Giovanni's Italian Ristorante in Highland

We had a reservation for 9pm, we reached the place at 9:05, nobody attented us for almost 6-8 minutes and then we were told restaurant closes at 9pm.No clear communication between the hotel and the restaurant reception.How can they give us a reservation for 9pm when the restaurant closes at 9pm.Absolutely ridiculous service and attitude.Please avoid this place at all costs.

Had 2 meals here as part of our stay in the hotel. Worth first mentioning the £25 allowance per head. It’s pretty much impossible to get a 3 course meal included so bear this in mind. The allowance also excludes any drinks even if you don’t spend it all on food.Food was overall pretty good. Mozzarella sticks were a highlight. Pizza was very tasty - the pizzas are quite big so watch this if ordering sides as well. However the pastas we tried (carbonara and arabbiata) were unfortunately quite bland. Desserts were quite nice, but all presented in glasses and clearly pre made. Service generally good with polite friendly staff. Did have a 15-20 minute wait for the bill after asking for it on the first night. On the second night the drinks didn’t arrive until after the starters were finished. Otherwise no complaints, and staff clearly working very hard.One point to mention - almost all of the staff had their nose sticking out the top of their face masks (when the restaurant/hotel ask for a face covering to be worn).

We enjoyed 2 dinners here during our stay in the Macdonalds resort, plus breakfasts.Menu was good and offered a range of pasta pizza and risotto. Reasonable wine list although we chose Peroni beer both nights. Water was provided on the table each evening.We tried the Italian rice and mushroom balls and bread basket, and spicy prawn spagetti which were very good. Second night tried the spicy prawn gamberoni to start and then we both had pizza, the spicy chicken and the diabola. Both were delicious with fresh green chillies. We love chilli and these were delicious. Would definitely recommend if you are a spice fiend. Service was really friendly.There was an issue of excess demand for this restaurant which meant on first night we could only get a table at 9.00pm a little late for us. There was a backlog due to a few very large parties who were slow to clear, which meant the restaurant was put under pressure, resulting in something of a scrum to get everyone fed and watered. I would recommend getting your tables booked for each evening of your stay immediately upon check in.Perhaps the restaurant could consider using the bar area as overflow during busy periods?This said, everyone in the restaurant worked really hard to get everyone served in a reasonable time, with professionalism and humour and we enjoyed both our evenings here.

My husband and I ate here during our visit to Aviemore. The servers were all friendly and attentive eventhough the restaurant was packed. Our orders were taken quickly and our food and drinks came out promptly, and all tasted great. My husband had mozzarella sticks, the spicy chicken pizza and tiramisu and I had the bread platter, spaghetti carbonara and cheesecake. The food was also decently priced, and the atmosphere was great. I would definitely recommend this restaurant if you are in Aviemore.

Ate here whilst staying at the resort. We were slightly late to our table by about 5-10 mins and still had to wait a further 10 due to there being no seats available. At first we thought they had given our table away as we were late but we were informed by staff it was as they were so busy. We were placed in the lounge instead, which I was initially apprehensive about but was really quiet and pleasant. We were attended to promptly once seated and the food was really enjoyable, no complaints about the quality of the food or drink. Only complaint would be at the end of our meal we were unable to gain attention of a staff member as the lounge was in the hotel foyer and the queue for restaurant was out the door by that time so I had to go up to ask. Which wouldn’t be a big issue but my young child was by this time getting overtired and frustrated waiting about. However, again, the staff were very apologetic and were clearly rushed off their feet. Will be back.

Booked this as part of the dinner bed and breakfast package when staying at the MacDonald Aviemore resort. Expected it to be decent but was really awful. I could not eat mine at all, it looked like a dogs dinner and as if it was mad3 for someone else and they sent it back and I got it Never had bad fries and surely you can’t go wrong with fries...how wrong was I, again I think they were someone’s leftovers. It was all totally disgusting. I took photos and photos of the menu as they also decided to overcharge me. Had a terrible night as what I did attempt to eat did not agree with me. Absolutely horrible place, makes me feel ill thinking about it.

We ate here while staying at the highlands hotel and we enjoyed this restaurant much more than Aspects. Staff are very efficient and friendly.Nice Italian food. The bruschetta is so yummy and the pizzas are nice. We had mozzarella sticks and bruschetta to start, then pasta and pizza for mains. Our little boy had the Italian dippers which was great to keep him entertained. He’s only 11 months so isn’t great at sitting down for meals but this is a very family-friendly place and most people eating here at 5pm were families.I didn’t finish my pizza and we got a box to take it away.

Don't believe any genuine Italian involved - food was average at best. Pizza/ pasta staples designed to keep younger kids entertained and quiet. Dull food but the service was very efficient.

Our last visit during the Feb school holidays was great so we decided to book Giovanni's for two nights and just one night at Aspects.A good variety of pizzas and pastas plus a special option (I had the Mexican themed pizza one night). Pizzas are tasty and stone baked so the dough is authentic rather than frozen shop bought texture. Pasta can be variable but from last visit to this visit, the spag bol is consistently good - kids loved it. I had a Caesar salad side with my mains and it was delicious - had anchovies which I love.Portions are very generous. Kid's pizzas come with salad and fries. Drinks are on the pricer side - in the absence of having alcohol, the mocktails were an eye watering £6+ each but at least they were big glasses! Only issue we had were the ice creams. Both nights our kid's vanilla ice creams had this grainy texture to them. Almost like sherbet. Strange as the ice creams at Aspects were what you'd expect ice cream to taste like - don't know why they'd use different suppliers? We didn't have this issue back in Feb? The first night we let the waiter know but didn't bother the second night.Staff are friendly though one of the female managers was a bit prickly about what chairs our kids should sit on. On our second night we asked for a similar chair to the one our son sat on when we were there on our first night but she said no as kids were falling off them. Given our son didn't fall off his chair previously I don't know why she couldn't let us take one of those chairs from another table? May be a COVID thing? Big shout out to the older waiter who kindly took our plastic bowl and fork we brought for our son's spag bol (he's not old enough yet for crockery and metal cutlery) and took it to the kitchen to give it a wash before we left so we didn't have to wash it in our room. We tend to see this kind of service overseas or from more experienced waiting staff. Lovely touch.Enjoy your visit.

