Giovanni Shoe Repair Inc

Way OVER priced!! The last five months I've taken many pairs of shoes for repair. Spending ~$300 to 350. They know me!! Took in a brand new, never worn, pair of shoes to have a rubber sole glued on the front. (3x4 inches.) Nothing to repair. No heal to add. When I dropped them off I was told $20.(My son was with me. He heard the conversation.) Which I paid. But picking them up today they said a sole is $40 total. I had to pay an additional $20...!! $40 for a small piece of rubber glued on!!! Rip off! Find somewhere else!

The staff was rude and unhelpful when it would have been easy to be helpful. The repair
was ok, overpriced compared to some of the other shops. No next time.

Fast service, fair prices, convenient hours, does a great job replacing the toe leather only on my not cheap Crockett & Jones shoes.

Perfectly done. Had worn the soles through in spots and the heels were chewed up. Repairs were done well and cleanly. And my shoes were returned much cleaner than I had brought them in! $ 45 made a favorite pair of boots wearable again.

Astonishing. For $ 15, in under two hours, they lowered the heels on a pair of sandals, from 3″ to 2″, andit looked 100% perfect. The man discouraged me from going down a whole inch but when I said I understood the risk, he agreed to do it. The result was even better than I expected. They look great and are the perfect height. Thanks to Unilocal and so many positive reviews.

Fantastic.

Top notch work done in a timely fashion. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. Strongly recommended.

They did an AWESOME job redoing the bottoms and the completely busted faux-​wood-​stacked heels of my booties. The winter did a number on both pairs and I was like, «WTF.» But Giovanni fixed them up very quickly (I just didn’t pick them up right away) and they charged extremely reasonable prices. I would highly recommend them and will take ALL my shoes there for repair or protective measures!

Just what the reviews said– excellent work, very friendly and accommodating, and great prices. Not to mention, speedy service! I brought two pairs of boots with badly worn heels and leather. They repaired the heels and polished the boots so that they looked brand new! I am so pleased to know that I have a local shoe repair service that is so great!

I went here because of the good Unilocal-​reviews and now feel I have to contribute with my not so positive experience. I went here to have rubber soles put on a pair of new leather boots. I have worn the shoes a total of four times since then and the soles have now started to come off at the toe. I think that calls for the worst possible grade and will definitely not be going back.

Was desperately seeking a reliable shoe cobbler (which is oddly hard to find in Manhattan) and was lucky enough to stumble upon this place!
Albeit an underground hole in the wall on the outside, the shop offers a wonderfully low maintenance, no nonsense shoe cleaning/​repair service. The representative gave me an honest, reassuring analysis of the procedure of boots needed and, as promised, delivered beautifully. The price was also very reasonable and completed in a short time frame.
A lot of customers came in and out during the time I was there, and I completely see why. So grateful to know this place exists, should I have any further shoe needs!

Great service and good prices. They were extremely accommodating and helpful. I brought in a boot with a broken zipper. They said they would try to fix it the cheap way by replacing a part of the zipper for $ 15 instead of the $ 40. The day after I dropped it off they called me to tell me they had tried it but it needs a new zipper. They let me be indecisive about my choice and weren’t rude or pushy. They also worked with my schedule to get me the boot on time. It was a more complicated job that the previous solution. The best thing was that I have a one year guarantee on the repair and this shop accepts credit card. Go here if you live close by and want the job done right.

I’m so excited that I found this place on Unilocal!
It’s a bit of a trek to get here (from where I live), but it’s worth it. I will never go to another cobbler! Never! I will definitely come to Giovanni’s. Keep up the good work!
Quality service at a fair price. What more can you ask for?

Giovanni’s: friendly staff, quality work, and the big C word: Consistent! It’s easy enough in NYC to find a one-​time good job that lures you back in a second time or third, only to disappoint, but I travel on the subway to use this place and so far so excellent.
I tried a place two blocks from my home and each time, they did only mediocre work (I expect more from a pro), but they also try to upcharge me with heel or sole repair with EVERY single pair of shoes. I stopped going to them for convenience’s sake and returned to Giovanni’s.
Giovanni’s work speaks for itself, but the friendly staff is a huge benefit. I hope this continues.

Friendly people and good price. They have fixed several of my shoes but the thing that excited me most was how they brought my favorite worn out leather boots back to life!
They added a new rubber soles, heels, and stitched both outer sides from the top

So excited I found this shop.
Needed my shoes stretched and the job was done «just right» for $ 10.
May be easy to miss (enter shop lower level)

This place is fantastic. I’ve taken in a variety of shoes from boots to pumps and each job is done perfectly. I highly recommend Giovanni’s and will go back for all future shoe work.

Giovanni is the best shoe repair in the entire city!!! He works quickly and efficiently. Very reasonable prices. He does wonderful work! I’ve stopped by Giovanni on my way to work on several mornings. I needed my high heels reheeled, he fixed them on the spot, while I waiting. Took him maybe 5 minutes, and they were perfect! He even shinned them up a bit and made them look brand new! Giovanni is extremely pleasant, honest and a pleasure to do business with. I highly recommend you bring ALL of your shoes to Giovanni!!!

