La Corte 1642 — Restaurant in Venice

La Corte was suggested by a small art shop so we were excited to try it -- and a 4.8 rating! it was bound to be good. The restaurant itself is so charming; beautifully set. So we were off to a nice start. When they brought our glasses of wine, they were--at most-- 2.5 ounces. I thought, well that's quite a small pour, but maybe that's how they do it. Until we looked around us and everyone else's glasses were just above the center line, while ours were substantially below. Maybe it will be different on the second glass? Spoiler alert: it was not. Onto the food. We ordered the caprese salad, the speck bruschetta and the shrimp pasta. The caprese was nice enough. The speck bruschetta was in fact, not speck -- it was light pink and white. Much thicker than would be expected on bruschetta. No explanation was offered about the substitution. And then the pasta was served not hot, in fact, hardly warm, and beyond that the flavor was bland; the pasta had no underlying flavor. At all. Having stared at the beautiful tiramisu in the little outdoor refrigerator the whole meal, we decided to get some. She offered an option with chocolate instead of coffee, and my friend doesn't do caffeine so late, so we did that, only to find out that they also make it alcohol free, without having noted that was the case. That's a major component of the dessert, and it adds the complexity it needs in order to not taste like a coolwhip topped cupcake. The exterior allows smoking, as so many (most) places do, but in this case, the entire restaurant is exposed to this smoking area, so realize you will be plagued by smoke as you try to taste what you're eating. Literally someone is sitting 3 feet away from you smoking like a chimney; it's disgusting. Our server was lovely (she'd receive 5 stars) and so tried to close the curtain, which did help modestly. Then, the topper was when a man, who we now know was the owner (a French man in Italy) asked us if we'd like the check, and we said yes, and, instead of bringing the check, which both my friend and I now realize neither of us saw, he brought the cc machine. She told him we'd like to split the ticket and he went off, saying we should have told him that to begin with and now it was too late, etc etc. We never even SAW the check, so when exactly we would have requested this, I don't know. It wasn't worth the argument so she paid and we split it later (which is trouble when traveling for work). Truly, unless you know the owner, I would skip this place. And if you know the owner, my condolences; he's a jerk. My friend speaks excellent Italian and French; we were gracious and appreciative to our server. And yet from the beginning we were treated as though he didn't want us to be there, starting from very short pours of wine. Much better options than this. As to his response regarding confirming we'd like to pay; it's a common expectation to receive the check in order to pay. We quite clearly in both Italian and English requested at that point to split the check, as he's just suggested in his response, to which he announced, I am the owner and it's too late to split it now. These are the facts. It was strange and uncomfortable. I've given specific feedback on the mediocre food and you can see by his response how well he responds to critique. "Assuming" tiramisu will have ladyfingers soaked in alcohol is like assuming it will have ladyfingers at all; you don't ask when it's how something is made. Does pasta have noodles? Does Caesar have romaine? If your preparation differs from the well known original, it should be noted. Again, you decide if this is the restaurant for you. We had some gorgeous meals in Venice; this wasn't...

Would never come back here. Rude and Terrible service. My wife and I (on our honeymoon) came here and asked for a table. The staff shooed us away and told us "maybe tomorrow" because we didn't have a reservation. We were standing out front and two minutes later another older couple came with no reservations and the staff told them no problem and sat them while we were stull standing right there. The worst service EVER. They made us feel of little importance and like we were of no value. It's like they decided not to seat us because of how we looked. My wife was so upset and it was embarrassing. Never have i ever experienced service like that. Do yourself a favor and Go to one of the other thousand restaurants in venice with extremely polite staff and good service.

adding further discussion in reply to the establishment's response to my review La Corte's response is inaccurate and makes assertions that are wholly untrue and/or uninformed in an attempt to save face. For one, it is apparent that the writer responding on behalf of La Corte was not present for the incident, has no idea about the actual incident, and/or is just being untruthful. My wife and I were standing right there and heard the other couple tell the employee that they DID NOT have reservations. In fact, some other people exited the restaurant and spoke with this other couple and we again heard the other couple confirm that they did not have reservations. It was unequivocally confirmed multiple times in conversation that, IN FACT, this other couple did not have reservations. I am unsure why the writer on behalf of La Corte is misrepresenting facts (whether purposefully or negligently), but the response lends further concerns as to La Corte's business practices. I would also note that this is the first time I have EVER written a negative review about a restaurant on here and I do not submit...

Just WOW!!! We said that over & over again during this meal. Walk 35 Feet off the street to find this tiny ally restaurant. They make magic in this tiny kitchen. FOOD.... The crustini options for a starter would have made a perfect small meal... But we kept going...I'm certain this is the best pasta I've ever had anywhere in Italy. The pesto was fantastic... but there aren't enough explotives to explain how we feel about the little fresh gnocchi pasta with fried Angus crumbles & rocket salad...just to die for! There is no ToGo options, so plan to eat what you order. We shared 2 pastas & 4 crustini & couldn't finish...But... DESSERT... was totally worth leaving room for. The chocolate mousse was dark, rich & creamy. Totaly Yummy!!! The mixed fruit on panacotta was delicious too. ENVIROMENT...The dining area is outside under umbrellas or heated tent, so dress for the weather. There was a group & everyone was smoking so we took a table away from them in order to enjoy the meal. I would normally leave but the food looked too good. So glad...