This is our 3rd year staying at this resort and eating at Giovanni's. Again it did not disappoint. We are a family of 4 with two young children, we were seated straight away and served by a young waiter called Blair. From start to finish he was polite, happy and the service was outstanding! The food was delicious. It is such a difficult time for us all and the staff are trying to do their best. We certainly felt comfortably and at ease with all the staff especially Blair! He looked after us from start to finish. Thank you the lugtons :-)

Really lovely staff, really nice setting. Food was horrendous. Pasta is clearly all pre cooked, and sauce added- which is fine- but the pasta was so overcooked that it was mushy. We had carbonara and a prawn tomato based one. The carbonara was ok. The tomato based one could have easily been mistaken for a bowl of Heinz spaghetti hoops. In my opinion, save your money and eat elsewhere in Aviemore.

I wouldn't exactly call it authentic Italian but the food was OK. Service mostly OK. Just pizza or pasta.

A week or two ago we actually stayed at the Macdonald resort just around the corner from Giovannis and I also went there for breakfast about 3 days out of the 4 I stayed there. I see a lot of mixed reviews for this place but let me tell you, don’t get put off by the negative reviews, it’s definitely worth a visit. The breakfast was really delicious and the service was very great too, I had the same breakfast the vegetarian full English 3 times in a row I enjoyed it so much! They also offer the meat version of course and a whole bunch of other things like continental breakfast etc. They also do amazing pizzas, takeaway aswell, my sister had one and I had a piece, I enjoyed it so much I got one myself the next day. The restaurant itself is very tidy and well decorated too.

Had an excellent dinner here with friends, service was perfect very quick and attentive. Food was amazing, mozzarella sticks, bruschetta, pizza and risotto were fab! Super thin and crispy pizza base so fresh and authentic! Loved the waiters recommendations and nice atmosphere. Will definitely be back!

We chose restaurant as we arrived in the resort. It’s fine. There are plenty of attentive staff who were all super polite and my word, were they were efficient. Almost to efficient. We had dough balls and mozzarella sticks to start, a Mcduies pizza and Pumpkin Ravioli for main course. Everything was perfectly fine, but it did all arrive suspiciously quickly. So in summary, it was okay.

Really enjoyed our meal, warm and friendly atmosphere. Staff very attentive, would recommend and plan to eat here again.

Had dinner here one night as part of DBB package with £25 allowance per person (had lots of food and didn’t even use all of the £25!). We had bruschetta and a salad for starters and both really enjoyed, and both had pasta dishes for mains. Portions were great and food really good. Didn’t give 5*s due to one of the waiters being a bit forgetful on a few occasions throughout the night.

I honestly don’t understand the bad reviews for this place. We used it as part of our half board and we loved it! Went 50p over our allowance but got 2 starters, 2 mains and 2 sides aswell as dessert! Lovely Italian food and great service.

4 night stay at Aviemore Highland DBB, ate here twice and both times lovely. Service was really good despite the restaurant being extremely busy. Food was nice, i am not s pizza/pasta fan but it was no problem to have starters made into a main. My husband enjoyed pasta both nights. I really can't believe that anyone can give this restaurant a 1/5!

I generally like to praise people and businesses whose genuinely care for customers, we all make mistakes but the key is in putting the mistakes right, this place has no clue, mistakes after mistakes and when questioned the mistakes on the bill their attitude turned abrupt! Hello who got it wrong?Food was substandard, if you looking for Italian experience don’t bother, frozen Dr Oetker or San Marco pizza are betterspeak from experienceWould certainly not recommend this place if they give free food !!It’s your choice?

Enjoyed a fantastic family meal here tonight. As we walked up you could hear the buzz of a busy restaurant through the windows. Arrived 15mins early but was not a problem, taken straight to our table. Waiter immediately explained the Eat Out special offer as well as the offer Macdonald Hotels had. Service was impeccable, every waiter was polite and knowledgeable, nothing was too much bother. The food was delicious, the pizzas were huge and cooked to perfection and the desserts...well, 4 clean plates! Takeaway boxes available for any leftover pizza, if there is any!So pleased we went, will definitely visit again on our next Aviemore trip.

We recently stayed at the hotel and ate here three nights in a row, we enjoyed it and so did our little one that we cancelled the last night in the main hotel and came here! We booked to eat early at 5pm and because of covid yes you need to book as they are trying their best to limit numbers and probably limit staff numbers as well for safety. Our server was Chris who helped get our reservations changed and made sure we had everything we needed- can’t fault the service from any of the staff! We found the service efficient, and weren’t waiting around for any lengths of time. All staff very pleasant and helpful. The food was tasty and fresh, you can tell it’s made to order and if you’re DB&B it’s really good value for money.Our little one ate pizza, dough balls, pasta, ice cream etc and was very happy. I can appreciate other reviews complaining about waiting around or being unable to book when they wanted but at the end of the day we’re in a pandemic, aviemore was packed to the rafters when we were there so under the circumstances the restaurant did fantastic job! A few weeks ago we weren’t even able to stay and eat somewhere so we were very happy with our experience and would stay again.

Booked a table for 8pm turned up ten minutes early its now 8:24 and not even at front of the queue, no explanation of what is happening. Asked twice and ignored. Second day no draught

Advised by reception to ‘order take away’ as we couldn’t reserve a time that suits (5pm or 9pm) Ordered pizzas and fries to takeaway ...specifically asked for the pizzas NOT to come with the green chillis as per the menu choice..got pizzas back to the room and covered in green chillis. ‘Truffle Parmesan fries’ came as standard frozen fries with the tiniest amount of Parmesan grated on...not sure what happened to the truffle aspect...Tried to complain but the waitress couldn’t really understand or seem to care...offered correct pizzas in 15minutes time...not suitable as all starving after a full day of travelling. Not recommended for dinner I’m afraid...all food seems to be dine in the cheap with shop bought cheese cake. First meal away since lock down...very poor.

