Al Profeta — Restaurant in Venice

We wanted to sit and just have a drink of wine for our journey around Venice. We were served our wine and when the waiter came and asked if we are ready to order, I explained that we will only have the drinks as we were not hungry. He then responded very rudely rolling his eyes and turning his back on us saying it’s a restaurant and not a bar.

EDIT: After the owner’s response, I am inclined to correct them and share what actually happened in a detailed manner. When we first entered the restaurant, we briefly stopped at the entrance, expecting the staff to greet us. However, 3 of them simply walked past us, making no eye contact whatsoever. Then, we noticed that the menus were already placed at the tables, so we assumed that we are expected to sit at a table and only after that would they greet us. The place was nearly empty, yet we chose to sit on the only table that was for 2 people, so we would not take any extra space. When the waiter came to our table, I explained that we are specifically looking for 2 glasses of white wine. He brought us the glasses and asked if we are ready to order. I asked him that we would only like the drinks and no food and asked “Is this OK?”, he said “WHAT!?”, then I said “Is this OK?”, he rolled his eyes, turned his back and looking behind his shoulder and with a hand gesture said with a condescending tone “Yeah, yeah”. Two minutes after that, he came and took the cutlery and napkins from our table and said “No food, no fork.” which is logical, except for him doing it aggressively and again, with a condescending tone. Two minutes later, he came and again, with a condescending tone said “This is a restaurant, not a bar!”. At this point, I asked him “Could we, please, pay?” He then said “No, you pay after.” I thought to myself “After what, after you keep on insulting us?”. We then asked a younger waiter to please bring us the check, so we can go on our way as obviously we were not wanted there. He smiled and said “Of course” and brought us the check immediately.

I would like to note that this was the first time in my life that I left no tip and paid by card. I wanted to reward the young waiter but was not sure if they would split the tip with the older waiter, who acted badly, so I did not. Even when I sit at places where the food is bad, I always leave a tip. The bald waiter went out of his way to make our day bad. We would not have sat at this place if it had not been recommended to us. Unfortunately, the recommendation chain ends with us and we will recommend people NOT...

The front of this place looked extremely charming and inviting so we decided to try it. First off, the setup is a bit confusing. The front entrance is locked with a sign saying entrance is to the right. You walk down the right side of the building and there is an open door which didn’t look like it was supposed to be an entrance. Because of this we kept walking to the back and to the right behind the building next door was a bunch of outdoor seating. I did not think this was Al Profeta seating since it was behind the next building so we turned around to go inside the first door we saw to make sure. We walk in and see no one but there was lots of indoor seating. A waitress then walks in and looks at us oddly (like she was annoyed) and asked if she could help us. She seats us and asks what we would like to drink and gets my wife’s order and leaves before I could tell her what I wanted. When she comes to take our food order my wife orders with no issue and then when she asks me I tell her the Simone pizza. She gives me that dumb annoyed face again and I said once again, the Simone pizza. In a rude tone she asked if I can show her on the menu. It wasn’t until I said, ”Excuse me, do we have a problem here?” that she became somewhat more polite. The pizza was pretty good, nothing to write home about but good. Overall just not a great experience. Every other restaurant in the area we have been to has been very welcoming so unfortunately this place will always have a...

Great food, good venue, attentive and friendly staff. Worth a visit!

Having spent a few days in Venice, good food isn't always easy to find - especially when trying to avoid tourist traps. Al Profeta delivers great food, a good vibe and plenty of options for vegetarians.

They have a good selection of dishes including pasta and pizza. Their pizza menu is huge! With everything from the classic pizzas to their own special collection of more unusual toppings. Something for everyone!

We opted for the Bufala pizza which was like a Margherita pizza with Buffalo Mozzarella, basil and extra tomato sauce on it. The potato fries are also worth a try as they're much more exciting than your usual fries. The battered and fried artichokes were also good.

Staff look after you well and are very polite and friendly. Never rushing you and checking in now and then to make sure the meal is going well.

It can get busy so it's worth booking in advance. The good news is that you can book via Google Maps or on their own website. You can book for the inside tables or the outside courtyard area. I'd recommend the outside area as it's covered so you don't need to worry about the weather either!

I'd definitely return again so worth a visit...