Pizza Lovers to Rejoice

December 2007

giovanni has opened for business upstairs to The North Shield, one of the busiest venues in Etiler. With its delicious pizzas, it is imminently destined to become a favorite in the neighborhood.

We rushed to Etiler as soon as hearing that an Italian pizzeria had opened upstairs to The North Shield Pub on Nispetiye Street. giovanni is situated at the location that was once occupied by the "Karadabalik" seafood restaurant. Entrance is either through the stairs located next to The North Shield, or via stairs inside of it. Both of these establishments are operated by the Etiler Group founded by Hakan Karabiber. giovanni's menu includes pizza and pizza only. After examining the long list of pizzas, we decided to go for the Marinare with seafood ingredients, and Stellafarcita, a folded pizza. As soon as our table was set, we were served lamb's ear salad with soy sauce, and two glasses of a pineapple-vodka blend shot, compliments of the house. Our pizzas were in front of us in a few minutes. We wouldn't have believed it, had we not seen the pizza dough being shaped by the baker in front of the stone oven and the baking of it afterwards. When we asked the secret to this proficiency, we learned that the pizza dough is fermented ahead of time and allowed to rise for 8 hours. Furthermore, it takes between 1.5 to 5 minutes, depending on the toppings, for a pizza to bake in the wood-burning stone oven. The pizza chef has been all the way to Torino to get trained on all stages of pizza baking, starting from the preparation of the dough.

The Marinare pizza is prepared with salmon, shrimp, calamari, tomato sauce and mozzarella. The ingredients form a concoction of tastes that you will not soon forget. The folded Stellafarcita, on the other hand, contains mushrooms, prosciutto cotto (bacon), tomato sauce and mozzarella. You may substitute smoked turkey for pork meat. By appearance, the folded pizza resembles the traditional Karadeniz pitta breads, but the dough is much thinner. The folded bread allows the ingredients to release their natural juices to form a pleasant aroma.

After our pizzas, tiramisu, the only dessert on the menu, was served. It was light and delicious. For a company of two, we paid a total of 81 YTL for the food and the beverages. The only criticism we have for the venue is for the Italian songs that were played during our meal. While it may be perceived that the songs are part of the concept when you are called giovanni and you serve pizzas, one could get tired of Italian after about 10 songs.

We should also mention a pleasant detail that greeted us in giovanni's restroom. The single-use, personal toothbrushes and toothpaste, produced by Vepa, really hit the spot. We really enjoyed brushing our teeth and leaving the restaurant with a sense of freshness. giovanni delivers to those not wanting to risk the traffic at Nispetiye Street. Additionally, a discount of 20% is applied between the hours of 12.00 and 14.30.

Excerp From: İstanbul Life

Copyright © 2007 Giovanni Restaurant		home aboutus menu photo gallery giovanni in the press pizza culture contact phone order
Powered by CANIAS ERP