Da Giovanni

I am not from Montréal but i have seen the reviews and they weren’t so pleasant. I had some suspicion about this restaurant but it was a long day and my mother and i were very hungry and wanted a good early dinner. the outside doesn’t seem like it was the best place to eat and once you walked in they had barely any customers. We were greeted by the waiter who seated us very quickly, handed us the menu. He seemed nice and notice we were Americans and told us if we had any question to just ask. Once we looking over the selection two very strange guys came into the restaurant and i could immediately tell they were on drugs. i think the other people in the restaurant could tell also. Once our waiter seen the worried looks on me and my mothers face he made sure they we would have a pleasant time and catered to us. I ordered the Carbonara (w/​bacon) which by some reviews a lot of people didn’t enjoy and my mother had Festin Italien (Spaghetti w/​meatball, sausage and Cheese bread). I enjoyed the Carbonara, it was so delicious, My mother enjoyed her food as well. Even thou those strange people were around us i can’t say that it wasn’t a good meal. The staff were very professional and handle the situation very well and catered to me and my mother and very well. Hopefully people give this restaurant another chance i believe they deserve it.

We ordered carbonara, but it was made with Alfredo sauce. Not impressed. Perhaps we ordered the wrong food. Could their pizza be any better? Not sure if I want to find out.

Not a place for pasta. The tomato sauce is out of a can.
But their pizza? That’s what keeps me coming back. Thick crust, great sauce, lots of cheese and toppings.
Service is friendly if you speak some French, at least that’s what I found.

Seriously? Go look at the photo I just posted showing the size of the pizzas I just bought. I put my hand in there as a reference. I just $ 30 for those two pizzas and it was like I only got two slices. The pizza was decent but we pretty much ate it in 30 seconds. No way I’m ever going back unless they change their portion sizes or their prices. Couldn’t believe what I found in the box! Ridiculous.

My favorite restaurant in the world pasta here is the best always has been and always will be my favorite A++++

It’s conveniently located and it was open late. That’s all I can vouch for.

I use to go there often with my parents when I was a kid… early 80 and I use to love it. Unfortunately for them since that time I have been to many more restaurant and I now know better. The service was slow and I am not sure why because the place was fairly empty. The meat sauce for the pasta taste like can sauce. The pizza dough didn’t look or taste like it was fully cooked and the dessert was nothing impressive.
They really need a blast to 2014 and fast o be able to stay open another 50 years

We got ripped offfff!!!
My boyfriend and I were visiting Montréal last week– before our bus back to NYC sunday June 3^rd around 9pmish, we went for Da Giovanni around the bus station. There were bout 8 tables, waitress was busy but she seemed friendly – short in stature mid age, with short red hair. It tool a while but she finally got to us. We had some trouble communicating but got our two orders in. We got the drinks and then 15 minutes our food-​very fast. Then she came back with the bread. I liked the food, the manicotti was cooked al dente, and the sauce was fine-​not the best but good.
The problem came when I went to pay with my credit card. I stood up to pay at her station because we were a bit late to catch our bus, I was curious about the breakdown because of the two taxes and I wanted to understand how it worked so I asked her, but she couldn’t understand me. And then she proceeded to tell me about service tip that I should give her. I said to her: «Don’t worry about it I live in the USA and is customary to tip» besides I’ve worked in the industry for very long. but soon she pulled out a calculator and wrote her own tip in the receipt that I am supposed to fill in and sign. She tipped her self $ 4.18 and then had me signed it. I was very exhausted and over it and decided not to make a scene and leave like that.
If you go, make sure to bring $canadian to pay in cash. That goes better for most bars and cheap restaurants in Montréal.

4 plats différents qui nous ont rassasiés
Festin italien un régal
Spaghetti sauce carbonate appréciée
Tortolini sauce rosée à la viande succulent
Rigatoni sauce à la viande toujours succulent
Et la facture raisonnable

Used to be one of our favourite places. We arrived at about 8PM and were promptly and courteously seated… and then completely forgotten. 15 minutes later we walked out of the restaurant and into the street looking to have dinner. People who arrived after us had already order and were served and were eating their meals and we were still at the table never having been even asked what we wanted to eat.
If you can’t serve customers waiting patiently at your table, maybe you need a new service job.

