103 Main Road, Green Point, Cape Town Central, South Africa
Cuisine:
Coffee Shop, Delicatessen, Italian
Good for:
Breakfast/Brunch, Dinner, Late Night, Lunch, Takeout
Giovanni’s
21 Visitor Photos +
Expert Review
Giovanni’s is a little European style deli on busy Main Road in Green Point. Surprisingly, it’s even busier inside than...
Giovanni’s is a little European style deli on busy Main Road in Green Point. Surprisingly, it’s even busier inside than on the street! Giovanni’s combines a little deli and market piled high with specialty and gourmet ingredients with a coffee bar and bustling counter to buy prepared salads and meat dishes. Visitors can choose from the forty odd dishes on offer and either opt for a takeaway or have their choices plated, heated up, and served to them in the espresso bar area. You can also choose a roll from the bakery section and have it made into a fresh gourmet sandwich with your choice of toppings from the deli.
When I stopped by for a weekday lunch, the place was chaos, and it took me quite a while to work out the system. Clearly, Giovanni’s is a favorite place for a quick lunch among locals in the know! It was too busy for me to do a sit down meal, so I opted to do a takeaway and selected several bits and pieces to try from the deli. My selection pretty much spanned the globe in terms of cultural influence. I got some oversized Italian meatballs, chicken tikka, soy and honey glazed chicken, and a side of cooked broccoli and butternut. I also tested a sample incorporating the offerings from the deli meat and cheese counter and the bakery—a nice young gouda, salami, and a beautiful looking sour dough roll. Everything was super tasty, and I can see why Giovanni’s is a favorite. You could go pretty much every day of the year and have something different—pretty amazing for such a small space.
Giovanni’s is the perfect place for a quick lunch or snack and is one of the best options for putting together a picnic lunch that you can take on the go. There are a ton of fresh pastries and bakery items on offer, and it’s a great place to find specialty ingredients or just gourmet snacks to stock up on. It’s definitely worth a look.
Expert Review
Giovanni’s is known throughout the Cape for being one of its best Italian delis, and definitely the best deli in...
Giovanni’s is known throughout the Cape for being one of its best Italian delis, and definitely the best deli in the Cape Town Central. Along with a huge selection of imported sweets, coffees, cold drinks and treats and groceries, they serve freshly prepared meals and deli goods that are absolutely delicious every time. Get top quality deli meats, chesses, cakes, pastas, patés, breads and even authentic Italian gelato, all at Giovanni’s on Green Point Main Road.
I love going to Giovanni’s and this time I decided to get a little bit of everything. There’s nothing better than falafels done right, and these vegetarian balls were absolutely delicious, even when cold the next day. I grabbed a couple of plain bagels because there aren’t a lot of places in Cape Town who make a good bagel, but Giovanni’s is one of them. You can’t go wrong with pasta at an Italian deli and it’s a definite must-try if you’re after that authentic Italian flavour. I couldn’t resist their selection of freshly made soups and the tomato looked too good to ignore. It was creamy with perfect acidity and something I can’t wait to enjoy again. For dessert, I treated myself to some authentic homemade Italian gelato, premium vanilla flavour. It literally tasted like I was eating very cold vanilla cream and it was amazing! To end it all off I grabbed an imported British ginger beer that probably isn’t available anywhere else in Cape Town. I wasn’t disappointed with the rich, heavy flavour of delicious classic ginger beer. Did I mention I visited the deli at around 8:30pm on a Saturday evening? Giovanni’s is open from 7:30am to 9pm every day.
In season, Giovanni’s stocks fresh local produce like artichokes and mushrooms. If you’re in town and you want a great coffee stat, Giovanni’s is a safe bet. You can also sit and enjoy a coffee and a meal chosen from their selection of foods in the small seating area at the front of the shop.
Expert Review
Always busy, always good, Giovanni's has stood the test of time by fickle restaurant industry standards. Go past any day...
Always busy, always good, Giovanni’s has stood the test of time by fickle restaurant industry standards. Go past any day and it is packed, no surprise why. Giovanni’s has become an institution in its own right amongst locals.
For a first-timer, Giovanni’s might be a little confusing. It comprises a retail area, a deli area, as well as a coffee bar/eating area. On entering, there in no hint as how to proceed.
Well, it is quite simple, really. If it is food you are after, you are either going to eat in, or out. Make your choice out of the huge variety on offer at the deli counter, and tell the deli assistant behind the counter server that you are eating at the deli. The same applies to anything to drink. The tricky bit now is to get a seat. Your meal will find its way to you.
I chose something light to eat: rare roast beef with sun-dried tomato, pickled mushrooms and roast potato wedges. Although there were only four items on my plate, each was perfect on its own, but even better as a whole. The beef was tasty and tender, the tomato I assume was Italian. I have never had sun-dried tomato like this before, it was simply the type of thing you dig in to whilst standing in front of your refrigerator — it was so so good. The roast potato wedges were, well, roast potato, but there was something else to them that made them different from the regular pedestrian roast potatoes — perhaps some spice used during cooking.
I left feeling perfectly satisfied with my meal in terms of both quantity, and especially quality.
The atmosphere cannot be beat, with Giovanni himself taking centre stage in endless chatter with his regulars.
When in Cape Town and looking for something light & tasty to eat, Giovanni’s is without a doubt a “go-to” place.