Da Giovanni II

Like many New Rochelle restaurants, this was a bad idea from the start, which is why it is CLOSED!!!
Let’s see, hmmmmm, horrible location, and when you looked in the window, totally uninspiring vibe, bad furniture or whatever you call it, and the usual $ 20 entrees plus, par for the course.
And to boot, dare to stand outside and look at the menu and of course have some desperate employee manager owner race out to convince you to come in…
O.k., not fair, I never went there, but was another New Rochelle bad idea from the start.
So now we have OhBar down the block, and betting the over. under at around 3 weeks before they close, like so many other losers…
Sad, yet true, as downtown New Rochelle needs just one normal medium priced casual cool hip fun restaurant.
HELP!

Having recently moved into the neighborhood we discovered Da Giovanni II while walking our dog. From the outside the place looked inviting so we decided to give them a try last night and are very glad we did. Located just off «restaurant row» the dining room is warm and traditional. There’s a long bar with these wonderful, high-​back barstools that match the chairs at the tables. Four dining booths are ideal for a couple looking for a quiet meal yet large enough for four people. So how’s the food? It was delicious. The friendly wait staff starts you with a small plate of crumbled cheese, dried sausage and hot peppers. Along with the basket of warm bread and olive oil you can make a light meal right there. Just add the wine. As for dinner I started with a nice bowl of pasta fagioli and my wife enjoyed a salad. Our entrees included the risotto verdure for me and an off-​menu request from my wife for grilled chicken breast over a bed of leaf spinach, which the kitchen was more than happy to prepare. A couple of cups of espresso and a piece of the home-​made tiramisu and we were done. Thankfully we live a couple of blocks away and needed a good walk after dinner. Even if this time it was without our dog. We will be back. Ciao!

After reading all the rave reviews, I decided to try this place while up in the area. Upon walking in at 6:30 on a Saturday night, the dining room was empty (warning sign esp in Westchester). Went against my gut and paid for it, as the experience was very disappointing. Where do I start? Well, the service was extremely slow, eggplant rollatine appetizer was cold, side of spaghetti was swimming in sauce and hardly cooked (I like «al dente,» but crunchy — seriously?!), was charged $ 5 for a single espresso (pricier than any restaurant I ever eaten at in Manhattan), and then couldn’t even pay the bill because their internet service was down. Hope this was simply an «off» night for them. No reason to return. If you must go, the chicken parm and baked clams are worth trying! Note: You have to pay for parking, unless you eat there on Sunday.

A nice change from Modern or Posto. The place was less busy so not as noisy. The food was good and the server was friendly. A nice addition to the wonderful restaurant in New Rochelle :)

Just got delivery tonight, came very fast which was great!
Onto the food!
Two orders of Clams oreganato were delicious and very fresh!
I had the linguine with clams and those clams were large and delicious! So fresh you could practically taste the salt water, the sauce was delicious done just right! The pasta was a perfect al dente.
My family also had shrimp fra diavolo over linguine that was delicious as well as the minestrone soup.
Everything was perfect and done just right with a fast delivery time I couldn’t imagine a better spot to order from for dinner! The prices overall are fine for what you receive also, this was my first time ordering and I will absolutely get more!

Hands down the Best Italian food in New Rochelle. The owner Giovanni is top notch and has mastered every aspect the restaurant business from his decades of experience working his way up to the top. I lived in Italy for a year so I know authentic Italian cuisine when I taste it, and this place has a leg up on all of its local competitors. The décor is aesthetically pleasing, the classy music sets the tone for the meal, and the wine list is out of this world (er…I mean country). The risotto alle verdure is absolutely the tastiest dish that I’ve had in recent memory. Try this joint out one time and you’ll choose contemporary over the post/​modern every time going forward.

Walked in and just enjoyed it’s homie feel and décor. Food is authentic too the teeth. A dinner you will enjoy Glad I walked in there randomly. Do see myself coming back. And trying other dishes.

I found a new gem! Tucked away off Main Street on Centre avenue in New Rochelle is a new restaurant opened only 6 months with an owner, Giovanni who has lived in Italy, worked in the best restaurants in manhattan and now graces us with his love, passion and talent for food along with his Chef Marco.
As soon as you walk into this warm, cozy beautifully decorated restaurant with fine linens on the tables with napkins folded elegantly at each setting, a full Italy wall relief to the right and classy lighting, pictures, décor mimicking a 5 star venue in Manhattan with leather bound menus, soothing appropriate music, you know this dining experience will be special!
From the bruschetta served with fresh basil and diced Roma tomatoes and fresh goat cheese atop, to the special I had of Pollo San Danielle with breaded juicy chicken, layered with prosciutto San Danielle, grilled tomatoes and zucchini and fontina cheese (an absolute taste reinvention) to the classic Chicken Parmignia made to perfection with a robust «better than your Italian mamas» sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese atop crispy, juice chicken, this meal was a no brainier 5 star dining experience!
We finished up with a simple Tartufo which was amplified to heaven with fresh cannoli crème and Perugia dark chocolate swirled about.
Just want to give fair warning to all the other so called «Italian restaurants» in New Rochelle, the bar has been raised!

