Ostaria al Garanghelo — Restaurant in Venice

We stopped by this restaurant at around 9pm. We chose this because of the Google reviews and 4+ stars.

We ordered a lasagne, a tagliolini and a beef fillet. The pasta are delicious and up to standard but the beef fillet is over cooked. We ordered it to be medium and it turned out to be nearly well done and dry. We tried to eat a few but it was too dry and we couldn’t even finish it all. We didn’t expect this standard of beef fillet with this price. Therefore, we asked if it would be possible to have a new beef fillet. Sadly the waiter responded that as we had finished more than half of the fillet, he insisted that he couldn’t replace with a new one. He told us that we should have asked for a new one right after we sliced and saw it’s over cooked (I.e. before eating). He did give a refund of 10€ at last where the beef fillet costs 22€.

His way of dealing with this issue is understandable and fair enough. As we have finished half of the fillet, he refunded half of its price. However, from a customer/ tourist perspective, we hope for a pleasant dining experience where customers could enjoy the up-to-standard service. I wish I could get a palatable beef fillet instead of the 10€ back. In my opinion, I would not say his solution is wrong but it just make me feel they are not intending to serve their customers with their best.

As for the service provided, a waitress always came with a big smile so I felt welcomed. The waiters dealing with the beef issue repeatedly expressed his apology so I could feel his sincerity. However, a tall white old man (probably the owner I guessed) initially served with hospitality and asked us if everything is good. But once we expressed our disappointment with the beef, he became cold and took away my basket of bread when I didn’t even finished them all. This disappointed me again.

I initially hopes this meal could mark a beautiful end of my Venice trip but sadly it...

We were looking for a restaurant for seven on Friday near Rialto market without a booking for an hour and were recommended this place by a waiter next door. The ostaria was full but they cleaned the bar-like central table with high seating for our group. And, boy, were we in for a treat! The staff were super friendly and their recommendation of daily grilled fish was amazingly tasty (with table-side cleaning of the whole-cooked fish). We had a selection of seafood and some mussels for everybody to share as an appetiser and both portions were big and really tasty (better than other seafood platters we had in Venice). I was the only one to go with two mains choosing a seafood soup (Torcello style) and an escalope in wine sauce. We also had two people eating lobster which were big and truly amazing (accompanied by loads of other seafood items of which the calmari were spot on!). I honestly have to say that this was the most generous bowl of seafood soup I have ever seen and every component of it was cooked really well. The escalops and especially the sauce were wonderful although I do have to say that I should have stuck to just one dish because the portions were big. The ending with the shared (marvellous) tiramisu and some limoncello was a perfect conclusion to the meal! We all agreed that this was the best meal we have had outside truly gourmet restaurants (and better than most of them). Can't...

I first found this place while searching for a place to have a quick, cold afternoon cocktail on a hot summer day while my wife was rehearsing for a concert at a nearby church. The owner/manager and I struck up a conversation that ended up stretching into a languorous hour of sharing personal histories. This was one of my favorite memories of my time in Venice.

Later, I returned with my wife and had a lovely dinner here. The mussels gondolieri were especially good (and we can be snobby about mussels), and the tomato broth was perfect for dipping a piece of their nearly perfect house-made bread. The pasta is made in-house, also, and was delicious. We both had a daily special - my wife, the gnocchi neri with mini scallops, and me, the crab tagliatelle. The food is well-made in a simple, unpretentious way.

But the really special part about our visit was our broad-ranging and warm conversation with the restaurant's owner. He welcomed us like long lost family. The staff were similarly welcoming and responsive. Recommend if you want to get away from the crush of the eateries closer to the docks and San Marco's square and have an excellent, handmade, no-fuss meal with warm, inviting...