Bistro Don Giovanni

09/25/2007 Posted by foodieduo

We were in Napa and decided to try Bistro Don Giovanni after reading a lot of rave reviews. We went there on a Tuesday night for our 8 o'clock reservation. The waiting time was a good 45-50 minutes before being seated inspite of the reservation. The place was crowded and we spent the time waiting in the garden over a few drinks. For starters we ordered Fritto Misto -- it was one of the best fried calamari. It was rightly seasoned and the taste fantastic. Next, they messed up our order of pizza and the nearby table was served the pizza. We were kept waiting for some more time, with no proper apologies. Just that the next table got the pizza -- so oops!! When the order arrived, I almost lost my appetite but had some hopes that the food will do the trick. The chantrelle Risotto and the fig pizza were greatly disappointing. The server said the risotto was their specialty, and the figs were from their garden. The risotto was tasteless and tasted like a medicinal potion, the pizza - nothing to write home about. The only saving grace was the use of fresh ingredients, atleast in the pizza and the fritto misto. We ordered a dessert to make up for the food, as we had to leave the risotto. The dessert was a bigger disppointment. I didn't even care to know what it was - a few spoons and it was left alone. We had better food at the Oakville Grocery store or even chinese food at San Francisco tasted a lot better. Seriously, DID this restaurant really garner so many good reviews??? Or were we just having a bad night out. The saving grace was that we were seated in the patio, where the ambiance was better, and the views nicer. I have been to restaurants from east to the west coast, the meal at BDG ranks as one of the worst.

Pros: Outside Ambience

Cons: Food, Service.

12/14/2006 Posted by wallstpup

12/11/06 Went for lunch to check out one of the top 20 hamburgers that was rated in GQ magazine. The top ten burgers are all on the east coast mostly in the NY and Philly area. So how could Napa measure up? Well it does not. The grilled bistro burger , $12.50 came with cheese, a piece of ribbed lettuce, red onions, small bowl of mild pickles, and 4 lightly battered onion rings; no tomato. You can request fries as a substitute. The onion rings are among the best I ever tasted. The burger was a hand formed patty around 6 ounces which was seasoned meatloaf style. The chef added either ketchup and other sauces to the raw mix. I know this because my hamburger tasted very similar to my mother's. The burger was very moist and salty, and it did ooze the added ingredients. It wasn't greasy just wet. I will say that this burger is unique in preparation. We did not make reservations so we were put in the patio which was deafening. I requested to the host to seat us somewhere quieter, but he told me this is were you are put without a reservation. The main dining room has better acoustics. The other reviews are accurate about the patio with the fire place, but unless you enjoy shouting over your dinner I would recommend sitting elsewhere. Do not go here without reservations. In terms of value, I would say that for the type of place this is, it is fairly priced. They only charged $2.00 for a single serving of coke. Overall the food was average, but the noise overshadowed the dining experience. The waiter did his job and served us with adequate attention. He did ask how our meal was, but did not refill our water glasses unless asked. The burger was ordered medium, but it came medium rare. So with the improper cooking and noise I sadly must give this establishment a below average rating.

Pros: visual atmoshere

Cons: noise, burger