We ate here once during our stay at the Highlands Hotel across the road.Compared to Aspects restaurant at the hotel, the meals were tasty and great portion sizes and value for money.My wife and I shared a pizza with Parma ham and buffalo mozzarella with rocket which was stone baked and a lovely light dough but thick crusts. We also shared a tasty carbonara pasta dish which was plentiful and well flavoured. Thinking the portions might have been smaller we supplemented with truffle and Parmesan fries which were delicious! We didn’t need them in the end but glad we ordered them! Kids meals were also well cooked. Pizza, dough balls, spag Bol (very tasty) and macaroni were on point. Pizza came with fries and salad which was a bonus. Having chosen to eat twice at Aspects we wish we went back to Giovanni’s another night. In saying that, the original reason why we didn’t was that the menu was small so hopefully they’ll expand their selection in the future to include fish and meat dishes for example. If the chefs can make pizza and pasta that well, perhaps they can give the chefs at Aspects a run for their money! Overall, a great meal with friendly service.

Excellent meal and excellent service. Ideal for families staying at the resort. Would 100% recommend

I must say that after reading recent reviews of Giovanni’s, I was pessimistic about the food. However after eating here I was pleasantly surprised! I can’t say I’m an expert on Italian cuisine, but I couldn’t really fault our meal at all. There were two pizza dishes and two pasta and both were delicious. The pizzas looked and tasted stone baked and were all reasonably priced. Sides of garlic bread and truffle fries were also superb! If it was based on food alone then it would be 5/5 for me. However there were unfortunate staffing issues. The waiters/waitresses were polite and friendly, but on two occasions they got our order wrong resulting in a wait for one member of our party for both courses. They also completely forgot a drinks order which we just had to leave as there wasn’t enough time to place it again. Generally the English of the staff members seemed poor so that may have been the issue.An enjoyable meal all round in a nice atmosphere.

It's not because they cook pasta and pizza that it can be considered an Italian restaurant. It's just a poor quality food restaurant. We ordered 2 Margherita pizza and they were terrible.The worste pizza ever.Pizza from Aldi would have been a better choice.

We’ve just returned home from Aviemore after spending a week up there to visit my grandmother. We decided to take her out somewhere to say thank you for having us stay with her, we originally planned on going to visit La Taverna after reading all the great reviews online. Unfortunately, it was closed and we instead visited Giovanni’s Italian, despite reading a lot of mixed reviews online about it. People were complaining about the service, quality of food and many other factors that would deem this a bad place to eat at, this wasn’t the case at all and I strongly disagree, as well as question, all of the other reviews that have a bad word to say about this restaurant. The service was impeccable, the food was outstanding and the overall experience was delightful. They cater for all ages, go above and beyond to meet all requirements and made our final night in Aviemore one to remember. The staff were very polite and friendly as well as professional. The food was fresh, well presented and of a very high standard. But also very reasonably priced for the quality of food given.We would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone and everyone, and hope to visit again soon!

I'm not normally one to like a buffet - you can't beat the variety of foods here and the low cost of the buffet! It was very good. Gluten free options off the menu also. Waitress was very attentive but not bothersome. If looking for an American type food this was great! May need reservations - we lucked out and got there early.

We had 2 meals in this restaurant. The first meal - food was cold. We were a large group but it was poor service. The quality of the food was not great and seemed to be frozen items that were being cooked to demand. The pizza was OK. Many of the group returned their food to the kitchen to be reheated. The second meal was just as bad. One of the group's main meal never arrived as the ordering is done by iPad and the waitress had not pushed the button correctly. Then the dessert did not arrive. The coffee was pretty awful and the Irish coffee tasted as if there was no whiskey in it at all.

We visited here as a family with high expectations, the real Italian seemed really promising. BIG mistake! When we arrived, there was a little issue with high chairs and I actually asked another family to swap with us which they were more than happy to do. Before we even ordered the hotels fire alarm went off and the staff just stood there for a minute while all the customers looked at them to see if we should evacuate or if it was all good... until we started to grab jackets and get outside. Fire alarms happen, fair enough, noones daily but the staff were not prepared to handle it, at all! I have no problem with people coming to work in our country but no one seemed to understand anything, what so ever. The one half speaking waiter took our order then sent someone else to do the same to make sure he had it right. A child was sick in the restaurant and staff were told three times there was sick on the floor and they all stood looking at each other or hid in the kitchen until the parent and sick child came back from the toilet and the parent started to clear it up herself and asked for help from staff. Well... when the starters came, (vegetable barons, dough balls, bread basket and tomato mozzarella) we had to ask for butter (for the kids) 3 times and when it eventually arrived we were told “it’s cold cause it’s been in the freezer” didn’t even have the gumption to stick it in a micro for 10 seconds. Dough balls, think they had been stored in some kind of oil vat, all veg was clearly dats old.... would have been better with a two day old rolled edge picnic sandwich. Main courses - carbonara looked dry as a bone no cream on there, swimming in butter and only bacon fat and as for the penne it was SI overcooked it turned to an odd paste texture as we chewed. Pizza also referred to as highly undercooked ball of dough sprinkled with cheese (even my 2 year old who will eat anything commented and said he didn’t want any more after one bite). Macaroni straight out a microwaveable meal for one with no flavour. As for the seafood risotto, weirdest taste of chlorine ever. Once we’re pushed things on plates for a while after trying to attract the attention of staff they asked if we’re done. “Yes definitely finished and majorly disappointed”. We don’t mind paying extra for good food but all seriously disappointed. We were asked why we didn’t say at the time, well that’s because we tried to get the attention of staff and say we weren’t happy but staff were either uninterested, preoccupied hiding or didn’t understand. We spoke to other families in the resort and they all said to avoid to which we replied it was too late for the device. Best thing about the experience at this restaurant was the tap water and leaving to go to the kids disco. Avoid at all costs seriously don’t waste your time and pop to Tesco for a meal deal.

