Giovanni Venti Cinque Restaurant

Their wine selection is excellent. The food is excellent. The waiters are very professional and helpful and they certainly make sure that your glass is never empty. Would absolutely recommend

When i booked, Pino, the waiter promised a seat but when i got there, he said the seat has already been taken. I have been here many times before, the food is wonderful, but this particular waiter’s attitude has brought the restaurant’s reputation down to one. The food deserve 5.

Loved the asparagus soup, beet salad, pesto tagliatelle, and mushroom pappardelle. So quaint and great service!

Our favorite restaurant on the UES. We keep coming back for the amazing food and service. We first tried this place a few years ago after spending some time at the MET. It’s literally only steps away and has an amazing pre-​fixe lunch. Since then we keep coming back and they never disappoint.

Overpriced dive, condescending owner, to say food is mediocre is to be kind. Only time in my life I have been moved with my two dinner companions, MID-​MEAL, to another table to make room for a larger party.
Caters to over the hill, over-​moneyed locals who lost their sense of taste decades ago.

Agree with many of your past reviewers. Food is very good. Ambience, comfortable. Service, attentive. Would have given 4 or 5 stars but for the attitudes of the head waiter and one of his staff. One lanky waiter lurked around a table of quiet, polite younger folks and mockingly imitated their approval of the food. Overheard the older gentleman waiter (or maitre d’) say to a lovely, well dressed older woman that she could not afford the wines in their little 4-​seater private dining area that she had inquired about. So, in effect, «don’t ask.»
Definitely an attitude problem. Are these people really Italian? Hard to believe.

Cozy warm atmosphere. The food is fantastic. Seven of us all ordered different dishes and cleaned out our plates. Very pleasant service. Nice place across from the museum away from tourist madness.

Awful staff. Very snobbish and many reviews agree. I am not one to normally write reviews but I had to in this circumstance.

A small restaurant with old world charm and flavorful pastas. Good vegetarian options.
Definitely a great place to eat after a visit to the metropolitan museum of art.

Food is terrible; overpriced tourist trap. Owner should be ashamed to call himself Italian. I live upstairs and watch the rats at night scurrying out the side — even they won’t eat there.

Overpriced. $ 16 for a caprese salad with horrible tomatoes. I wouldn’t even dare to make a stew with those soggy seedy tomatoes. The cheese used was ok. But the tomatoes were horrible. I had a crab meat pasta that didn’t impress me. The flavor was mainly from the oil, it was supposed to be zafron based sauce and I couldn’t taste it at all. The waiter was rude and way too uptight. I saw the look he gave me when I order a scotch with my dinner. I felt segregated. I don’t mind the white cloth table service but at least get the food right.

I live across the street from the restaurant. And one evening my boyfriend and I just wanted to have a quick drink and a desert, so we decided to stop by this place. When we went inside, the waiter greeted us, we asked for a table and specified that we want just drinks and desert, which the waiters response was: «we don’t do that here». I never went back and that is the reason I’m giving it 2 stars.
Sent from my iPhone

This review is not about food which is probably okay (I only had my appetizer). I am a widow and dine alone frequently, accompanied by my e-​reader. I entered Giovanni without a reservation and everyone was courteous, but of course giving me a crappy table because that’s what restaurant’s typically do to women alone. I’m used to this and that was not my problem. The table was just where the door opens and my seat was on the banquette so no one was behind me. I ordered wine, an appetizer and entrée. I settled in for a nice meal, opened my e-​reader and got into my book. When the appetizer was brought, I was informed that I could not use my «device», as no «devices» were allowed in the restaurant («there’s a sign on the door»). I explained that there was no noise and I was simply reading. Nope, you need to put it away. I replied «cancel my entrée I need to leave». I ate the appetizer because it was already served, got my check and left (No, they did not say «sorry for the inconvenience, the app is on us»).
I would totally understand and in fact WELCOME nice restaurants who do not allow cell phones or «devices» with sound coming from them — i.e., silence your devices! However, in this day when lots of reading is done from e-​readers I think this is RIDICULOUS! Also, even if it’s policy I think staff should be able to make a judgement call (hey, the lady is alone, there’s a wall behind her so no one can see her little screen, the restaurant is hardly crowded yet… let it go this one time but inform her of the policy and make sure she keeps any sound off).
My question is this — well many questions but I will present this one — If one or two businessmen came in for lunch or dinner and opened a «device», would they get the same treatment? Sorry but this question comes from the generally shabby treatment I’ve received as a women dining alone. But Giovanni TOPPED ALL OF THEM by not allowing me to read while I dined!!!

