Bacarando Corte dell'Orso — Restaurant in Venice

I'm interested in what makes a place a "bacarando" vs a "bacareto" (examples of that elsewhere in Venice) vs a regular "bacaro". My guess would be it relates to size, as this place is one of the larger ones, including a more restaurant focused area upstairs. There's also some outdoor seating in the neighbouring courtyard.

The place has an attractive doorway, and the immediate area around the bar has some elements familiar to other traditional bacari in Venice and is quite nice - the rest of the seating area on the ground floor is a bit modern for my tastes though.

Although being pretty close to the main tourist hotspots it is hidden away a bit, tucked down an alleyway. Obviously nowhere in Venice is completely immune to tourists but there did seem to be a few locals here.

Quite a large selection of ciccheti, particularly quite a few deep fried things, and of varying quality - some good, some not so good - possibly also depends on what time of day you go and therefore how long they've been in the counter for. Was pleased to find a mozzarella in carrozza without the anchovies, which other places frequently use. They also do more standard Italian restaurant fare, the pasta dishes were so-so, not bad but nothing special.

Service was very friendly when we went mid-afternoon when it was quiet, but they were understandably a bit fraught when we went back on a...

This review is for the restaurant on the first floor, not for the bar serving chichetti which seem very popular, though we never tried any. Three of us ordered two pasta dishes, both unpalatable, a steak tartare which was just about OK, and a scallops&polenta dish which I had to return as it was disgusting. A bland, watery polenta which could not be improved even with lits of olive oul, salt and pepper. The scallops were totally overpowered by some strange brown sauce.I refused to pay for them and the manager removed them from our bill. On the whole, a very gloomy and unpleasant atmosphere. An annoying waiter tried to make us sit at the table we didn’t like even though there was no one else in the room. It took a bit of negotiating, but he let us sit at another table eventually. I wish we’d just left there and then. He gave us a closed paper bag full of stale bread ends he transferred from a big plastic box, clearly leftovers, and when I complained, he brought another paper bag, but again with stale bread. Unbelievable. A real shame as we had really nice meals in Venice until...

They say that revenge is best served cold… well steaks, prawns and mashed potato, not so much. Don’t be fooled by the crowds queuing around the block they are being drawn in by the attractive setting.

The food that we were served here for lunch was basically inedible and left 2 of our party of 4 very ill. The fish was on the turn. The pasta was passable. The fillet steak was basically raw and broiled in a sauce to cook it. Which had not succeeded.

I love Italian food and I love a rare steak, a raw steak, that in no way resembles a fillet, smashed flat and apparently only heated up by pouring sauce on it. That I don’t love.

Polenta with pickled mushrooms clearly out of a tin are not a starter I would repeat. On the turn Fish (white bait?) tempura is likewise not a skill that this chef possesses. These meals are not haute cuisine or rustic. They just suck.

The most expensive meal of the holiday and by far the worst. We left half way through the second course. My recommendation is you avoid...