Family friendly, casual, relaxed, comfortable. Staff attentive, pleasant. Food Italian, nice variety. Enjoyable evening.

I appreciate there is not a huge selection of restaurants in Aviemore and its difficult to find anything other than casual dining.We were disgusted with the Coylumbridge's dirty restaurant (which we had paid for) so we decided to eat out. It was easy to book a table on the same day for 6 people that evening, especially on the Thunder In the Glens weekend.HUGE MISTAKE. I did read the negative reviews on here and we still decided to dine there. Why I don't know?!From the point of arrival the service was absolutley terrible. We were ignored and then ignored again. When we ordered we asked for the Spaghetti bolognese to be served with penne pasta instead - apparently the chef said this was impossible and not allowed yet we were allowed to swap gnocchi for penne - very bizarre. I had the caprese salad to start, both the tomatoes and the mozzarella tasted of water, no flavour at all. We cancelled our toddlers meal pithing 5 minutes or ordering it as he fell asleep and the waiter confirmed this was ok. Another waiter came and asked if we wanted it with our starters or main courses, we said again we wanted to cancel it and this was confirmed. It still came out, we asked for it to be taken back as we cancelled it, so it was, then another waiter brought it out 10 minutes later! We asked for a box, it was too difficult.The adult main meals came out wrong three times, one persons meal came out 50 minutes after we had all finished our meals!!! The food was ok, no complaints there.We then had to ask for the bill 4 times!! 4! We almost walked out without paying.I won't be back, it was terrible. Very few of the staff understand English therefore ordering is difficult. The service was just terrible.

I’m not really sure where to start - this was everything that is wrong with hospitality in UK. We are regular visitors to Aviemore but had never been here before and definitely won’t be back. It’s no surprise that this restaurant ranks below a kebab house a chippy and several cafes in the list of places to eat in Aviemore. The decor is ‘family friendly’ however everything else from the cutlery, double crockery with every dish, staff uniforms and pricing is upmarket. I choose the basket of bread to start - £4.50 for four slices of slightly stale white bread - I expected a selection, rustic, brown, seeded- but no, just four slabs of white bread. My main course was spaghetti with prawns - almost always my first choice in an Italian restaurant, co I’ve eaten loads of variations of this dish. This was by a distance the largest portion I’ve ever had and had more prawns than ever and they were a decent size, living up to the menus description as ‘king’. Sadly that’s where the positives finish- the dish was entirely ruined by the excessive amount of chilli in the dish- don’t get me wrong, the description included chilli and I like spicy, but for a prawn dish the amount of chilli was ridiculous- this went way beyond overpowering - completely ruining the prawns and the pasta. My wife had a tasteless lasagne and my two kids had a macaroni cheese- the first bowl of which arrived cold- and a pepperoni pizza- which barely had any cheese due to the excessively doughy crust, had a lousy tomato sauce and the topping was actually salami, not normally a problem except my son doesn’t like salami, he likes pepperoni which is what he thought he had ordered. The staff tried their best and they all looked the part, but clearly they had no idea what they were doing. Twice a waitress started clearing a table before some of us had finished a course, a waiter was clearing glasses from our table including unfinished drinks. Loads of other basic things that went wrong and could be easily fixed with some training. I imagine that the profit margins are slim, but some very simple changes could improve margins and lower the prices- ie smaller portions (inc. less chilli), a kids bowl of macaroni does not need to be served in a bowl placed on two large dinner plates, less stuffy uniforms -this is promoted as a family restaurant. Jus such a disappointment, Aviemore needs more decent restaurants that appeal to the prevailing family audience.

Enjoyed a good night in a relaxed atmosphere the menu choice had loads to pick from the portions were huge washed down nicely with a bottle of red

An excellent choice for our evening meal on the first night the flexibility shown in providing a meal to my choice was appreciated, all round enjoyable food.

We visited twice whilst in Aviemore--at a time when 'kids went free'--so it was quire good value overall, and the kids not too discerning! Service was quite good and friendly; but the menu is very limited, and the food only 'average'.

This pizza / pasta restaurant has positioned itself as Italian kitchen. The first surprise it did not look and feel Italian atmosphere at all, very noisy and gloomy space, no tableclothes etc. The staff was ok with their service. The second surprise was there were very few choices on menu and pizza list’s alternatives were quite odd, not a one classic one nor possibility to choose your own desired fillings. Even oregano was not on tables nor in the whole kitchen...mamma mia...

My partner and I ordered pumpkin ravioli and beef Ragu. My pumpkin ravioli was tinned pumpkin soup poured over store bought pasta. His beef ragu was not ragu at all but mince for cheap spaghetti boll, pasta undercooked and a massive handful of chopped parsley dumped on top!

We visited the restaurant as it was inclusive in our hotel stay package. We were intrigued because of the buffet option which is handy when you have an energetic 3 year old and an imfant...no waiting for orders.. well, the quality of food leaves a lot to be desired. Pizza is awful, looks like from a kids baking session! The kids buffet options unhealthy and starchy, no proper nutrition. Chicken paste nuggets - they surely did not taste or look like real meat, watery tasteless mac and cheese and some tomato penne, chips and garlic bread. Nothing proper - very disappointing.

