Giovi Fine Food is a relaxed Italian ristorante in Remarkables Park, with a compact indoor room, an outdoor area that catches the afternoon sun and an enclosed gazebo available for private groups. Bookings are encouraged for the dining room, while pickup and delivery carry the same food beyond the Hawthorne Drive premises. The combination gives Giovi the intimacy of a small local restaurant without limiting it to one style of visit.
The kitchen builds much of its character around food made fresh. Pasta and focaccia are prepared daily with high-grade flour, free-range eggs and extra virgin olive oil, supported by local seasonal produce and selected imports from Italy. Focaccia, burrata and antipasto can open the meal, establishing the bread, cheese and cured-meat flavours before the pasta courses arrive. It is a direct approach that relies on recognisable Italian ingredients and traditional methods.
The pasta selection moves from paccheri with tomato and basil to tagliatelle with Angus beef Bolognese, carbonara and spaghetti vongole. Handmade potato gnocchi can be matched with several sauces, while ravioli and layered lasagne offer richer choices. Pizza gives a table another format to share, and vegan or gluten-free pasta alternatives make the handmade section more accessible without separating those diners from the restaurant's main speciality.
Italian wine is treated as part of the food story, including bottles from La Montina, the founder's family winery. Spritzes, Negroni and espresso or tiramisu martinis sit beside Italian beer, sodas and alcohol-free choices, so the drinks range can follow anything from a short lunch to a longer dinner. Desserts complete the menu, allowing a meal built around fresh pasta or pizza to finish in the same recognisably Italian register.
Address: Shop 1, Building 10, 12 Hawthorne Drive, Frankton, Queenstown 9300, New Zealand
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