Giovanni’s Italian Deli and Pasta

Great small Italian joint for spaghetti and a Coke. Don’t miss it if in the area. Excellent sauce/​meatballs/​bread

Lasagna seemed overpriced for take-​out until I realized that one portion served at least two people. So a great value! I recommend for first-​timers going in, grabbing a menu and taking time to order. After the order it took less than ten minutes to get a great meal that easily fed two adults.

They have the best lasagna but stay away from the chicken parmigiana was so gross. They should add more sauce it’s one of the best hole in the wall. The bread is so good would buy six loafes. I ate it cold still taste a 100x’s better than Olive Garden.

The best lasagna, EVER. I’m going to be honest– I’ve only had 1 item on the menu, but I’d have it probably 20 times. I’ve been to every corner of Italy and have tried innumerable amounts of pasta and lasagna during my travels there throughout the years, and still, Giovanni’s remains the best lasagna I’ve ever had. The sweet sauce is truly divine and add a unique flavor. I moved away from Kansas City almost 6 years ago, but I make it a point to stop by Giovanni’s whenever I’m in town. The garlic bread that comes with the lasagna is equally delicious.
The service could use some improvement, as the staff has never been very talkative or affable. If service were to improve, this would definitely have been a 5 star review.

Good sandwiches, good Italian eats. Not that great of service. Kind of expensive, however, food size on sandwiches is definitely worth it.

I stopped on a busy day, for some take-​out. I ordered one lasagne and a soft drink. I was shocked that it was over $ 12! Way 2 expensive.

Average deli.
We went here on a Friday night with family. The place was packed, so we had to split our group of 10 up. The menu is exhaustingly big: sandwiches/​subs, pasta and salads. I have been trying to limit carbs so I was going to get a salad but the cashier said the salads were lettuce, tomato, croutons and meat — that’s it. The choices were chef, fried chicken and grilled chicken. I decided that wasn’t enough of a salad for me (no onions or eggs or anything else!?). I went for the Italian club (minus the mayo and mustard — who does that?!). It was pretty good, afterward I was told it is the best thing on the menu — which made me glad I most likely wouldn’t have to eat here again since I was traveling.
My husband got the Reuben, he said it was average. Others in our party who got it said it was over grilled, so much so the corned beef became too cooked. Another person got the meatball sub, the meatballs were big but the sauce looked straight out of a can. The kids all got grilled cheese, this came with fries AND a cookie — not a very healthy meal for kids.
Everything was about average. I am not planning on returning.

Got the Italian subs, tons of meat if you are looking for that. However, thought it was just okay. Maybe the other food is great, otherwise it seems like you are paying for quantity not quality.

its kind of an Italian fast food but better than fast food. the meatballs are very good. some of the best. you can make a meal out of the meatballs and some good garlic toast they make.

Been coming here for over a decade and haven’t had a bad meal yet. The Italian Club is one of the best sandwiches around. It is a lot of food, and by food I mean meat. There’s no need for a side dish with this sandwich. With as many of these as I’ve consumed over they years I’ve probably clogged a major artery, but it was totally worth it.
The pasta is also good, with generous portions. Since I’m a runner I like to carb-​load here on Fridays the day before a long run and I never leave hungry. I’ve had spaghetti with meatballs, with sausage, as well as the lasagna. These dishes come with a side of garlic bread. I had the chicken parm sandwich last Friday and it comes with pasta salad.
It ain’t fancy, but it doesn’t have to be when the food is good.

Where do these 5 star ratings come from??? Walked in and at the front counter was a girl who acted like she was pulling teeth to take our order. Ordered the Special of the day Chicken Parmesan with Garlic bread. My wife ordered the Lasagne and my son ordered the fettuccine Alfredo. My Daughter ordered the Turkey sandwich. We thought we would enjoy some Fried mushrooms as well the total was about $ 47. The service at the table was nice the lady who brought our food was very nice and made sure we had everything we needed. The presentation of the food was well… Truck stop Paper plates and plasticware. Not what I expected but Ok we went with it. The food was ok looking it was huge portions the pasta portions covered the plates and the sandwich was thick with meat and looked fresh as well. I ate my first bite and was greatly disappointed, The sauce was tomato paste with a little parsley or oregano what ever it was there was no taste to it. The fried mushrooms were way over cooked and they tasted like the oil was way too old. I tasted the rubber freezer burned chicken patty fried in the same old oil as the mushrooms and it was inedible. The chicken in the patty was processed and you could taste the freezer burn even when it was cooked. I couldn’t eat my food as I hit a few really sour spots in the dry sticky pasta on top of the over sweet tomato paste flavor of the sauce. I set my plate aside and ate the bread that was pretty good. I tried my daughters sandwich and was again disappointed that the meat was processed and the turkey was super salty, the pepperoni was sour tasting and the tomato tasted old as if it were ready to spoil. The alfredo was good according to my son and wife. They also said that the lasagne was ok and when I tasted that it was smothered in the same sauce as mine. We had high hopes based on the positive reviews we saw online about this place and yet we found none of them to be true. As growing up with Italian food a staple I found the food to be just horrible. I will go to Fazoli’s for my next pasta outing if you want decent Italian food I urge you to avoid Giovanni’s.

Amazing sums up this restaurant!!! Love it i’ve gone several times and always been extremely satisfied.

This place seems like one of those places people have been eating at since they were kids, and so, they love it. However, for the rest of us it’s pieced together pre-​made food that isn’t that good.
My family and I got takeout there and so I tried a meatball sub, Italian steak sandwich, and spaghetti and meatballs. It was all quite unimpressive and I’m sure I could make it better myself at home. Blah is the word here. Also they boast being an Italian deli but their brands of deli meat are Boar head which even walmart sells. The prices are ok.
I really wanted to love this place, but it was a total miss for me. Skip it. Go make spaghetti and Oregon sauce at home and save the money.