Slow family place, reasonable wine, food pleasant but not prime, definite problem with reservations for 1 or two as May need table cleared before seating .This residential area surprisingly sparse re very good food so useful drop in. Service attentive but not swift .
So figure on lento meal which has its points.

Recently I had a delicious dinner at this charming Italian Restaurant. My first visit. The «special» of the evening was «white truffle risotto «. I neglected to ask the price of this «special.»
It was divine. The check was NOT. The «special», alone, was $ 140…with the portion of the final tip it was $ 160. Eight divine bites at a prohibitive price. Shame on me for not asking.

This restaurant was recommended by our hotel concierge and I am glad we accepted her guidance. A party of three, we had the pork scallopini and the linguini fra diavolo and closed with the pear strudel and ricotta cheesecake — all of which were superb. We left very little on our plates at the end of the night. Wine list was diverse and with nice selections at various price points.
The service was excellent. Attentive and helpful in answering our questions. Never felt rushed, could tell the other guests around us where also having a good experience.
Restaurant is small in size, but did not hamper table conversation. Consensus was we would eat here again.

It is impossible to say what is the best restaurant in New York, but I’m not sure I know one I like better. Food is not all that goes into this, but, be assured, barring some bizarre accident, nothing is less than very good indeed, and much is stellar. The wine list, mainly classic Italian, is educated and first rate. The prices are, yes, high, but they are never insulting for this level (not all wines are expensive). The décor pleases me, though one would not mistake it for Christmas at Neiman-​Marcus.
I half grew up in Italy and live half the year in Florence. Giovanni’s is, by some benign providence, my neighbor in New York. Part of my love for this place is certainly cultural. It is made for leisurely conversation. I have had literary lunches, with ms. on the table, lunches to remember last night’s opera, romantic dinners with dear ladies, dinner with my daughter after her first Grand Prix. Giovanni’s blesses every one of them. One talks, eats, drinks, all equally delightedly. The service is silent when proper, or has that special Italian quality of intelligent, level conversation with a civilized headwaiter (better, of course, when he knows you).
I am honestly puzzled by the few very bad reviews (unless they are malicious). A certain number of people drift from the Met (there is not much ovbious place to eat just around here). A few are scruffy, do not belong here, are possibly intimidated, possibly (hardly their fault) can’t afford it. This is a grown up, well-​dressed, expensive restaurant (I found utterly endearing the review of the very young lady who was fascinated by dining next to someone with his mistress, but found everyone «pretty old.»).
If you are just a tiny bit old, dear young lady, and have a suit, you really can’t do better. You don’t even really need a mistress.

Let’s get down to business.
Food: Easily 5 stars. My recommendations: Grilled octopus was superb, fresh, and not chewy like most places will serve it to you). Osso bucco was beautifully prepared with amazing saffron rice. The portion was also quite big and I couldn’t help but finish the whole plate despite being completely full. Tiramisu! You simply CANNOT come here and not order the tiramisu. You won’t find a better one in New York City.
Wine: You can’t go wrong with a bottle of Pio Cesare. Rich, smooth, and warm. A must.
Atmosphere: Very romantic, darkened, without being dark. Soft music in the background.
Service: Polite, courteous, helpful without being pushy or annoying.
Would love to come here again for a special occasion.

Came here with a few friends and had terrible service. The waiter seemed embarrassed that he had to ask us for ID and treated us like children the entire time. They ignored us a lot when we were asking for or bill and added tip on a table of 5.

Authentic Italian! One of those places with the more «mature» authentic Italian waiters. I had a pesto-​mozzarella spaghetti which was delicious! Another person in our party had the shrimp diavlo pasta which she loved. All in all a great Italian place convenient to the Guggenheim museum with great service.