Worst italian meal ever, after booking through Mcdonald hotel, we booked giovanni as part of our dinner bed and breakfast, and my wife even phone to make sure everything was OK and she was told that it would be a la carte menu, once we have arrived we found out that was a buffet and for me being an Italian I was shocked, food was disgusting, tasteless and dry, the only good thing was the pate, very disappointed, if you looking for a italian food look somewhere else as is not worth the money

Not eating is far better than eating at this place that calls itselve a restaurant. We tasted several dishes from the pasta, pizza’s soup, beef, and salad and it was a dissaster, cold pasta, greasy piza, overcooked beef (so much it wasn’t recognizable as beeing beef)

Ok, going to an Italian in Scotland is perhaps not the worlds best idea but we were out of options because the rest of the restaurants had no room.

We arrived to find no one available to seat us even though the restaurant was quite quiet. The lack of service continued throughout the evening. However the food was the worst thing about this restaurant. Inedible, cold buffet with cold plates. Can you imagine eating cold congealed pasta? I don't understand how a respected hotel chain can allow this. Avoid at all costs... We were never asked if we wanted drinks and we were certainly never asked if the food was OK. An absolute disgrace.

We ate here on Friday evening as part of our DB&B; deal at the Aviemore hotel. The staff were lovely, very polite and courteous but did get a couple of things wrong. My husband received the wrong pizza and his fries were missing which was quickly rectified and he didn't have to wait too long which was good. Then we received some drinks and my drink was wrong, again it was sorted out and the staff were very apologetic but its not the best. They should repeat your orders to avoid this happening as a few reviews seem to say the same thing. When the food arrived it was very good.

Possibly the worst Italian food I have eaten. Battered Seafood Platter. It seemed like it had been cooked in old oil. Batter coating was almost non existent and more was on plate than seafood. Very small portion too. Skinny fries were obviously frozen ones and only just cooked. Munu was also very limited. As the title says, Never Again.

We were staying at the hotel on a dinner inclusive rate and choose to eat here on our first night. Mistake!

We were there for Thunder in the Glens rally We entered the restaurant around 5pm. We were asked if we had a reservation. When we said no, there was no problem seating us. There was a lot of pizza offerings but disappointly they did not offer items such as carbonerra or spaghetti and meatballs I had the Scottish fish medley. Salad was ok but rest of fish meal was of poor quality. For what it cost I was looking for larger portions. Fries were soggy and undercooked. You really cannot call this an Italian restaurant

Friday night we called in to a bustling restaurant perhaps a bit short staffed and to few staff understanding English however the manager was very good explaining the menu and that service was a little slow as only one chef and two helpers were in the kitchen we were a bit worried , the food we got was excellent and served in fine time so no problems there, we did hear one table moaning about waiting 20 min for a starter though in my experience that's no time at all in a cook to order restaurant, we had the tiramisu for dessert that was lovely home made we thought. All in a great meal

The rudest and unable manager works there.

After a long day out in the hills, my girlfriend and I arrived here for dinner. Overall, we really enjoyed it. A very warm welcome from the team, and the food was very good. The sharing board to start contained some very tasty meats, my pizza was excellent, my girlfriend commented that the ravioli could have been doing with more pumpkin, but that was the only comment. The waitress that served us was fantastic. A really enjoyable evening, although the place was almost empty by 8.30 on a saturday night which was surprising.

We chose this restaurant as a last resort, as we made the mistake of not booking anywhere for dinner on a Friday night in aviemore. I guess we should have seen the warning signs that the restaurant was half empty at 7/8pm on a Friday night. The greeting and general service from the staff was very good ( despite forgetting to bring out my daughters food ) but can’t help but think this was to compensate for the terrible food. My pizza was easily one of the worst I’ve ever tasted and just looked like some ingredients were Placed onto a cheap garlic bread base. The side house salad I ordered was minuscule and my wife’s ravioli was flat and tasteless. My daughters kids meal chicken was sadly tough and chewy. My wife also ordered a side of squid that bizarrely came with an amaretto biscuit on the side, not sure if this was actually the result of some plating up mix up! To be fair we did eat most of it , bust this was mainly because we had been on the road all day and therefore very hungry and certainly not because the food was worth eating. Such a shame for the service staff , but looking at some of the other reviews it looks like the Macdonald resort have given up on this place. Was going to give 1 out of 5 rating but upped this to a 2 because of the efforts of the service staff.

I stayed at the Macdonald Highland resort for one night after travelling up for a business meeting. I was hungry and I inquired about a restaurant on site and was given three choices. 1:Burger and a beer in the sports bar. 2: 'Fine dining' and 3: Giovannis. Didn't fancy options 1 or 2 so opted for Giovannis. I have to say, the service was good overall but there it stops. The food choice was quite limited and chicken and pork dishes etc were replaced with squid ink, rabbit and wild boar which in my book is ok for the fine dining menu but not right here somehow. The red or white metal chairs were very low grossly uncomfortable and the food, wines and bottled beers were very pricey. To add to all this there were lots of small children running around the restaurant while their parents took time out. At one point I had a child under my table bashing a big plastic toy truck into my ankles - Aaaargh! Hey ho I suppose it is a holiday hotel complex after all but at 9.00pm? Just a very disappointing experience and i wont be going back - so sorry.

We tried Giovannis as we had stayed in the Centre last year. The restaurant had little atmosphere but we were pleased that they could accommodate us. Our daughter had a pizza which was very nice but our bolognaise and prawn linguine were bland and quite tasteless. In fact I do not think I have ever seen a smaller prawn! We would have liked garlic bread but strangely, this was not on the menu. Instead, we were offered garlic dough balls which were cold and not particularly appetising. The staff were smart and friendly but were let down by the kitchen. For the second time in two days I went to pay by card but there were problems with the wireless network. This needs to be sorted as it is so frustrating having to hang around while the waitress tries to get a connection. Not to mention the inefficiency for the staff. Last night I eventually just paid cash.