Great neighborhood spot. Never herd of this place. Just walked by and got the vibe it would good. Great lay out. Small and intimate. My self and my girlfriend went with another couple with plans on going to the movies afterwards. Never made the movie. We enjoyed the place so much that we decided to skip the movie and just relax and enjoy. Giovanni (the owner I’m assuming) was behind the bar and running the show. I drink scotch so it’s pretty straight forward but the girls ordered off the cocktail menu and the drinks were excellent. I tasted my girlfriends passion fruit mojito. Off the hook! Fresh ingredients and you can tell it was made with precision and care. We sat inside but there is seating outside in the rear. Staff was super hospitable. Menu had a good selection without being overwhelming. I ordered off their specials. Everybody loved the food. Fresh fresh fresh. Just like the cocktails everything was prepared just so. We were all so content that we didn’t order desert but I I’m sure it would’ve been done right. The restaurant/​bar had a very European vibe to it. Small, intimate, soft Italian classical music playing and ceiling fans above us. The AC was offered to be turned on for us but there was no need. Giovanni brought and bought us a couple rounds of shots for us after our meal and was really charming. You will wait some time for your drinks and meals to come out but worth it. After all good food takes time. We had no problem waiting. Well worth it and it’s the kind of place where you enjoy relaxing and socializing just as much as the eating. I would come back for just drinks and maybe watch the ball game. They have a really nice bar. I highly recommend this place. Classy neighborhood joint. You can come casual or dressed up. You would feel in place either way. I thought pricing was fair. 8 – 15 $ apts. 15 – 25 $ entrees. I’ll be back for sure.

Wonderful! Delicious food, great service, very cozy intimate setting. There’s an outside seating area as well. Its a great neighborhood restaurant, I would advise stopping in for a meal! The drinks are about $ 9 a glass but the entrees are a good deal! I tasted the chicken and the manicotti and both were fabulous.

3 of went on a Sunday evening. We were seated right away and there were only about 4 other tables occupied. Dinner took almost an hour to come, I had salmon & it was okay. Service was lacking at every turn.

I came here on New Years Eve would have giving it one star for the service, but the owner redeemed himself. We walked in to this pretty cozy establishment and waited about three minutes to be seated, the place was not crowded it just opened like two months ago. Finally we were noticed then seated to a freekin corner on the side of the bar, really! couldn’t enjoy the view due to this big wooden wall that was in my face. We waited about several minutes no menu, no bread, nada! The family next to us finished their bread as was getting ready to order. I asked my fiancé if he wanted to leave he said in the next three minutes, finally someone came over with a menu. After another several minutes waiting the owner came over with some bruchetta for us to try. I asked him are you short staffed today? he replied, yes. Finally the waiter came over to take our ordered. I ordered the fettuccine Alfredo and a minestrone soup was suffering from a slight cold that day, the fiancé ordered veal parmigiana. Waited about fifteen minutes for my soup it came, it was really good! fresh vegetables were firm to the bite, fiancé didn’t even get his veal yet, he basically sat there and watched me eat and finish my soup. The family next to us was already finishing their dessert and was ready for the check. Twenty minutes our food came the fettuccine was awesome! it was cheesy and the fresh peas really added flavor fiancé loved his veal too. The damage was already done I was already pissed, that I had to wait so long for good food. The waiter came over to check how everything was and I told him food was great! service sucked big time! and that I was going to write about it. Three minutes later the owner came over and apologized to us stating that one of the waiters called out last minute and it was just him and the waiter working that night. He apologized many time and was really sincere about it, he did not charge us for our wine and gave us dessert on the house. I was pleased with that, he even told us to come back and he will look out for us next time. Will I come back? Sure, I’ll give it one more try.

This place is amazing. I went there based on a referral and everything far exceeded my expectations. The décor, food, service and prices were the perfect mix of what my wife and I were looking for in a fine Italian restaurant. I will keep going back over and over again.

Attended a wedding last Sunday down the block from there and stumbled upon the restaurant. What a find. WOW!!!
Had the $ 11.00 lunch special.
Appetizer: Two large Eggplant Rollantine with phenomenal ricotta and tomato sauce
Entrée: Very large piece of Chicken Parmagiana over pasta.” ” ««
Beverage
Other friends just had appetizers and drinks.
The bread basket, the very attentive service, ambiance was 5 star… but the food was also incredible. Will definitely be back there with friends. BTW, there’s a $ 22 dinner special. Have been eating Italian food my whole life, trust me, this place was memorable. Mangia!!!

My wife and I happened by on Fri. night looking for something new to try. The place has only been open a couple weeks. They knocked themselves out. I got the seafood over linguini fra diavlo. It was first rate and all the shellfish and seafood was fresh. I also like that it’s cozy and quite. A different vibe from Modern a couple blocks away. I’ll be back.