Restaurant Galuppi — Restaurant in Venice

Food: Ordered the seafood risotto and seafood pasta, both cooked in white sauce (basically aglio olio). Average or decent at best, the ingredients used were clearly not fresh - prawn had abit of a stale taste and the mussels were not opened properly. However, the portions were decently sized and adequate.

Service: Had the pleasure of meeting the most wonderful server! Asked him for any recommendations to eat since we simply chanced upon this restaurant, and he gladly showed us a menu with pictures and pointed to what were the best sellers. When he pointed to the picture of a risotto with mussels and clams and other ingredients, I asked if that was the “risotto with fish broth”, an item on the worded menu priced at €18. He said yes. Happily thinking this was a reasonably priced item, I happily ordered this dish. Imagine my surprise when the bill came and I found out that the risotto dish was €25 (the same price as the pasta dish)! I raised this to another waiter, who brought over the waiter whom I placed my order with. Perhaps this waiter’s speciality is not customer service, as when faced with my confusion over the pricing, he simply stated that the risotto was the same as the pasta i ordered, and it was my fault I didnt ask the price.

There are two things I disagree with. Firstly, the item i ordered was not on the menu with words, but only on the menu with pictures. Why is this so? This seems like a sneaky underhanded way of charging customers a few euros more for some mediocre dish, and its not appreciated. Placing the onus on your customer to ask for the price for an item not even on the base menu seems unfair. This, coupled with the fact that when I asked if that was the risotto with fish broth (to which he replied with a resounding yes) says alot about their tactics. Secondly, there seemed no appropriate way to solve this. While i insisted that he replied yes to my earlier question about the risotto, his only reply was to keep saying that “no, i told you it was the seafood and mussels”. Fact of the matter is that he didnt, and his tone carried no indication that he was apologetic or seeking to make amends. Rather, he was insistent and stubborn and the end result was a staring competition that culminated in me paying.

Funny anecdote: When he gave us the bread for the table and left, I called after him to ask if they were able to give us butter (he was still close by). To my amazement, he glared at me with such ferocity for a split second I thought I had accidentally cursed at him, before he remembered to put on his customer service face and accede to my request. Wasnt too annoyed by this but found it hilarious instead. Perhaps my bill will go towards sending this man for customer service training and...

Average food, nice service, price not reasonable We visited this place ONLY because it was the only place which was still open in the evening (around 07:30pm) - we haven't expected much but we were kind of disappointed Food & Drinks: The food was not more than average, not what you'd expect from eating out in Italy. The portions were small, enough for us after a day of sitting in a car for hours, but if one's really hungry after a day full of sightseeing, one portion wouldn't be satisfying. From the pictures online, we expected fish with vegetables and potatoes, pasta / risotto with seafood good looking plates. But no - the grilled fish tasted nice but it was only fish on the plate, the lasagne tasted okay (but it kind of gave me a "canned Ragù" feeling) and the so called "Risotto with squid" was in fact just pitch black risotto (too much squid ink) with 2 itsy-bitsy pieces of squid and a piece of a shrimp shell. Sorry, but no. The Parmesan cheese was good though. Bread was average. As sides, the only available options were fries and salad, the last one was okay. Water was well... Water, nothing more nothing less. Wine was okay. Ambience: At the first glance it looked cozy but the many pictures of catholic leaders mixed with Asian Gouverneurs were kind of strange tbh. It was clean, though. Service: The best part. They were all extremely nice and supporting, quickly taking away used dishes. Prices: I'd say perfectly fine but for what the food actually was, it was way too much. 14€ for an average portion of rice with black ink and shell pieces? No, thank you. 5€ for 1/4 litres of red wine was okay. Conclusion: We'll never eat there again, if we have the trouble that nothing is open again, than we'll cook in our holiday appartement. I don't know if we ordered the wrong things or what the other costumers did what we didn't, because our food looked nothing like the one on the pictures online, but well - it was the one and only visit there. I don't...

My review of the food we ordered is generally positive—the quality did not disappoint. However, I would strongly caution future guests to be mindful of hidden charges that do not align with the prices shown on the menu.

Before placing your order, I highly recommend calculating the expected total based on the menu prices and confirming it directly with the waiter. Otherwise, you may face an unpleasant surprise, as the additional charges for service and undisclosed items can increase the bill by 23–25% or more.

In our case, we ordered Venetian liver (€22), a seafood dish for my wife (€25 or max 2, 3 Eur more), a bottle of water, and ½ liter of house wine which was supposed to cost €10. According to the listed prices, our total should have been approximately €60 +, - 2, 3 Eur. Instead, we received a bill for €74—over €14 more than expected.

While I didn’t mind paying the difference and even tipped our waiter despite feeling lied, I believe that transparency is essential, and guests should be informed of any extra charges upfront, before the food is served. Unfortunately, this type of pricing practice feels cunning and unfair, and it does not reflect the level of honesty customers deserve. Summary tips 15-20% is really good anywhere you go but not there. Please, text below to compare.)

In the USA, tipping is a strong part of the service culture. Here are the general guidelines:

🍽️ Restaurants (Full Service):

Standard tip: 15%–20% of the pre-tax total.

Excellent service: 20%–25%.

Below-average service: 10%–15%, but it’s still expected.

Italy

Restaurants: Tip is not required; a “coperto” (cover charge) is often included. If service is good, leave 5–10% or round up.

Bars/Cafés: Rounding up or leaving small coins is enough.

Taxis: Round up...