Just returned from a week's holiday to the Macdonald Resort in Aviemore and whilst we had a great time we were very disappointed with our visit to Giovanni's. Our first let down was on the Tuesday evening when we called the restaurant to take advantage of the pizza delivery service that is advertised on the website for the Macdonald Resort. We had planned to eat out a few nights and order some takeaway Pizza for the family on the other nights. However when we called to order we were told that they did not offer a delivery service even though it's clearly stated on the website. We then called reception to complain and were advised that they did indeed offer a delivery service and that they would sort it. 1 hour later we had lost our appetitie and called to complain and cancel the Pizza order. We were disappointed as we had heard good things from other friends about the restaurant. With that in mind and the fact we all love Italian food we decided to give the restaurant another try the following evening and our whole family decided to visit the restaurant to eat. Not one of our wisest decisions. The disappointment started as soon as the food arrived. We ordered pizzas for the kids off the adult menu so they could share 1 pizza between 2 with some side orders to go with it. When the Pizzas arrived we got 1 adult pizza and 1 childrens pizza. Now this would normally not be a big deal but when we called the waiter who was one of the managers to advise we were told "I never wrote down a kids pizza" Poor service. Regardless of wether he had took the order down wrong or not was of no concern to us. We just wanted it sorted. All other dishes were very poor and very very bland. Pasta dishes dried out with no flavour, risotto very dry. Chicken was sent back and the second attempt was no better. Most dishes never got ate and we were all left very disappointed and hungry! The food and beverage manager was however very helpful and amended the bill accordingly. Now I'm not one for complaining when eating out as most things in General can be sorted at the time however this was a big let down on both occassions. The resort is lovely however we won't be visiting Giovanni's again anytime soon.

Good sized menu with decent variety, ate in this restaurant twice during our stay at the resort. All meals enjoyed with good portion size and quick friendly service. Would recommend.

Easy booking on line Attentive staff who wanted you to enjoy your evening Simple menu but had something for everyone Well presented cooked tasty food Fait price for what we had Nice mix of other diners Family friendly A very pleasant evening Food came out without noticeable delays Highly recommended

Having read some critical reviews about this place I was a bit sceptical about going but after a 3 course meal for me and my family we could find no fault.

This is the Italian Restaurant on the Macdonalds Aviemore Resort. We found this restaurant a little expensive with not a lot of menu choice. Service was very good. Recommend booking ad can get very busy.

The food was presented beautifully, i had the vegetarian platter. My son had the pizza. Food was hot and up to the standard, if not better than i had expected.

Fancy waiters could not make up for the poor supermarket food, My pasta dish was pasta sitting in a thin bed of mince spiced up, our sweet was a custard tart (bought in ) garnished with black currents to make it look good. Never again.

No me puedo quejar de la comida, tuvimos una comida de 3 platos incluido en nuestra oferta en el complejo, de lo contrario no necesariamente han tenido mucho que comer, pero salimos llenos!

Elegí una pizza y me dijeron que no podía haber, pero no ofreció alternativa o recomendación. Luego me eligió de forma precipitada una hamburguesa que estaba bien, pero las patatas cocidas, ojalá hubiera tenido algo de algunos platos van a otros parecía delicioso. Decoración preciosa,...

Ate here lastnight as a family of 4 staying in the resort. Kids menu states chicken fillets with wedges - the chicken was over cooked and the wedges were chips. Not impressed, ordered garlic dough balls and out comes a cut up ciabatta. Asked 3 times for mayonnaise (to soften the over cooked chicken) was then brought mayo in a cereal size bowl - complete insult. Overpriced drinks £7 for a glass of wine and £5 for a pint. Would not recommend, very very poor. Left 2p for a tip! That speaks volumes.

Niños contentos con comida fuera del menú, especialmente el Hariono refresco. Tuve el risotto de jabalí, que era delicioso. Mi pareja italiana que estaba bien Burger. Como no come queso su elección fue severamente restringido. El restaurante estaba muy tranquilo, así que un poco estéril...

Visitamos en una noche bastante tranquila el sábado y nos tomó unos 15 minutos para 2 sidras, una cerveza y un vino que se trajeron a la mesa. Nuestra mesa todos pedimos pizzas (4), que se anunciaba que la mano se alargó y una receta...

Fantástico buffet italiano con un gran ambiente, personal y, sobre todo, alimentos.

Después de ver el fútbol en el bar durante un par de horas decidimos comer aquí, porque había mucha disponibilidad. Comimos bastante temprano, así que el restaurante estaba bastante tranquilo, nos llevaron a una mesa y menús ofrecidos y bebidas. El personal era amable, pero no parecen estar bien informados sobre los platos. Pero ellos eran muy serviciales y se aseguró de que tuviéramos todo lo que necesitábamos.

The food was simple and in small portions. The service was acceptable, but somewhat lacking. They also managed to pull off a great buffet for a lot of people.

We booked here for our first night but weren't impressed enough to return. We were told we needed to book with either 7.30 or 9 as options. We chose 7.30 but the place was half empty so not sure why we had to book. Service was good and food was fine but nothing special.

Took our order then forgot my family was there. First we had to ask for water twice then after realising that people comming in after us were getting their starter and their main meals before us we had to call the waitress over again. We were told the chef had made a mistake with the order and was redoing them when it was obvious they had forgotten us. Poor service seems a common theme throughout the MacDonald's Aviemore resort. We will not be returning.

The service was slow: fifteen minutes sitting with a menu and then I had to flag down one of the staff to take our order. Our starter had sold out by 7pm and my daughter ended up wth garlic bread that wasn't garlicky. My pizza bland and my daughter's penne a la giandinere was tasty but over salted. Nice chocolate brownie on the kids menu. On reflection we were lazy staying within the Macdonald Resort and ought to have walked into town where competition is more cut-throat.

An excellent Italian food experience. Pasta and Pizza tasted delicious. Freshly made, I think some people don't realize that you might have to wait a bit longer for that. Super friendly staff. Honest and not fake or in your face. Anyway we had a chat and enjoyed our company, so timing was perfect.

