vento — Restaurant in Civitavecchia

A disappointing experience – would not recommend

We booked this restaurant through TheFork, which seemed convenient at first—until we later received a message from TheFork saying the restaurant claimed we never dined there. My guess is they wanted to avoid paying the commission for our reservation. Possibly because we booked with a discount? Either way, it felt shady.

The food was incredibly underwhelming. The “fried calamari and shrimp” came out in a portion so tiny it should’ve just been called the “Fritturina,” like their menu’s small version. It had two small shrimp, half a baby shrimp, and—shockingly—a long black hair stuck to one of the calamari. When we asked the waiter about it, they took it to the chef, who dismissed it as a shrimp whisker. But everyone in the kitchen had that exact hair color, and it definitely wasn’t from the shrimp. They returned the dish with a few freshly fried pieces added… and didn’t even bother replacing the lemon wedge. We also had to ask for the snacks that should’ve come with our drinks anyways (but the waiter didn’t bring them without us reminding him).

The cold cuts and cheese platter was probably the worst I’ve had anywhere. The mortadella was clearly days past its prime—dry, soured, and honestly inedible. We hate wasting food, but we just couldn’t eat it. The bruschetta was just cold, soggy bread with bland toppings. Overall, the quality of the food was very poor.

Yes, the view is nice—it’s right by the sea—but with so many smokers and tightly packed tables, it wasn’t even that relaxing. Such a shame, because the location had potential. But this place clearly survives on location alone and puts no effort into food quality or...

The slowest and least interested waiters and service we experienced in all Italy :( waited for a table for like 10 min. Even tho there were a few free ones but still with some dirty dishes from previous customers. The waiters were just walking past us without taking the dishes inside or bringing anything outside, very chaotic. We ordere the polpo panini, it wasnt bad but definitelly not worth the another hour wait for it -- some customers even left without getting the food because it took soooo long -- if it was a fast food polpo sandwich for 8 eur I would be satisfied :D but not in a redtaurant for 15 eur :( overall worst was the service and absolute not caring of most of the waiters. Just standing doing as little as possible, mostly the apparently...

We stopped in Civitavecchia on our way to Rome and we were delighted at our experience at Vento! The food and atmosphere are incredible, but the warmth and kindness of the staff are unmatched. We were sitting outside and a bad storm rolled in, and we had such a great time getting to know everyone while we waited it out. They provided us extra snacks and advice for the remainder of our Italy trip. Can't thank them enough for the...