Antica Osteria da Gino — Restaurant in Venice

Generous portions, fresh seafood, introvert's delight! Wonderful escape from the hoards and general din of the city. Easy to get to, but tucked away on quiet canal. Recommended if you are staying nearby in Castello, visiting the Giardini Biennale, or are visiting with a dog (there is a lovely green boulevard-like stretch with grass and gravel by the monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi, very close to the restaurant). Our dog was also kindly catered to at the table (water and something to eat!). After a 2nd day of Venice and its tourist hoards, this restaurant was a quiet oasis. Prices are comparable to elsewhere, but quality is well above average. Portions are large! Don't come here if you are looking for a lively evening - come instead if you really need to get away from the bustle but still want a quality, authentic meal. It's the sort of place you could write a book in, or seat yourself at for a quiet hour to sketch a Venetian backwater (daylight permitting). You might be the only patrons, or one of a few (esp. on a Sunday evening!). Magic, if you ask me. Again, 3 courses is really challenging - recommend 2 as a maximum! Generosity appreciated...

Food was really NOT good. We shared the Antipasti antica Osteria which was a seafood platter (20€). However, nothing was freshly prepared. Therefore it did not look appealing at all and the fish was as dry as it could possibly be. In addition, it was neither cold nor warm and served with several toppings which all tasted a bit sour. Overall, really horrible. As main dish, I had the "Orechiette amatriciana with smoked prawns" for 17€. Portion size was really small (and I'm not the most hungry women), which can be considered for a primi piati as ok, but it was rather luke warm and the prawns were not served as a whole but cut into little pieces. Beer has run out too and the service was also not...

The meal was awful and they didn't want to accept that it is their fault. The clams in the Spagetti were full of sand and their excuse was that they can't get it more clean. The waiter brought also wrong order to our table and instead of grilled vegtables we got mixed salad(raw). The spagetti with ragu was awful and the meat was not fresh. I just tried the same meal in florence and it was perfect. They just ruined the memory of the good faste in florence. Also the waiter did't want to accept us at the first moment of our arrival. It was far away of italian hospitality i have ever experinced. The worst restaurant experience in italy. What a shame. I defintely not recomending...