Choice of 3 pizzas and 3 mains. Kids can have 1/2 portion of adult mains. No other choices. Staff response was that they would let their manager know 'again'. Need to listen to your customers. Not great quality for price either. Won't be back

We had dinner on Dec 26th around 8pm. There were around 6 tables only, but it took us forever to wait for our appetisers. After a long while, finally our main meals arrived. Before we finished our meal, we decided to order dessert, hoping it will come as soon as we finish our meal. We asked for the dessert menu, but the menu never arrived even after we finished our food. We decided to skip the dessert and paid the bill and left. The food are tasty, don't like the waiting and the service. We noticed some lipstick stain on the glass, do look out before you drink.

We visited here as a family celebrating my Mum's 60th birthday. To begin with, we sat down and the seats were very uncomfortable. Next, it look the waitress about 10mins to take our drink order and another 10 to take the food order. Upon placing our order, we were informed they had ran out of large pizza bases and could not make a Calzone. What sort of Italian doesn't make fresh pizza bases? We were given the option to have two smaller bases instead. The food took an hour to come out, resulting in my Mum (who is type 1 diabetic) having to take sweets to settle her blood sugars. When it did eventually come out, the pizzas were cold. We complained and in all fairness to the manager, she was apologetic and we were compensated for the poor service but this should not have happened. This was a Saturday night and the place was not full. And considering this restaurant seems to only be open Friday and Saturdays - I am gobsmacked it is still in business. I would expect much more from Macdonald brand. It is highly unlikely we will return.

The chairs are awful , hard and uncomfortable, the acoustics were dreadful. Main courses were very nice . We ordered a dessert to share which was dreadful, in hindsight I should have returned it

I intended to dine in the restaurant but as there was a conference on I couldn't. The restaurant was pretty quiet. I asked if I could order a take away and take it back to my room which was fine. Food was nice but slightly cold by the time I got back to my room. I asked for a can of Diet Coke but you only sell bottle which isn't good for taking back to your room. Also it might be a good idea to be advised at check in if a restaurant is only open to people in a conference.

We had an enjoyable meal compliments of McDonalds for the problems we had in The Highland Hotel and Scottish Steakhouse.

Nice area, way bellow par on the food front but not much more than I have began to expect from Macdonald Resort Aviemore. Another disappointing stay. No more chances left will always avoid in future.

First of all the seats next to the windows are very cold. Only sit here if you still have your base layer on!Secondly it took 20 minutes for someone to take our order, a further 45 for the starters to arrive. It was about another 50 and a couple of heated discussions with staff when the food finally arrived. IT WAS NOT WORTH THE WAIT. If after reading this review you still decide to visit his restaurant bring your own pepper! It's a pity to say, this place has potential but is poorly run and the food is less than average!

I stayed at the McDonald resort for 2 nights and we decided to eat here on our 1st night ,on arrival our table was still to be set despite that i had already booked and the place was not very busy, we were shown to our table and then waited over 20 minutes for anyone to come near us ,during this time the family next to us had been waiting the same length of time for their desserts, all the tables around us had not been cleared and the place looked like a busy Glasgow burger bar ,all around we could here people asking how long their food was going to be.we were eventually served and when starters did arrive they was very nice,however after a long wait again we received our main course ( again top quality)but starter plates were not cleared and remained on our table, for an Italian restaurant I found it bizarre that black pepper or Parmesan cheese was not offered with our pasta, when we had finished our plates were not cleared so we decided not to wait for dessert as it would have been time for breakfast by the time they got it to us (perhaps you could be the first restaurant offering black pudding ice-cream .there is obviously a lack of management and serious staff training issues that takes away from your hard working chefs

Think Pizza Hut all you can eat buffet but with a touch of class and Italian authenticity and more importantly desserts for adults inc. chocolate fudge cake, lemon meringue pie and apple tart. Food is excellent and with service to match. Have been twice before and will go back again.

We visited Giovanni's because it was easy for us as we were staying nearby. We chose to dine early enough that we could eat as a family with out daughter who is 19 months, the service was very slow to the point I think they'd forgotten to bring out our mains! No pepper or Parmesan were offered. Not the best tasting Italian meal I've even had, we left feeling disappointed, it certainly wasn't worth the money we paid.

My girlfriend and I stopped at Giovanni's Italian Ristorante for a romantic dinner but we were very disappointed. The staff was very efficient and friendly but the food was not good enough. An overcooked and salty seafood risotto and a bland pizza which were overpriced in comparison to other restaurants in the area. I believe The highlands have very good local produce to use in creative and exciting dishes.

Our first choice of restaurant locally needed reservations so the three of us thought we would eat at Giovanni's as we had been there before about a year ago. We ordered a pizza, a prawn/pasta dish and a lasagne. The pasta was rather a small portion considering it was £14.95. Mine was the pizza (£13.95) and it was disappointing - a hard base, minimal toppings and what I'm sure was cheddar cheese rather than mozzarella. When the waiter came over I pointed out the sparse topping and instead of apologising he took out his phone and said he needed to take a photograph for "evidence". I told him that I was intending to pay for 3/4 of it since that was the area covered by the toppings (and that was pretty generous). When I got the bill he had not charged anything for the pizza which was kind; he would have got a tip had he taken that last opportunity to apologise, but he didn't. Not a word. We won't be going back.

After an average meal in the "Italian" restaurant I attempted to pay my bill only to find the restaurant's payment system was down. After spending half an hour waiting for the restaurant manager to try to fix his IT problems we took a hike over to the hotel bar, only to waste another 15 minutes to determine that the hotel's payment system was down. I was requested to find a nearby ATM and return to pay later that night, which I refused because by this point it was well beyond my 1 year old's bed time. I said I would call them back to make a credit card payment over the phone, which they agreed to only after they had stripped me of every last penny I had in cash. The next day was an 8 hour drive back to England, so I planned to call when I got back home, only to find a Voicemail threatening legal action for non-payment! What?? Less than 48 hours after I left the restaurant unable to pay because of their faulty system! I called back to pay the £57 over the phone, still no offer of a discount for the hassle. I have never been treated so rudely by restaurant staff.

