Giannfranco’s Trattoria

Very good food; very slow service. Décor nice; tables too close together. Lovely patio in the back.

Unbelievably fantastic! WOW! I’m here for lunch for the first time, and I’m floored. The staff here is incredibly helpful, warm and professional so the entire lunch service has been a very pleasant experience… and the food! We started with a carpaccio and arugula insalata which was heaven, moved onto their riccota and truffle sacchetti dish, as well as their vegggie risotto, both are to die for, and by the time we hit the chocolate florentine in a praline cup for dessert, I was nearly in tears. Giovanni Sherwyn is a genius. Come eat here — Period.

Delicious, fresh, gourmet… and great service. Beautiful patio in back. The food is wonderful, the portions are small and the prices are high. As long as you know what you’re in for, this place is a gem.

The food is delicious and I enjoyed my chopped salad very much! I’ve tried several of the main dishes, and they were all 5 star!

The service here is impeccable! My daughter and I went here for a ladies night out. We split the meatball starter and she ordered spaghetti and I got the lobster ravioli. Our food was delicious! Not one thing I would change. I wish I remembered our servers name because he was great!

7:30 pm reservation shouldn’t mean you will be ordering almost 2 hrs later… the owner immediately told us there was a large party outside, she was very nice and courteous about the situation.
Carlos was our server who eventually came to our table almost 45 min after we arrived to bring us some bread and drop off our appetizer we ordered from the owner who was periodically checking on us. Thank god we brought our own wine… a
After almost 2 hrs we ordered our food and finally heard the specials (which he had to be asked to say and spoke it like he was somewhere else) only to discoverer they were out of the two items I initially wanted, Oso Bucco and short ribs, the waiter recommended the lamb so I tried that. It was a tiny portion and way overcooked. Very disappointed and when I was asked how my meal was I was hesitant to be honest but was anyways and he did nothing but offer me a box to take it home.
His complete lack of attention to our table made this an awful experience for this could be great of a restaurant. The service there needs massive improvement, please come visit Guisepees in pismo beach, ca to see how fine Italian dining should be Carlos. Next time you should consider offering a complimentary desert or atleast wave corkage, over $ 100 for almost 3 hrs was a joke.

My favorite Italian restaurant in the area! Great atmosphere and family owned! Some of the best pastas I’ve had. I’ve tried about 7 so far and none of them have disappointed!

This is truly one of our favorite restaurants anywhere. When we walked into the restaurant for the first time a couple of years ago, Anna asked if this was our first time, we said yes, and she responded, «You won’t be sorry», and we never have been. Homemade pastas with stunningly delicious sauces. The name comes from, I think, Gianni, the father, Anna, the mother, and son and chef Franco. We have seen all of them every time we have been there. Try it. As Anna says, «You won’t be sorry».

This place is awesome I’m a very finicky food person and this food here fit the bill in every way possible service was great especially with Arnold my mom and I really enjoyed it

My favorite Trattoria in Santa Barbara County. Great and wide selection of

We had our friends over from the Bay Area for the weekend and decided to go here on Saturday for lunch.
It was a hot day, and the inside area of the restaurant was empty. We asked to be seated outside on the patio where all the other customers were seated however we were asked to sit inside since we had little kids and kids make a mess and dirty the floor.
This is shocking, and really bad customer service. I don’t think I will be coming back here anytime soon.

Tried to eat here last night, restaurant almost completely empty owner refused rudely refused to seat us because they were too busy and only had 1 chef working. Really? There were maybe 20 people seated in the entire restaurant if you can’t handle another table of 3 then maybe you shouldn’t be open at all.

Had dinner at Giannfrancos and like normal it was excellent. Food and service remains superb.
Our guests from Australia were very impressed.
Always and special dining experience.
Love Anna, Frank and Gio.

Went with a group, including children.
1.It was a warm night and we were seated inside.
Over time, the heat was so unbearable that we were actually sweating.
We were told that there was no AC, just two ceiling fans for the
whole restaurant.
Noticed that there was a portable AC on the bar counter, pointing directly toward an employee (whom we later found out was the owner) and asked that it
be faced towards us so that we could cool off a bit and enjoy the meal. Waiter
said OK, but the owner refused. Later confronted the owner telling him that it was like being in a «hell hole». His only response was that there was nothing he could do because he needed the portable AC to cool the kitchen (which was about 20 ft away).
2. An empty glass was knocked over by my wife, breaking on the floor. Owner’s wife assumed it was one of the children and threw a «hissy fit», clearing the table of the glasses and rudely saying, it’s «not the cost of the glass, but the difficulty in sweeping the glass pieces off the floor». Truly a real class act to have the table cleared without our permission and making us feel that we were unwanted patrons.
3. There is minimal walking space in the aisle that leads from the front of the restaurant to the back patio. To access the patio, guests must squeeze between the
chairs of our table and the chairs of the bar. The owner’s wife/​hostess, in an attempt to create more space, without notice, pushed my wife’s chair (with my wife seated in it) abruptly, forcing her into the table. Without apology, she just said that they needed to pass by.
We are Carpinteria residents but they probably thought that we were just tourists that they would never see again and that they could get away with this unacceptable behavior.
We have been there before and the food is quite good but unfortunately their uncaring and less than courteous attitude ruined the meal and the family experience.

