Il Ridotto Restaurant — Restaurant in Venice

Disappointing. I had the 9 course tasting menu. 2 for 1 on a Tuesday night. In total the meal was 2 and a quarter hours however initally the service seemed very rushed prior to the arrival of more customers. After more than one course the plates were whisked away as the fork was lowered to the plate after the final mouth full. This improved slightly as the restaurant filled. The dishes that were produced were mainly vegetarian. The food was well cooked but there was not enough variation in flavour in many of the courses. The overriding memory for me was saltiness. We started with tomato infused bread with mussels. The mussels were tasty and well prepared. We then had a white pine nut soup type dish with a green swhirl through it. I'm not completely certain what it was. It was served with a slice of pear. Very subtle flavour. We then had a dish which had vegetables sandwiched between sardines. The vegetables could not compete with the strength of flavour of the sardine. The sardine was nicely cooked. Then we had a slices of tomato served with some garnish which I think was small cubes of cucumber. We then had egg plant thin and long like an asparagus. Again nicely cooked. It some lightly pickled veg stuck to the sides and what tasted like a sweet and sour sauce. I did not get a lot of different textures or flavour notes just a nicely prepared egg plant. Then we had some squid that was stuffed with a ricotta cheese sauce accompanied with a courgette flower. Again I found there to be an absence of any texture. Like the rest of the menu it was more soft texture. It tasted pleasant, reminded me of cannelloni and i didn't feel like the squid was celebrated in this course. This was followed by lasagne. This was the sum total of the description from the waiter. Vegetarian lasagne was enjoyable plate. It was rich with a lovely bechemel sauce. Pasta was perfectly cooked and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Then we had pork with cabbage. Nicely cooked crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. The cabbage could have been more interesting. Well prepared and cooked but no wow. Finally we had a dessert. brownie and raspberry ice cream. The brownie was cut into 4 small cubes and put at NESW around a quenelle of ice cream. There was a shred of celery on top of the ice cream which gave a nice crunch and savoury taste. The highlight for me was the lasagne. I was left feeling that too many courses would not make the a la carte menu and that if I had to pay full price of 150 euros for that menu I would have been short-changed. I felt all the way through the meal we were unwanted guests. I at no point made to feel special. The waiter service that I would have expected and at times felt off hand. I have not been to many fine dining restaurants. This is probably the 5th such restaurant I have been to. Earlier this month I went to Copernicus and amaryllis in Krakow both of which had exemplary service and took incredible care of us even though we were the only customers . The food danced in the mouth and some lovely extra touches made us feel incredibly special. Neither of these has a Michelin star but is recommended. Il ridotto has a Michelin star which obviously heightened my expectations which probably only heightened my feelings of disappointment. Well I suppose on my gastronomic journey I have to experience the bad to rejoice in the good. Or maybe I just didn't get what they were doing and I couldn't detect the flavour profile...

The Good: A few stand out staples, beautiful plating.

The Bad: Inexperienced staff that may not have actually worked there before with no wine knowledge, high level of disarray in front of house operation, the main tasting menus were not being offered on a Friday night for unknown reasons, and 3/5 courses we had weren’t things I would order again.

The details: When we were there, the 7 and 9 course menus were not being offered and no explanation why was given. We made reservations more than a month in advance, corresponded via email to confirm the reservation a week in advance, but were not told the 7 & 9 course tasting menus were unavailable until we sat down and it was too late to go anywhere else. This was on a Friday night that seemed fully booked. We were extremely disappointed that the primary tasting menus weren’t being offered and no explanation was provided. We had been eagerly anticipating our meal at Il Ridotto for almost a year as we planned our trip to Venice.

There seemed to be a high level of disarray in the front of the house operation which became more apparent when we realized the staff of two were wearing the uniforms of the restaurant across the street. The server was doing the job of the hostess, server, and maitre d’. Beyond that, the server had no wine knowledge when we asked about pairings with the tasting menu and could only offer that one one was younger than another, something I could figure out myself from reading the menu and didn’t tell us anything about if it would go well with the menu. The server being unable to make any wine recommendations and no sommelier available at a Michelin Star restaurant is a first for me. What was especially confusing was Gianni Bonaccorsi coming out to open and pour our wine and run the occasional plate to other tables. I only knew he was the head chef because I read the website. Every other Michelin restaurant I’ve been to, when the chef comes out he always introduces himself and chats with tables even if he’s running food. This reinforces my belief that they had staffing issues and he felt the need to step out of his role as chef and fill in elsewhere.

Specifically regarding the food: the squid ink pasta with sea urchin and the desert course were the highlights for us. Both were outstanding and worth ordering a la carte. None of the other plates stood out as above and beyond but the combinations were interesting. The presentation was beautiful as expected. Some of the plates were a bit too bold in the flavor combinations for my taste but I appreciated trying new things.

Overall I would like to come back for the full tasting menu next time we are in Venice because I had high expectations for the meal and don’t feel like I had the opportunity to fully experience what Il Ridotto has to offer. There seemed to be staffing issues that affected a lot that I assume would be fixed by the time we make it back. But if I had not known anything about the restaurant and just walked in, I would probably never come back. Without a better second experience I couldn't recommend the restaurant to friends...

My wife and I just completed an outstanding evening extravaganza at Il Ridotto. Gianni & Nicola Bonacorrsi created a gourmet delight tonight to celebrate my birthday, visiting this restaurant for the first time from Toronto. Welcomed and given our choice of seating, we began with selecting from tasting menus or an a la carte menu, we chose the former, a 5 course fish menu. Having started with Prosecco in our hotel, we selected two glasses wonderful white wines, a Sauvignon and a Malvasia. Both wines were outstanding. Our meal began with a gazpacho soup accompanied by a small dish of cod. These were so tasty that we wondered whether the rest of the meal could measure up? But we were not disappointed. Three scallops topped with shredded zucchini followed that were perfectly cooked ringed by a toothsome sauce. Next we savored the mushrooms and calamari that were nothing short of outstanding. Green fish risotto, a mouth-watering plate that was satisfying and delicious. The main was a riccioli, a Mediterranean white fish that was soft and delicate, topped with perfectly cooked eggplant. And finally aside from my birthday candle in sweet orange square, the dessert was a medley of citrus sauces covered with biscuits and flaked chocolate. Its was a complex dessert that I am certain I have not done justice to in my description but was absolutely wonderful. We ordered 2 glasses of Limoncello only to find it was homemade! Not to be put off by the amber color of the limoncello, we were totally blown away by its perfect flavor, smooth and light quality and intense after kick.

The service was nothing short of perfect. Gianni explained the tasting menu, each plate was then served with an explanation and the pace between plates was well-timed. The staff were helpful but not overbearing and the ambience was warm and friendly. I am unable to leave a single comment on how to improve this meal; as is often said, it is difficult to improve on perfection.

Thank you for making my birthday such a special occasion and for serving your fortunate customers with such grace and panache. We cannot wait to return to Venice and to revisit an Il Ridotto experience.

Cheers and best wishes, Jerrold &...