Hostaria sul Ponte dei Greci — Restaurant in Venice

The charming Ponte dei Greci is located in a quiet part of the Castello sestiere. Right next to the beautiful Chiesa di San Giorgio, dei Greci. It bridges the Rio di San Lorenzo on one side and the Rio dei Greci on the other, and connects the Fondamenta San Lorenzo and the Calle de la Madonna. Ponte dei Greci is a stone bridge, the construction is made of brick and stone, and the fence is made of iron with beautiful ornaments. The history of the Greek presence in Venice is interesting so here are a few words. The fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 caused an intensified Greek diaspora in the Venetian Republic. The number of Greeks grew with the spread of Turkish advance to other Greek areas, and the Greeks thus became the most important foreign component in Venice. In 1498 the Council of Ten authorized them to establish a school or fraternity (like those of other religious orders). The fraternity was originally based in the church of San Biagio, under the auspices of San Nicola di Mira. During 1511, the Council of Ten approved a concession to build the oldest church in San Giorgio and the most famous Greek church in the West. It was built from 1539 to 1573 thanks to financial contributions from members of the Brotherhood. Doge Leonardo Loredan arranged for the celebration of the Orthodox liturgy in this church, while the Pope, for his part, granted independence from the Latin patriarch. The style of building the church was in the spirit of the Renaissance, and the builders and architects were Lombardo and Chiona. The interior of the church is...

We had a fabulous experience here for dinner. Our apartment was around the corner & heavy rain was forecast so we weren't venturing far for dinner, it was also January & lots of other places were still closed, experience by pure chance it would seem. Walking in & being the only people there at 6.30pm made us slightly nervous. Being greeted by the most friendly, enthusiastic & cheery waiter who spoke English (& French) soon set the vibe right. First came the complimentary Venetian traditional aperitivo "Select" which was our first try & it was really good! The food followed & all of it was delicious - Linguine of Basil Pesto, Seabass Stuffed Ravioli, Black Tagliolini & Gnocchi with Duck Ragu, none of us had food envy for the other meals which is highly unusual. My only disappointment was that I wanted to end our Italian holiday on an Espresso Martini which they couldn’t do.
By the time we left the restaurant had a lot more patrons & the atmosphere was great, if we ever make it back to Venice we would definitely return, highly recommended to anyone who is travelling there.

NB quality of the photos doesn’t do the food justice, had to screenshot...

We were there for lunch in late September 2023. It was quite warm out so we opted for a table outside by the canal. We chose this eatery at random because it was close to our hotel and we had just arrived in Venice after a long overnight journey from Toronto. I'm not sure why so many negative reviews as our experience was great.

The food was good. I had the tortelloni with pumpkin crema. It was quite delicious. My son had a simple antipasto board with a variety of meats and cheeses. My daughter had a clam pasta and my husband a more traditional ragu topped pasta. Everything was served in a timely manner and there were no complaints. It was a bit expensive for lunch... but aren't most restaurants in Venice?

The waiters were very friendly and attentive. Ours was especially nice and took a moment to warn me about having my phone on the table (it was dangerously close to falling in the canal). The only thing I wasn't keen on was when we walked past the next day on our way to a dinner reservation, the same waiter tried to convince us to eat at the osteria. It was a bit pushy, I thought. Still.. I would have...