. Extremely friendly staff...and if you are lucky enough to hit it right on a Friday night, there's a sweet older couple to serenade on the piano. Definitely a great experience. Oh and the food is outstanding too!! I had a pasta with local Hen of the Wood that was awesome. read more

I have been here twice for the wed pizza night I will say the pizza is excellent but sadly not well run place Service soooo slow! People order a bottle of wine as not to wait for refills No pre dinner bread or even olives Made reservations last night, hostess got us drinks on arrival but after 25 min no server took out order Kept hearing someone would" be by soon" Paid our drink bill at bar and left, no one seemed to notice or care Think this place caters to people who come often If they don't know you they don't bother Lots of groups but didn't see any food on tables Won't go back read more

One of my favorite Italian restaurants and by far the best eatery around here. The veal is very tender. Sometimes there is life music. Prices are reaao read more

Update: Went back again last night, really good food and exceptional,service this time! My wife had the seafood risotto which was excellent and I had the veal marsala, which was perfect! Really a lovely place, worth every penny. Ok, so I read all the reviews here and none said the food was bad in any way, all pointed to the length of time to get served and one bizarre experience I can't comment on. We have a second home up here and a local friend took us to Giovanni's for dinner Saturday night, and we loved it. Yes, we waited a full 45 minutes before bread came and a full hour before our appetizers came and and another 15 minutes before our entrées came, but...we were brought to our table right away by a very courteous server, who took our drink orders and brought them after only a few minutes, and then read the specials and promptly took our order. The food was excellent, I had veal parmigiana which was tender, just the right amount of cheese and a great portion, my wife had the grilled branzino, which was wonderful, served whole, skin on and it had a nice smoky flavor, my friend had the chicken Marsala which looked great and he loved. I would say as Italian restaurants go this was on par with any good home style I have been to anywhere even in NYC, really good. The other aspect of this was the live singer, a woman that was playing the piano the whole time and belting out movie tunes from the 50's and 60's, it was wonderful! You can't get that everywhere and who would expect it up in here. Not to mention Wednesday is brick oven pizza night in a spacious outdoor garden, my friend said was great, so we have to try that. So while I agree the wait was long, the food was great, the decor very eclectic, the live music fantastic, the servers very friendly and attentive. A little pricey but not more than other places like it. Definitely coming back and definitely recommend, so far the best restaurant we been to up here, and I have been to several. read more

Food was excellent, service super friendly. Chanced upon Giovanni's from a highway sign. Well worth the stop! Baked ziti and pizza awesome... read more

My fave local restaurant! For homemade NY style Italian cooking you can't find better. Giovanni has that touch. And don't miss Marilyn's singing on Friday nights! read more

Great food on Wednesdays he cooks at the outdoor brick oven, making pizza and calzones. It is so good but he only does this during the summer. read more

Slowest service ever, I complained to the manager, she blamed the chef. Half hour to get a drink, one drink was spilled on one of our guests. It was about an hour before we got bread, one loaf making five slices, we were a party of ten. Everybody outside was complaining about service. When we did get our food half the calzones were burned from being cooked too quickly, some pizza's were under and over cooked. Had to ask several times for more drinks, even water, napkins and silverware was not brought to table without being asked for. A table of eight that came in right behind us and walked out with us and still no food on their table. It was two and a half hours by the time we got out of there, That's for pizza's and calzones. No compensation or even an apology was offered by the manager and I'm sure the only reason we got our food when we did was because I complained. Never again, that place needs all new staff. Kevin read more