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RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere

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CUISINES
Italian, Tuscan, Romana, Lazio, Central-Italian
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options, Gluten Free Options
Meals
Lunch, Dinner
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meals, features
Reviews (345)
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Traveler rating
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12
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Reviewed 1 week ago via mobile

This was our first time at Cafe Gianni. What a wonderful surprise. The whole experience was very reminiscent of our time in Tuscany. The menu is small but well done. Salads were lovely the special tonight was butternut ravioli. In a butter sauce. The flavor...was absolutely delicious.Beautiful texture and nice spicy taste of butternut and cinnamon. I would highly recommend this dish. My husband ordered off the menu with a shrimp and mushroom dish over a pasta with a mushroom cream sauce. This too was a beautiful dish. Both dishes were lightly seasoned with fresh herbs and spices. Simply beautiful. We did stay for dessert.The traditional tiramisu was light as air and evidently a family recipe. My husband that doesn’t like coffee loved this dish as did I. Every dish that came out of the kitchen looked like a piece of art. The chef and staff were very pleasant and shared information with us. It is a small restaurant and during holidays and on weekends reservations are recommended.More

Date of visit: November 2023
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Reviewed 5 weeks ago

Limited menu because of a craft fair. Dried, overcooked shrimp, tasteless pasta and the waiter never brought the wine we ordered. Save you money and go somewhere else.

Date of visit: October 2023
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Reviewed October 15, 2023

Our tour boat guide recommended Cafe Gianni and we were blown away!!! The food is magnificent. Met the owner, Gianni, and such a pleasant gentleman who definitely knows his way around a kitchen. The Fra-diavlo was to die for, linguine bolagnese was superb and the...house special, Spaghetinni amazing. Highly recommend your visit to Mt. Dora include a meal at Gianni's Cafe.More

Date of visit: October 2023
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Reviewed September 19, 2023

We have had the pleasure of dinning at Cafe Gianni numerous times. Each and every time the food, service and ambiance have been consistently 5 Star worthy. Chief Gianni takes time to ensure each dish is the highest quality of Italian cuisine. This visit we...were served Rigatoni Bolognese, Vitello Marsala and Creamy Smoked Salmon Pasta. All outstanding. Gianni has an extensive wine selection to perfectly pair with each menu item. Service is excellent, attentive, knowledgeable and delightful. The Chief will always make the rounds to visit each guest for their thoughts. We highly recommend Cafe Gianni as one of the very top restaurants in Mound Dora!More

Date of visit: September 2023
Helpful?1  
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Reviewed September 4, 2023

A few friends and I were in Mt Dora and decided to go to this Restaurant. Of all the choices we could have made this was the worst. Menu was minimal and after being seated and looking at the menu, we should have left. Portions...of food were very small and pricey. One of us had to send back the pasta Faggioli as it was tasteless and made with penne pasta, not small pasta. All in all a very poor experience and would not recommend this restaurant to anyone.More

Date of visit: September 2023
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Reviewed August 1, 2023

Went here to celebrate a birthday. Chose this restaurant because of the TripAdvisor reviews. I wish I would have only listened to the negative reviews & not gone. We were seated upstairs, waited to be welcomed & when we were it wasn't friendly. I am...not quite sure why our waitress was annoyed but she was sadly. We all walked into the restaurant in a good mood & all left saying we will not be back. One meal was sent back & comp'd so that person didn't eat. All of the other meals were good but nothing to rave about. Be aware they charge more for angel hair if requested. We are a group that loves bruschetta, so we ordered 3 servings & we were sadly disappointed. It was soft bread with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese/basil so much of that went to waste. Our waitress never asked if we liked any of our food, just served it, & walked away. I am not sure since we are a large group & gratuity was to be automatically added that she felt she didn't need to be pleasant. It was awkward & I truly hope she is ok, who knows maybe something happened to her earlier? Since we were celebrating a birthday, we asked for a slice of something, didn't matter what it was, just so we could sing & celebrate. A small slice of dessert was brought over, no candle or attempt to sing from the waitress so we started our birthday song & clapped as the waitress was already down the stairs. The fee for the cake was $10, which I was surprised since we were spending close to $550 as a Group I would "think" it would be free? Sadly, we can't get that night back & sadly we were all disappointed with this dining experience.More

Date of visit: July 2023
Helpful?1  
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Reviewed July 2, 2023

We enjoyed the best meal we have had all year! The hand made tortellini which included small pieces of pear inside were uniquely delicious. Our waitress (Shauna, I think), was very knowledgable on both the menu items and the appropriate wines to pair with them....In addition, we ended our meal with a tiramisu ( from Grandma's recipee)! Although it has been about 4 years since our last visit to Mt. Dora, we will definitely come back and when we do Cafe Gianni will be a must!!More

