Ristorante Canal Grande — Restaurant in Venice

If I could give 0 starts it would be to high! We stopped here for a quick drink on our way back from having a meal. We ordered 2 espresso martinis @€15 and sat outside while listening to someone inside singing whilst pretending to play the piano. The waiter was very rude and said they were closing, then shut the doors and windows while the guy was still singing. When we asked the waiter if we could sit inside while we finished our drink, he very rudely said no! When a female member of staff came out, we asked her if we could go inside and she said it wasn't a problem. We went in for about 10mins, finished our drink and asked for the bill.

When the rude waiter gave us the bill, a further €15 was added for service charge and entertainment charge. I refused to pay the extra charges and gave them €30 cash as we had only been there for 20mins and the service was shocking! The waiter then got very aggressive and shut us inside the restaurant and said we couldn't leave until we paid! He became aggressive towards me, verbally abused and threatened my girlfriend. We said that we wanted to call the police but they wouldn't give us the number.... The waiter was so aggressive at one point he reached for a knife that was by the oyster/fish trolly, but stopped when he was shouted at by the female manager. I managed to find the number for the police and started to call them.... At this point the female manager quickly opened the door and allowed us to leave! I would strongly recommend not going to this restaurant! I have never experienced anything like it in my life!

Reading the reviews someone has posted a picture complaining of the same waiter! I have attached a screen shot of his picture as when I tried to photograph him that night he quickly dissapeared back into...

Food: Far too expensive for what it is. Lacks flavour, small portions, cheap ingredients.

Service: You can't walk past without being asked to sit down for food. They seem to only care about getting people to sit rather than taking your order.

When you ask for the bill, make sure to ask two or three waiters because they won't get it for you until you start to show some frustration. I was about to leave without paying because I asked two different waiters for the bill, and they both walked inside and came back out and proceeded to ask more people to sit down. It was only because I stood up and started putting my coat back on to leave that one of the same waiters came over and reminded me I had to pay! I said, "Maybe you should have got the bill for me the first time I asked for it then?" And they gave me the dirtiest look. They went inside and got me the bill which had a 16% service charge on it!!! I told them that was ridiculous for the shocking service I've had but they just pointed to bottom of the menu where it says in small print "16% service charge" and they still have the audacity to ask for a tip! Most places in Venice only care about making the place look busy to attract more customers, so they'll drag out the service as long as possible.

Atmosphere: 2 stars because the heat lamps were the best along the canal. Nothing else.

Overall, avoid this place like the plague. Do not go into any restaurant along the canals. They are a tourist trap. Ridiculous prices, mediocre food at best, and stupid service charges for waiters that ignore you.

Go find a small restaurant in the back streets. More affordable menus and much...

This is the most horrible tourism service I have ever experienced in my entire life. At first, we stopped by this restaurant because of the “oyster-to-go counter” advertising €3.50 for take-away and €5 for dining in. Then, an employee from the restaurant told us they had a large seafood platter that included everything they offered for €35 per person (there were 4 of us) or €45 per person if we added a lobster. We chose the €45 option.

When the platter arrived, it only contained very basic seafood: a few small prawns, 4 scallops, various kinds of fish, 1 small lobster, and a few Perna viridis. No oysters, no shrimp, nothing resembling what we saw outside the restaurant. Still, we decided to continue and ordered a small bottle of white wine, which cost €35, and a bottle of still water.

In total, our bill was €273, which included an additional €50 for the music playing inside the restaurant( for each of us and we đi not request for any music)—even though we were sitting outside—along with a 16% service fee. This service fee is not standard in Venice and was completely hidden; it was not mentioned to us beforehand.

We feel this is a complete scam, and we strongly advise you not...