Had the unfortunate experience of eating here last night. Ordered minestrone soup and received lentil soup with cherry tomatoes thrown in! Utterly tasteless also! Lasagne came in a slab with no accompaniment and the meat was grey in colour. Utterly horrid. I would never eat here again. When 3 plates are returned to kitchen uneaten the chef should question what is wrong!!! Plenty of good places to eat in Aviemore give this one a miss!

It was my families first night staying at the McDonalds resort and after a long day including drive, checking in, a visit to gym and swimming pool we were looking forward to food. Giovannis seemed the perfect choice for my fussy 7 year old and the rest of the family.We were seated quickly, drink order and food order taken and then service seemed to deteriorate. The majority of staff used English as an additional language and found translation difficult, e.g. Soda and blackcurrant juice came as a small bottle of soda and a colouring of blackcurrant. We ordered wine with our mains. However our glasses had be tidied prior to this and took a while to return. All empty glasses/ bottles were never cleared even as we piled them visibly to the side of the table. My main was not cooked and I had to wait at least 5 minutes to get waiter/waitress attention to deal with this. My family had finished their meal by the time my much fuller tastier portion of lasagne had arrived. The food was not bad, however a good service completes a good restaurant experience. I am glad the restaurant was only half full!

This is an Italian restaurant inside a hotel and although it is very big it was almost empty the night we were there and lacking atmosphere - may have picked a bad night. We had a selection of lasagnes and pizzas and would rate the food as adequate but no more. Service was friendly enough and prices not out of order.

Pizza is really good here for sure worth a visit freindly staff as well one of the few places in area to try thank you very much giovannis

Upon arriving in Aviemore on New Years Eve we knew we'd have difficulty finding somewhere to eat that evening so we were initially pleasantly surprised to find the aforementioned restaurant to have tables available. We booked a table for 6:30. On arriving we were approached by a waitress less than a minute after being seated and were promptly asked what drinks we'd like and if we were ready to order. This unfortunately set the tone for the rest of the evening. Our waitress plainly didn't want to be there judging by her surly manner and I've never received a main course less than 3 minutes after finishing the starter. Rushed would be an understatement. Actually surprise surprise the only time we were left alone was when the bill was produced and we were waiting for change. The starter of bruschetta and Parma ham was decent however the pasta course which followed was quite frankly pitiful. I fail to see how 12 small tubes of penne pasta in an oversized bowl priced at £1 each can pass as an adult main meal. When the waitress enquired as to if we were enjoying our food i felt like saying no because I didn't order 2 starters. Sadly my partners meal was the same. We did however help our 6 year old finish her pizza so the only advice I can give is if you are hungry order a children's pizza and clear up the leftovers. We had planned to stay for desert and drinks however we decided to cut our losses, pay the hefty bill and head to the chippy down the road to top up.

This is our third visit to Giovanni's and as before the food was excellent. It was however very busy due to a weekend family promotion in the attached hotel and it was rather noisy and as a result the staff were a bit distracted - we had to ask for parmesan & pepper as well as our dessert menu. This was only a minor inconvenience more than made up by the quality of the food. There is also a good range of vegetarian options. We would highly recommend.

Four of us dined during the October Half Term here on the eat all you can menu. The restaurant was really busy - probably the best time to have this menu as they were turning-over lots of food. The pizza offering in particular was excellent as well as the pasta dishes and salad options. Ok, it wasn't haute-cuisine from Italy but it was scorching hot, tasty and overall really good value. If you want an easy dining option with something to suit all tastes then try this place out. Free parking just adjacent.

This is the alternative to the in-hotel restaurant at MacDonalds Highland Hotel.The room is like a slightly upmarket school canteen.I asked to be moved to a table next to a radiator, so that I was able to eat without wearing a coat; the room was cold.Vegetable lasagne was a slab of melted cheese on some slices of pasta and a few slices of courgette, for £11. The hotel told me that I had to book in advance for a table, but there were just six of us in the restaurant.The waiting staff tried hard, but there is a limit to what can be done with this room.

Staff were really friendly, food was delicious!! Really enjoyed my meal the decor is lovely I would highly recommend to anyone. Can't wait to visit again :)

Visited this evening with my husband and 3 year old. Newly refurbished with a nice cozy atmosphere. Good choice on both children's menu and normal menu. Excellent service with no long waits in between ordering drinks and food. Food was good and delicious. Would recommend if staying at hotel with kids.

During our stay in Aviemore we ate at Giovannis Italian restaurant. It was really very good with a lively atmosphere and quality food. I had a king prawn pasta dish while my wife had a smoked chicken dish.Both were very tasty and although the place was busy the service was spot on. David and the rest of the young staff deserve a big pat on the back for a job well done.

We visited with our 2 children while on a short break in Aviemore. We had eaten here whilst staying at the resort a few years back and weren't terribly impressed, but decided to give it another go.The restaurant is very plain inside with white walls, very bright lighting, no music and no atmosphere whatsoever. It has obviously been decorated recently as it smells very strongly of paint, and the opportunity was sadly missed to improve the ambience.The staff try their best, but some seem to speak very little English, and having to point to items on the menu to order is not ideal. There is a slightly bizarre way of serving dishes, the staff bring out as many dishes as they can balanced precariously on a large tray then struggle to also carry a stand for said tray to your table, which they then use to place the tray on before transferring plates to table. Our table was right by the kitchen door and I was rather concerned about a hot dish being dropped/spiller on one of us while staff were attempting to negotiate the door carrying these trays. Much better and safer to not carry everything at once!!The food itself was reasonable but nothing special, considering the cost, £12.95 for a smallish pepperoni pizza is somewhat expensive. Other reviewers that rate the food highly must never have been to a genuine Italian restaurant. Drinks are also very very expensive, cheapest bottle of wine was around £25.This is a restaurant trying to be something it is not, and I would not recommend it, unless it was significantly cheaper.