My fiancé and I wanted to try something new, so we decided to test out Giovanni’s. Sometimes the hole-​in-​the-​wall places are the gems! Unfortunately, that was not the case for Giovanni’s. Although the portion sizes are mammoth, it’s pretty low quality food (think worse than Fazoli’s), served on Styrofoam dish ware. I got the «homemade» lasagna, which wouldn’t have been bad. except for the fact that it was drowning in out of the jar Ragu sauce. My fiancé got the Chicken Parmesan, which was also drowning in mediocre Ragu. And to top it off, the «chicken» was just a heated frozen chicken patty that you could get at Walmart. All in all, we won’t be going back.

First time, in won’t be the last. Give this place a B+. Had the Lasagna. It was a big-​ass plate of food, which is a good thing. The food with the sauce was DE-​LISH! The Garlic Bread was a tad overdone, but still good. Friendly ma-​pa establishment and will be back. That said, I was a little disappointed with none of three desserts I’d expect at an Italian Restaurant. No Cannoli, no Spumone, no Tiramisu, not even Sfogiatelle. Some personable guy from Chicago came in and inquired about Chicago-​style Hot Italian Beef Sandwich with Giardinera. Didn’t have it. He got the Lasagna too. I’d like to see Giovanni’s consider any of the above items. If they did, I bet they’d get even more business.

Had the Italian Club sandwich. It was a very good sandwich but huge. Plan on leftovers for dinner.

I like Spaghetti and hubby doesn’t, so I often eat it for lunch. I’ve been driving by Giovanni’s and finally decided to try the drive thru. I ordered the spaghetti with meatballs (2) and soda. It was a good decision. I was able to take my take out, to the park and eat on a lovely 78 degree January day.
The take out was packed well to prevent spillage. The sytrofoam to go box was wrapped in saran to catch any sauce spillage. It came with parmesan to sprinkle on top of the spaghetti, and three slices of garlic toast on that lovely Italian bread with sesame seeds on top. The garlic toast came wrapped in foil.
My two major critiques of this my, first experience with Giovanni’s, is that marinara sauce is a tad too sweet for my tastes. I like a little more savory flavor to my sauce. The meatballs made up for that in that they were delish and well seasoned. They were also big, not tiny. They were bigger than golf balls but not quite as big as a tennis ball. My second critique is that I would have liked a few more, not too many more, just a few more strands of spaghetti pasta.
Would I go back? Yes. Would I have the Spaghetti again? Yes. I have many more items to explore on this menu and I am glad they have a drive thru.

The dining room kind of feels like I’m getting ready to eat at Luby’s (remember Luby’s? do they still have those?) and it’s small, but that is in NO WAY indicative of the bang for the buck here.
I know they get a lot of flack for their pasta dishes, but I’ve never had them. I come here for the meat!!! We’re talking a deli sandwich with damn near a pound of meat! And it’s good meat too. Their sandwiches are gargantuan… easily enough to feed you for two meals. My favorites are the Italian and plain old turkey. If you appreciate a good, and I mean good, sandwich (cue Liz Lemon sandwich theory), visit Giovanni’s.
They also sell their meats and cheeses by-​the-​pound. Never actually needed that particular service, but if I ever need two pounds of prosciutto…

My eyes were bigger than my stomach, apparently.
I was really in the mood for some good deli-​style food, and had Giovanni’s menu in front of me– a dangerous combination. After giving the paper menu a good scan, I settled on the Reuben. I was also planning on getting some onion rings and a drink. Sounded like a great combination to me.
It had been a while since I’d eaten at Giovanni’s. So when I actually showed up, and saw the prices were noticeably higher than were displayed in their out-​of-​date paper menu, I had to scale back on my lunch items.
I settled for just a Reuben and medium drink ($ 8.92). It was only after they had swiped my card, that I noticed their special for the day was a Reuben, medium drink, and fries (all for $ 8.89 pre tax). I asked the gentleman behind the counter if it was too late to get the special, and he said, «Of course not.» He wouldn’t take any money for the difference in price– since it would have come out to be more after tax, I just left some in the tip jar. You can get debate about how he should have mentioned their special, and saved me some time, but it all ended well in the end.
Very well. The Reuben was delicious. I have to say, it looked a bit different than the one another user has posted a picture of (mine had generous kraut and dressing). By the time I finished the sandwich, I had to take the fries home; WAY more food than I could possibly eat.
Giovanni’s is one of those places with such generous portion sizes that if you eat one meal here, you’re set for the rest of the day.

Such mixed reviews! I am not sure if everyone even ate at the same deli! I am also not sure what exactly people expect from a small deli… this isn’t a five star Zagat rated restaurant, but you will get a great sandwich, fast service, and great prices!
This is one of my parents favorite spots. They have been coming here for years, so during one of my in town visits, I wanted to try it out. I ordered the Italian Club. Now brace yourselves, because this sandwich is by no means for a veggie lover! It is built with Italian beef, Mortadella, and Coppacollo with provolone stuffed in a hoagie bun. Plenty for your daily recommend dose of awesomeness! The Reuben sandwich is stacked as well with corn beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and of course thousand island dressing. And again, plenty for some left overs. They also offer classic pasta dishes and other hot and cold sandwiches.
Giovannis is also a full service deli… behind the counter they have meats and cheeses aplenty to take home. Order up a pound of salami and provolone and you could be happy for a month! Okay a week!
Prices are so cheap, I am almost willing to ask them why… but I don’t care that much. For the same price a Subway sandwich you can get a sandwich made in a hurry, and from a locally owned business… major bonus points!