We just dined here today. The prices are steep, and do not match up with the portion size and quality of food.
I’m going to organize this review different than usually – a good/​bad list.
The good:
— This restaurant has a lovely atmosphere and a nice family who owns it.
— The home brewed tropical iced tea is wonderful.
— When I drank the iced tea, the waitress refilled it after giving me more ice. I hate restaurants that refill it and leave you iceless.
— The Penne was cooked beautifully.
— If a messy kitchen is a happy kitchen, then this kitchen is delicious!
— The sausage in the gnocchi special was flavorful and well executed.
— Our waitress was friendly and always had a smile on her face.
The bad:
— The bread was dry and flakey; not even the olive oil could make it palatable.
— The gnocchi special was overall pretty bland and the gnocchi itself chewy.
— The prices… Oh my god!
— The portion size is smaller than average especially for the price.
— The «spicy» pomedoro sauce tastes like puréed tomato; I couldn’t taste much spice.
— The food took longer to come out than the wait on the #2 tee this morning.
Conclusion:
The service is meh along with the food, however this restaurant certainly has potential. It has many rave reviews, and I hate to not be one. They need to tighten up their restaurant and become more consistent, but overall seem to be doing well.
Individual Ratings:
Food: ²⁄₅
Service: ²⁄₅
Ambiance: ⁴⁄₅
Cleanliness: ⁴⁄₅
Overall: 3 stars. Probably not coming back (because we don’t live remotely close to here).

Beautiful family run Italian restaurant. All staff were extremely friendly and helpful. Even when I left my ID in the hotel a couple of miles away, the owner drove me back to the hotel to get it.
This restaurant was full of character and had a great atmosphere. The authentic Italian food was a little on the expensive side but great as a treat or for an occasion.

I was part of a large group that had a business dinner here. So thankful our hosts selected this wonderful place. We started with a number of appetizers that were passed and shared among the group. For dinner I ordered the lobster ravioli. Then we shared a few desserts. Every single bite was delicious. The owner was lovely, and our waiters were friendly and attentive. This dinner ranks as one of the best I’ve had this year.

Open later than most Carp places, until 9pm. They are closed on Tuesdays. We found this small, well appointed place after looking at others that were closed. That was a lucky break for us as this place is a gem.
We were seated right away despite a large group. All three of the owners visited us during the course of our meal, made us feel like part of the family.
The food was freshly prepared and delicious. We started with excellent bruschetta. The server offered child portions for our kids that were reasonable and had a good portion. I’d recommend the Chicken Parmigiana or the hand-​made pasta dish (can’t remember the name).
At lunch time the prices are less and panini sandwiches are also offered.
Our family will go here again, probably this week.

We just had dinner at Giannfranco’s tonight and it was the best meal we have had in a l-​o-​n-​g time. We started with the bruschetta which was outstanding and had the right amount of garlic and was complimented with cannellini beans. My husband had a shrimp mushroom pasta dish which he thought was absolutely delicious. He said Yum! with every bite! I had chicken picatta which was cooked perfectly, served on a bed of spinach with yummy potatoes and a sauce that was outstanding. It had a perfect blend of flavors and was the best picatta anywhere.
We both feel strongly that you can disregard any negatuve reviews about the service at this restaurant. The service was excellent, from the waiter who greeted us, our very attentive waitress, the chef who came out to talk to me about a food allergy and the very conscientious owner who checks on everyone and keeps things running smoothly.
We cannot say enough about this restaurant and strongly encourage you to try it. You will not be sorry.

Great things about this place:
1. Gnocchi (19 $) was very tasty and so was the lobster ravioli (23 $). Side of the Italian sausages was ok (5 $)
2. Cutest atmosphere in the patio — great for date night and girls night!
3. Despite all the talk about poor service, we received decent service all night
4. Bread was limited (which may be a bad thing for many people but good for me cause I tend to over eat the bread and become too full to enjoy the entrée)
Not so great things:
1. Very expensive so don’t come here till payday ;)
2. Portions are on the smaller side but was still very filling for me
3. Was not a a fan of the dessert (10 $) we picked (gluten free organic almond crusted cheesecake) BUT the fiancé actually loved it so maybe it’s a taste bud thing. I’d prob go for the strawberry cheesecake next time
We’d probably come back to try the short ribs which looks amazing!