Giovanni Pasta Fagioli

We love the Mexicana pizza (best we’ve had... and we’ve tried many!!!) and Penne Giovanni. I haven’t tried other items on the menu yet, but can recommend these ones.
Pizza has thin, crispy crust and the mince sauce has excellent flavour and you can taste it has been slow cooked for hours!
Pasta is fresh, al dente, with an amazing creamy sauce.

One of the major changes we have experienced in modern joburg is the slow but steady disappearance of traditional Italian mom and pop joints, doing what has become traditional south african italian dishes. I remember there being a lot around when i was a youngster, and slowly, one by one, they have been replaced by hip chain restaurants. Gone are the la rusticas, venezias, due leone, and here in their place we have tashas and vovo telo, mimos, pizA e vino, and while these places are fine, they aren't doing the dishes i had grown accustomed to seeing on the menu. They also lack a certain authentic quality, theres no old man in suspenders at the door, no youngster called marco smiling from the pass when your family arrives, theres a cold efficiency, and distance from the cuisine and its really sad.
There are 2 left that i know of, er buco in linksfield, and this place. I had never tried it before because its really unnasuming, tucked away in that little centre just behind the gas station just off the woodmead offramp.
Well,traffic out of the beast has been pretty bad lately with traditionally slow roadworks on my usual route so I've been experimenting and one day i sat outside giovanis centre for about 10 minutes, and its occurred to me that i better try this place before "progress" sees it replaced with a news cafe or some other beige establishment.
And so it came to pass..
We're greeted at the door by the proprietor. He's clearly an immigrant or 1st gen saffer.
The place just feels like mid 90s nostalgia italian. It could do with a refurb but its still nice to see. Guests all seem like regulars or locals and are treated warmly.
Service is pretty good. Nobody forces me to order a drink, so i don't and i like that.
I go straight to a classic, liver, bacon and onions. I've had it a number of different ways, sometimes its shredded pancetta, sometimes the liver is a thick steak, sometimes its on mash or polenta. It seems like each little italian joint has their own idea about how it should be done based on their traditions.
This one is thin liver steaks, bacon bits, caramelised onions and some thin melanzane steaks. Its served in the pan. A steel tray of sides come too, a la 1990. Fried potatoes, a rich spinach and mushroom buttery dish, and peas... yeah.. peas.
Its a little oily. But its perfect apart from that, all the elements in harmony. A classic for a reason, beautifully executed.
Partner has sole, they have a sole special but she opts for a the menu version.
Its not served inthe pan. Its served like it has been served for the last 20 years. On a plate with mushy pumpkin, creamed spinach and roastypotatoes. It looked pretty good. I heard no complaints.
We shred a tiramisu. Bill is about 250 a head. A bit steep for what it is.

Anyways, totally would go back for pasta.

Hands-down the best lasagne in Joburg (still think so after 5 years, trying to prove it wrong). Also can totally recommend the Tiramisu, as highly - with a surprisingly good wine selection (hidden gem).

Topped only by the friendly and helpful staff. Manager and owner have been on the floor serving people for close on 23 years...

Oh... Where do I begin? My foodie friends have been raving for ages this place's tiramisu - while we've already enjoyed the basic tiramisus from Chateaux Gateaux and well, Princis.
We stepped in, realised how the restaurant is quite unassuming (in retrospect, a hidden gem) and received a warm welcome from the manager. Before the highly anticipated dessert, we ordered starters and main course like what societal norm demands of us.
Oh My God. The Roquefort Pizza almost made me weep. Warm cheese with the flavour of romance and dreams. The Linguine Cartoccio was ordered for nostaglia as I have not seen this meal in forever - not disappointed at all, but the winner was the Veal Picatta. Anyway, to the point: dessert time.
We ordered a lemon sorbet to cleanse our palate then two tiramisus. It was the soul mate to our tongues. The winning refreshing burst of coffee balanced the delightful creaminess, the slice of life was not rich at all, we ordered a third tiramisu, despite previously being rendered lethargic from the previous session.
Service was attentive, our plates kept getting swapped with new plates and our drinks filled.
It was utterly the most marvelous mix of yum. I am not sure how I'll be able to dine elsewhere anymore.

I have literally driven past this place so many times and on Sunday, the wife and I said "Enough", and I'm so glad we did. Sitting on the balcony takes you to this magical place where for a split second you think you in Italy. From the starters to the main course to the espresso and the shared bottle of wine, it actually just puts your mind at ease. After the main course it began to drizzle lightly and just at that moment I realized that this establishment knows what they are doing. I had the Penne Giovanni which kicked my tastebuds right in the funny area. The portions are massive and it validates the price tags of 119 South African big ones. You are never going to eat for R200 like the description suggests so just be aware. Realistically for mains and a bottle of red followed by a coffee, will set you back 500. Only complaint would be that the waiter was a little scarce when we needed him. A nice finish to this date was that the owner came up to us and had a conversation with us and really acted interested in his business. Brilliant