Johnny's Ristorante Italiano

Early Valentine dinner at our favorite Italian spot. My family has celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, promotions at Zozo's over the years. Tonite the service was great and attentive. Appetizer of fried calamari was a bit tough. Disappointing as it's a favorite and usually crispy and easy to chew. Looked like mini squids. Our salads were fresh n crunchy with croutons, although no one came by to offer cracked pepper. Ranch dressing was a bit watered down and not the thick creamy I'm used to either. Their complimentary garlic bread is served warm and tasty. Our Cajun pasta was delicious. Pasta cooked to perfection and sauced with a creamy red sauce with a bit of kick mixed in with lots of shrimp, sausage, and chicken bits. Absolutely fabulous. Portioned for me to take home half for dinner another day.

We will be back. Zozo's remains a favorite.

This restaurant offers zero non-alcoholic wine or sparkling wine. We brought a $9. bottle of nonalcoholic Cava to pair with our dinner only to be told "even though we have no offerings for non-drinkers besides Tonic water we're still going to charge you a $20 corkage fee because that's our policy."

We asked to speak to a manager. One never arrived at any time during our 3 hour meal with friends.

We are lifelong customers here. It's really sad that the management chooses to slap their loyal local customers in the face for $20.

We took a friend here for dinner the other night and both my partner and I were disappointed with our meals. We keep trying to give them an out because they were busy and the only place they had a table for us, even with a reservation, was in the bar. The server was great, but she was obviously spread thing. I don't think any of us got refills on our iced teas.

For an appetizer we ordered the Bruschetta. It was tasty. My only comment here is that the tomatoes they give you for the build your own bruschetta should be more finely chopped so that it can be shared better.

I ordered the Spaghetti alle Vongole. I'm used to Linguini with Vongole, but pasta is pasta, right? Anyhow the Vongole part of the dish was fine. All the shells had opened and there weren't any broken shell remnants in the dish after separating my clams from their shells. My complaint is that the house made spaghetti was tough. It was either undercooked or I was served gluten free pasta. I don't know? It wasn't very appetizing. I didn't send it back because I was hungry didn't want to wait forever for them to fix it for me.

My partner had the Veal Parmigiana. He complained that the pasta was disappointing. Otherwise the veal was O.K.

It would have also been nice if they had given us a basket of bread. Is this just something they aren't doing anymore.

We really have enjoyed eating here! Although they were really busy the meal this time fell well short of our expectations. I hope it was just an off night.

This place is very elegant. I love the view from the main hall, you can see most of the Valley from here. I had the house soup and salad, and we had the penne and chicken pasta. They treat you really well here, and they give you all the Italian hospitality. You can possibly want at one time.

Made reservations for a midweek date night. When we arrived we were sat right away. The decor and ambiance was very cozy old school Italian which was really cute!

The house bread was very fresh and soft. The house salads were okay. I wish they would've warned about the blue cheese as i would have asked for it without and personally i think they could have used more dressing.

For mains we had the penne alla vodka and penne marie. Both were very good portion size and absolutely delicious! We also had the garlic bread which was heaven!!! I will have dreams about that garlic bread. Johnny's tasted so authentic and we will definitely be back!

Really great Italian food! While it is hard to get reservations here, the food is delicious and the staff and atmosphere are wonderful as well. I got the Penne Sorrento which was very flavorful and paired great with wine. I would definitely recommend trying Johnny's - and I will definitely be coming back!

The pillowy pesto gnocchi is sheer potato heaven! A decadent, rich melt in your mouth pesto bed for the homemade silky gnocchi. So good! A 10/10 dish I am so glad I ordered. Each entree is accompanied by choice of soup or salad, the soup was delicious very veggie forward and hearty! I thought the garlic bread and meatball appetizers were pretty good as well, bread is so garlicky and has a great crunch!
While I really enjoyed my dishes, my partner who ordered penne Sorrento was disappointed, too dry and felt like it needed a sauce beyond olive oil especially with very al dente pasta. He also thought the salad option needed more than just lettuce, should've gotten the soup instead.
I liked the atmosphere inside, classic settings, huge dining area, bustling and busy with tons of people, reservation is a must. Love the wine glasses and plating is perfect for each dish. Service was great. I think prices are super fair, my gnocchi I couldn't even finish so it was a second meal the next day. Johnnys is one of my new favorite Italian spots in Reno!

We had such fabulous food at Johnny's Ristorante and only regret not having found this restaurant decades ago. This is an old school, iconic locals favorite. I overheard patrons greeting staff, chatting, catching up on what their families have been up to. It is very popular, so make reservations, because they are booked out. The atmosphere is classic Italian American, classy, cozy and quaint. Dress is business casual, which is dressier than many places these days.

Our server was Peter, who was friendly and extremely prompt with everything. He shared he had worked there for 14 years and his experience showed with the level of his professionalism. We started with Moscow Mules which arrived quickly, even when the bar and restaurant were quite busy. They were perfect. We also ordered the garlic bread. You must order this delicious bread, unless you hate garlic or are a Vampire. It is delicious with bits of garlic, Parmesan and tons of butter with a sprinkle of herbs.

Dinners come with your choice of soup or salad. My husband had the Minestrone and I had the Special of the Day Soup which was an Asparagus and Spinach soup. Both were very tasty. For our mains, my husband had the Cannelloni and I had the Penne Maria with grilled chicken, prosciutto, peas, cream, tomato sauces and cheeses. Both selections were because of Yelper recommendations and were so delicious. We got a bottle of Bocelli Toscana which paired perfectly with our cuisine.

Needless to say, we are already planning our next visit. Truly an amazing place for great old school Italian food.

After hearing so much about Johnny's, my boyfriend and I decided to head there on a date night! We made a reservation the day before, which we heard was recommended, as they open at 5 pm and when we arrived for our reservation at 5, the restaurant filled up quickly! The interior is really lovely, with nice moody dinner lighting, great views, and lots of nice art. We ordered some waters, and then I ordered peach bellini and my boyfriend got a margarita. Both were delicious! At the end of our meal when we got the dessert menu, we realized it was also a cocktail menu we missed out on seeing, but that just means we have to go back and try more!

Our waitress was lovely and helped with our questions and suggested some great dishes for us. She suggested we try the garlic bread as it's a staple at Johnny's. It was AMAZING and everything you want from garlic bread- cheesy, soft bread with a crunchy crust, and more than enough for us to snack on! We also ordered the fresh bruschetta, and it was great as well! Can you tell we love bread? The bruschetta was so fresh, and with a little drizzle or balsamic, it wad perfect! The bread was toasted nicely, not too hard.

I ordered the pesto gnocchi and my boyfriend got the manicotti for our main courses. My boyfriend loved his manicotti, the pasta wasn't dried out and the sauce was rich. I think he wanted a little bigger portion, because he kept stealing my gnocchi! To be fair, the gnocchi was INCREDIBLE. I dream about it. The gnocchi was so soft and tender and the sauce was so rich and fresh and basil-y, they didn't skimp on pesto at all. The perfect comfort food!

For dessert, we split an espresso martini and they nicely put them in 2 separate glasses for us.

Overall, we had a fantastic time at Johnny's and can't wait to return for our next date night!

Johnny's is a favorite of mine! My friends and I love this restaurant due to their friendly staff and delicious food! Their reservations book up quickly, but they also have a nice bar area that you can walk in and try to get a seat at. The food quality is consistent and the wait staff is attentive. My favorite is their Penne Alla Vodka. Their salads are served on chilled plates making them taste extra fresh. I recommend Johnny's to anyone looking for quality Italian food!