Osteria Al Portego — Restaurant in Venice

Terrible Experience with Food Quality and Service

My visit to this restaurant was marred by both the quality of the food and the response from the staff, particularly concerning a mussels pasta dish I ordered as my main course. The first mussel I tasted was clearly off, and upon trying two more, the issue persisted. When I brought this to the attention of the waiter, he insisted, after supposedly consulting the kitchen, that the mussels were fresh.

Despite my request for him to personally taste the mussels or to speak with the chef, he refused, insisting their freshness and, astonishingly, requested that I pay for the dish I found inedible and not offering me any replacement or alternative. An establishment's refusal to acknowledge a customer's concern, let alone offer an apology or a replacement dish, is baffling and unacceptable. Furthermore, the situation escalated when the waiter threatened to involve the police over my refusal to pay for the subpar meal and accused me of causing a scene, all while denying me any opportunity to speak with management or the chef. In fact, I have no issue talking to the police.

I can accept bad food quality for whatever practical reasons, however, humiliating customers accusing me.to make a scene, clapping hands to call congratulates my success to not paying for one bad course is absolutely unacceptable.

My travel companion recently told me that he paid for the bad dish in the end behind my back, as he doesn't think this "Mafia" waiter want to let me go. This got me even more furious.

This experience was adistressing due to the staff's handling of the situation. I was left without any attempt at resolution, forced to pay for unfresh food, and subjected to unwarranted accusations. I cannot recommend this restaurant based on my experience, as both the culinary standards and customer service severely lack professionalism and...

If you love seafood, this is your place! This restaurant has two section: the bar and the restaurant.

The Bar You can stand at the bar and enjoy the small bites, known as cicchetti, with a glass of wine.

The Restaurant: Because it's no a big restaurant, it's a good idea to make a reservation. If you're seated in the restaurant section, you will order from the menu. If you'd like cicchetti from the bar (while seated in the restaurant section), you can order cicchetti only if you also order a primo or a secondo.

The Ambience: It's a clean establishment. I thought the ambience was very good. Since it is recommended in guidebooks, such as Rick Steves guide, there were quite a few tourists, but the menu is only in Italian.

The Food: I ordered assorted pickled fish, called "saor" (photo). Three kinds of seafood (sardine, shrimp, and cod) deep fried and pickled in vinegar. As we have a similar dish in my culture (Japanese), I absolutely loved it. I can imagine saor to be too exotic for some people, but it was my best meal in Venice on this trip.

The Price: I thought the price was more than reasonable, especially, given the quality of the food. I would be willing to pay more. We, a party of three, ordered five glasses of wine, two primi, one secondo, and one cicchetto (octopus salad). It only came to 86.50 EUR (July 2019), including the coperto (cover charge).

Recommendation: It was my fourth trip to Italy and my second time in Venice. Osteria al Portego is no doubt my favorite restaurant in Venice. I highly recommend it. As it's a small restaurant, it's wise to make a reservation unless you eat cicchetti at...

My wife and I were excited to experience Al Portego, given the reviews. We have zero complaints about the food. The spinach lasagna was abosolutely delicious, as well as the potato cakes. Our disappointment, came from service alone. Upon entering, we asked if we could have a table. This was around 19:30. The staff said we could use the table in the corner to have cichetti as antipasti as long as we also ordered two entrees, and were done by 20:30, as there was a reservation. We agreed and took our seats. We sat for about 10 minutes, watching as newcomers around us recieved drinks and had orders taken. I figured I would go up and get some chichetti, and some drinks while we waited. That was a huge mistake, as it caused some kind of issue. My wife is a vegetarian, so I got spinach lasagna and two potatoe cakes to share. I never made it to the drink order due to a conversation between two staff as to what was happening. Frustrated, I went back to our table. Lasagna and two potato cakes came, but with no offer for drinks, or anything. We finished the food, and sat for 10 minutes without any attention. Had we been looked after for only a second, then we would have spent more money and ordered food. We went elsewhere. Make sure you understand that if you take a table, sit there, do not get up, not once, because it will throw the whole thing...