I come in from another state to go to this cobbler! The man is extremely knowledgable and also very very nice. He is accommodating and sometimes can do the job on the spot. He gives his honest recommendations and does not push for the most expensive fix. The prices are reasonable and the shoes end up looking brand new! I’m happy I found this place and would recommend to anyone.

Giovanni’s is fantastic.
The work done here is very high quality and the pricing is fantastic but what really sets them apart are their customer service.
You’ll get knowledgable, no bullshit advice on the best solution for your cobbling problems. He’ll tell you if you’re potentially wasting your time on trying to save shoes that aren’t worth it (if you look at it from a purely financial perspective rather than sentimental!). Not saying that’ll stop you from investing in trying to get a few extra months out of a pair you love (and you hence have absolutely destroyed from over use **cough cough my bad cough**)… but he’ll let you know not to expect in terms of what’s possible with the repairs.
He also is more than willing to recommend nearby competitors that stock products he didn’t have in stock (wooden shoe trees) and has always delivered for me in terms of timing.
Great company I have been to multiple times and I have absolutely no reason or desire to even try anyone else.
Cheers Giovanni!

MY #1 FAVORITE COBBLER IN MANHATTAN. Ladies, do not take your expensive heels and booties anywhere else. Giovanni, who is the sole owner and craftsman of this shop, is my Holy Grail of cobblers!
Over the past few years, I have brought shoes to 3 other Unilocal-​recommended cobblers around New York City, searching for the Holy Grail of artisanal, meticulous craftsmanship, affordable prices, and consistent quality. Giovanni not only delivers in all those respects, but exceeds my expectations! I would travel to Brooklyn if his shop were there, but thankfully he is located in my neighborhood on the UWS.
For men’s shoes (flats), a good sole replacement and a cleaning/​shining is typically all you need. But women’s heels are the litmus test of a truly skilled cobbler. High-​quality women’s shoes — from Cole Haan and Rag & Bone to Manolo and Louboutins — really do require a cobbler who is meticulous and careful because (1) women in New York wear down their heels to a nub and the pavements are especially hard on leather-​soled shoes and (2) the seams and finish of the repairwork need to be delicate and precisely applied, or else you can see where the shoe ends and the repairs begin.
For all your premium, nice quality shoes — particularly shoes with delicate leather soles — Giovanni is simply the BEST I have found in this city. His repairs are on par with the far more expensive Leather Spa in midtown east, but MUCH more affordable.
Over the past month, I have brought him the following shoes, all of which came back PERFECT. What is more impressive is that Giovanni takes extra care to restore the shoe beyond the basic services you get elsewhere, and fixes little dents and scuffs that you might not even have noticed. He really is a perfectionist, and it shoes in every single pair I’ve brought to him:
– 1 brand new pair of Rag & Bone leather-​soled nubuck booties that I wanted to protect with the thinnest possible rubber half-​soles before wearing them out in the city streets: Giovanni matched them with a nude, paper-​thin Vibram rubber half-​sole (ask for the thinnest kind for your delicate shoes) and applied it perfectly, so that it looks organic to the shoe and blends in with the beautiful laminate leather sole.
– 1 brand new pair of inexpensive black cowboy boots with non-​leather soles: Giovanni not only added Vibram rubber half-​soles and heels as requested, but *repaired a manufacturing defect* in the heel where there had previously been a dent, and polished the shoe with Meltonian Leather Cream. They came back looking newer and shinier than when I got them from the store. These weren’t high-​end designer shoes to begin with, but Giovanni took just as must care to fix them as he would a pair of Louboutins! This is the mark of a great craftsman.
– 1 badly scuffed pair of brown leather dress boots that a family member wore hiking (yes, really): Giovanni replaced the whole heel and added a Vibram half-​sole, but also went the extra mile by cleaning and shining the leather, waxing over scuff marks, and repairing chips in the footbed. These boots came back unrecognizable to me, as they looked new and shiny.
– 1 pair of patent leather high heels with heels worn to the nub; same heel and half-​sole repairwork as above, along with cleaning and dent-​fixing. I also noticed Giovanni spruced up the part of the leather sole underneath that is not covered by the Vibram half-​sole, so that the whole shoe looked cleaner and brighter from the bottom!
In addition to all this, Giovanni is probably the nicest person I have ever met. He is at his store for long hours, but has never closed early and often stays a bit past closing time when I am rushing to pick up my repaired shoes.
I really can’t say enough good things about Giovanni, other than to downgrade my other cobbler review to 4 stars and give Giovanni 5 stars. If I could give him 10 stars, I would. I always tip him extra because I think his prices are so fair, they’re too low for his quality of work.
Take your shoes to Giovanni: he’s the BEST.