I have always wanted to try Giovanni's in Dickens Heath as it's had brilliant reviews and when I've drove past it in the past it's always seemed busy. It's a cute, authentic old fashioned Italian family run restaurant. The inside is very homely-it almost seems like your eating inside an Italian family dinning room! The service was very good also, the waitress was attentive and the man (who I think was Giovanni) was very funny and friendly, he kept us entertained all night and was very sweet.
The menu is very authentic Italian also, not just pasta and pizza and it all sounded so yummy. They offer a set menu 2 courses for £12.95 or 3 courses for £16.95 which Laura and Jayne decided to do but I ordered from the normal menu. It took me ages to decide which starter to have.
Calamari Fritti E Salsiccia Picannate: deep fried squid served with mixed salad & chorizo sausage, drizzled with Chilli Mayonnaise
It was a HUGE portion, I wasn't expecting it to be so big to be honest but it was incredibly tasty, I don't think the presentation was brilliant and it could've been laid out slightly better but I understand presentation probably isn't their priority and the taste definitely made up for it. The calamari wasn't chewy or tough at all which is good, calamari can sometimes be very hard to eat but this was cooked perfectly and the chorizo and salad went very well with the squid which surprised me, I wouldn't expect chorizo to go well with it but it was perfect, I love chorizo with anything and this didn't disappoint at all, the chilli mayonnaise it came with was delicious, I was worried it was going to be too spicy but it was more sweet than spicy and it was SO yummy, I loved it and all the flavours went incredibly well together. 9/10 starter-would've been 10 but the presentation let it down slightly. But it was so so tasty and I would have it again, just needed to be a smaller portion. I was already full and I hadn't even had the main course yet!
The main course again took me ages to decide too as all of it sounded so yummy.
Duck Ragu
Again, another very reasonable sized portion. I've never had duck at an Italian before and thought this sounded SO good, it was duck in ragu with a tomato sauce and topped with parmesan. My only criticism is that I would've preferred more sauce, but I do love loads of sauce on my pasta. The taste however was yummy, the duck was cooked perfectly and actually went so well with the pasta and cheese. I can't really say a lot about this particular dish but it was very tasty, I just couldn't eat a lot of it as I was so full and for around £12-13 it's a very good price for what you get. 8/10 main course, slightly dry and too much of it!
For dessert we decided to go to Mortons next door as the desserts there are always so yummy.
Chocolate Fudge Cake served with Vanilla Ice Cream
£5.75
YUMMY-that is all I need to say, review over. Ha! This was so chocolatey, gooey and rich and the sponge wasn't dry at all, which chocolate sponge can be quite often but this was so moist and yummy. Perfect price and perfect dessert!
To conclude, I'm very glad I finally tried Giovanni's and I would definitely go back again.
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