Date of visit: June 2023
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Reviewed June 15, 2023 via mobile

We understand the challenges of being a post-COVID understaffed restaurant, BUT… We had reservations for a special celebration. We were barely greeted by the one person who seemed to be handling close to a dozen tables by himself. He was rude, pointed us to a...table and told us he could get to us in a few minutes. That was it. Fifteen minutes had passed and there we sat. No menu. No wine list. No server. No clue about the food. The service is rock bottom.More

Date of visit: June 2023
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Reviewed May 14, 2023

The food in this place is very good authentic Tuscan Italian food, I highly recommend this place, very fresh bruschetta. Service is awesome, owner/chef took time to come out and meet the people in the restaurant

Date of visit: May 2023
Helpful?1  
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Reviewed May 3, 2023

Deb and I went to try out the new menu. A true culinary masterpiece this cafe. She had the Grouper and was thrilled. I the oso buco. All I can say is the owner is a true culinary genius. Try it, don't expect lasagna or...pizza,master Gianni does not serve . EnjoyMore

Date of visit: May 2023
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Reviewed April 10, 2023

It was Easter Sunday. We were in Mt. Dora, away from family. Most places were closed, and even the inn where we were staying only had a limited bar menu. When I called Cafe Gianni at 4:30, I was told they close at 6 PM...but we could come on in for dinner. A short walk from our inn, we arrived just before 5:00. They were very busy with only two servers and yet, we had an amazing Easter dinner. George was our waiter, and he is a gem! With twinkling blue eyes and a fabulous smile, he was so helpful with the menu choices. I decided to have a light dinner of a bowl of tomato bisque and toasted bread. My husband had the chef's signature dish, Sacchettini Pasta. OMG! WE (yes, I had to taste it) have never tasted anything like it. Pasta with shrimp, but the pasta was filled with 4 cheeses and pear. So sweet and delicious. The meal was topped off with cappuccino (YUMMY) and cannolis sprinkled with cinnamon (great flavoring). We just loved this cafe and George! Highly recommend when you are visiting Mt. Dora.More

Date of visit: April 2023
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Reviewed March 27, 2023

My husband and I went to dine at Gianni’s to celebrate our anniversary. We enjoy Italian food and one of my favorite dishes is pasta frutti di mare. I ordered this and to my satisfaction, it was delicious. The sauce with the perfect al dente...spaghetti was extraordinary. I did not care much about the smoked salmon on the pasta, but overall an excellent dish. We will definitely come back on our next visit to Mount Dora.More

Date of visit: March 2023
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Reviewed February 5, 2023 via mobile

Delicious food and excellent service! Homemade pasta and fresh sauces, delightful seafood! Best Italian food ever. I’ve traveled extensively in Italy and this food rivals my food there. The chef is delightful and comes out to check on diners! Ate there two times in 4...days! Will return off!More

Date of visit: February 2023
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Reviewed January 22, 2023

Took My Mom there for her 80th. Different style of Italian. Small portions but delicious taste. Worth giving another shot

Date of visit: January 2023
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Reviewed January 3, 2023 via mobile

Horrible Service. We had a reservation tonight and were seated promptly and then it got BAD. They sat 4 other tables with us up stairs and a couple was sitting there before us. We had been seated for over 30 mins and didn’t even get...a water. A table that was sat at about our 25 min mark was immediately given water and the waitress disappeared. I get restaurants are short staffed but there is no excuse for it being this bad. Don’t sit tables if you can’t serve them. After talking this place up to in-laws this was the turnout. After 35 mins of seated time with not even a drink we left!More

Date of visit: January 2023
Helpful?1  
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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Questions & Answers
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Footprints750303
March 5, 2020|
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Response from Paula W | Reviewed this property |
I would recommend the Frog & Monkey. It is casual and eclectic with great food & friendly staff.
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Charles A
March 15, 2017|
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Response from gidgetmiller13 | Reviewed this property |
Not sure why I am getting this question. You need to email the restaurant not the reviewer
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Cafe Gianni, Mount Dora - Restaurant Reviews, Phone Number & Photos - Tripadvisor

Frequently Asked Questions about Cafe Gianni

Yes, Cafe Gianni offers takeout services.

Cafe Gianni is rated accordingly in the following categories by Tripadvisor travelers:
  • Food: 4.5
  • Service: 4.5
  • Value: 4
  • Atmosphere: 4