This is one of my favorite restaurants. My dad used to come to this exact location back in the 1960’s-70’s so this an old institution! It was great value for the working class, and still is.
I’ve always come as a kid and now in my 20’s, I just have great memories of this place and the food and menu hasn’t changed a whole lot.
Their classic meat sauce spaghetti is a winner. Pasta is always cooked just right, al dente. Sauce is so hearty with a hint of sweetness, surely a popular staple of this eatery as you can even buy jars of it to cook at home. You get a discount towards this purchase after your meal.
I’ve only ever tried their spaghetti which is so good I never had the desire for anything else. I love that they provide bibs on request. You can slurp all the noodles you want and not worry about making a mess.
I’ve gotten cesar salads with my meal and they’re always generous with the sauce, which I love, it’s nice and garlic-​y.
This is one of the rare restaurants that actually serves Jello or rice pudding for dessert, although it is not on the menu, loyal customers over the years will know this is a trademark.
This is not an impressive restaurant, décor is dated, the area itself near Berri Uquam isn’t the best — I always see drug dealers, angry student protesters or homeless people, but I hope Dagiovanni manages to survive because it’s been providing hearty affordable meals for generations.

Da Giovani is really a two in one deal. One side is a dedicated Italian restaurant with waiters and a reasonably close facsimile of classic Italian dishes. On the other much smaller side they operate a pizza by the slice joint, which is my focus today.
Surprisingly there isn’t much in the way of Pizza near Berri-​UQAM. There’s a popular place inside the station, but for several blocks in any direction Da Giovani is the only option. That’s OK though because their pizza is actually better than average. Prices may be on the high side, but again so is the quality.
The place is small and old and dare I say well-​worn. Even though they are open late, they don’t have much of a selection after about 7pm, so go early. It’s a pizza by the slice place, and a decent one at that, but it is just pizza so don’t set your expectations too high.

Where to begin…
The waitress starts off by giving us what turns out to be all you can eat garlic bread. Sounds interesting in theory. Except it isn’t really good.
When it comes time to order, I ask her to explain to me the difference between the two optional pizza sauces. It turns out that one of the two sauces has not been available for several years. Yet it’s still on the menu. From several years ago. Yeah… Ok…
We order. My friend and I each order a pizza. The waitress got my friends order wrong. So as I nibbled my pizza slowly, my friend waited nearly 20 minutes for hers.
Oh… It’s going to get better right now. The waitress now knocks over my glass of beer right onto my crotch. I really wasn’t in the mood to have beer marinated underwear, but such is life. She does bring me a new glass of beer. But I’m not in the mood anymore.
So now it’s time for the bill. I’m expecting to be comped for something. A decent restaurant would not give us a bill at all. But I’m figuring that she will at least remove one item from the total. Perhaps the beer? She does not. Nothing. Nothing at all.
Horrible experience. Stay away people. This restaurant has on undeserved reputation of being something interesting. it’s crap you would buy at your local dumpy mall.

I was in the Berri-​UQAM area once again and I needed to eat. I started walking towards Le Village but passed this place and saw that they had pasta and pizza and whatnot. I didn’t see the restaurant’s name Da Giovanni at first (Da Giovanni? Why not Don Giovanni?). I walked in and saw that they were one of those nice little places where you could stop in for lunch or an informal meal. I’m letting you know ahead of time that their portions are quite large! Very generous! I was expecting a sort of side-​dish sized spaghetti, but I received a dinner-​size portion. Unfortunately, the one woman there taking everyone’s orders and serving didn’t speak English very well and we had some difficulty in communication. Apparently, I also missed out on another part of the restaurant, a whole other room. I suppose that and their menu warrants the rather cheesy Italian-​music-​in-​French website they have! I’ll be coming back for sure to check more of the place out and hopefully there will be more employees taking orders and serving. All the signs are in French, btw, no English. Anglophones are warned!

Ambiance: Bright, spacious and quiet.
Food: The food here is just one step above fast food in its quality. The chicken was dry, the pasta sauce although dark and smokey didn’t work well for me due to its slightly anise flavor. Everything else here was average fare that wasn’t terrible but neither was it remarkable in any way.
Service: Polite and efficient. Could have been better, but they might have been understaffed when I was there. No problems for English speakers.
Price: Cheap. $ 12 – 17 per person.
Hassle factor: One of the few sit down restaurants open late in the area (11pm most nights. Midnight on Fri/​Sat, if I recall). No lines, no fuss, easy.
Overall: If you’re out late and are looking for something cheap and easy, this place will do. However, you get what you pay for here. Couples: not a good idea unless simplicity is your thing. Business lunches/​dinners: I do not recommend.