Venable Rotisserie Bistro — Restaurant in Carrboro

Okay but not great.

I had lunch here recently and didn't find it to be as good as I'd expected. I ordered the bucatini putanesca with a glass of iced tea.

The iced tea was really dilute. I could barely taste the tea at all. After I added a packet of sweetener, it tasted like sweetened water.

The putanesca sauce was also overly bland. That particular sauce, by the way, takes its name from the Italian word "putana" which means prostitute. The sauce got its name in reference to a quick dish that working women would throw together between customers, adding capers and olives to a spicy tomato sauce base with onions and garlic as foundational flavors. A good putanesca should be very flavorful, with a strong tomato note accented by the salty flavors of the olives and capers. The sauce at Venable just didn't measure up. It was overly bland and lacked a clear tomato flavor. It had plenty of pepper, so it wasn't bland because it lacked heat. Rather it lacked, well, flavor. Frankly, I've had better putanescas out of a jar. It was almost as if the base used was a dilute tomato soup rather than a good quality plum tomato product. The tomatoes and onions should lend a slight sweetness that contrasts with the slight bitterness and saltiness of the olives. That just wasn't happening. Think peppery, dilute tomato soup. The pasta itself, on the other hand, was just about perfectly cooked, neither overly mushy or firm. The portion was also generous.

Part of the problem with the sauce may actually have been the bucatini. That particular pasta is a thin, hollow tube. As a result of its shape, it can retain a lot of water when it's taken from the pot and put on a plate. That water can then dilute any sauce that's added to the plate. The bucatini needs to be drained thoroughly to avoid this, or (less optimally) the sauce has to be dialed up a bit to offset the dilution. The former is the preferred remedy and a failure to allow a sufficient amount of water to drain from the bucatini before plating it may have been the reason for the watery, bland sauce. That's a pretty unforgivable error, though. Even less water-retaining pasta shapes will tend to transport a good deal of water to the plate if not drained properly. Letting the pasta drain adequately before plating it is a fundamental food preparation skill that should be taken for granted. And when we visited Venable, the place wasn't busy, so that doesn't offer any reasonable explanation.

Service was very good and the atmosphere, although by no means fancy, was pleasant, with booths along the main floor area and bar seating at the side. Wait staff was prompt , courteous, and friendly.

My dining companion ordered a burger and noted that it was a bit dry -- not terrible by any means, but not particularly good, either.

Clearly, a lot of people like Venable. It's possible that we just hit it on a bad day. Sauces, however, tend to be made in advance and so are typically less susceptible to the quirks of who happens to be working the kitchen at the time of a specific visit. Also, pasta dishes are pretty easy to get right. They're not "fussy" meals that require a lot of care or attention. "Putanesca," in particular, got its name in reference to how simple it was to concoct a great-tasting dish without a lot of attention or time devoted to it. Start with good ingredients and the sauce is pretty foolproof. Then, just don't overcook the pasta itself and ladle on the sauce (which is likely ready to go in a restaurant setting). Similarly, a burger and fries is a pretty straightforward order. But neither rated more than a so-so, three-star evaluation in our judgment.

Based on this experience, I'm in no hurry to return to Venable. On the other hand, if someone I planned to have lunch with really wanted that lunch to be at Venable, I wouldn't kick and scream, although I might suggest an alternative like Tandem (I gave it 5 stars) at the other end of...

Will never come here again. Not recommended if you are VEGAN!!!!!

I ordered the VEGAN panella and VEGAN bibimbap. When the panella was served, I took a bite and noticed that the cheese tasted a bit off for vegan cheese. The server wasn’t around, and I didn’t want to overreact since I had clearly stated that I wanted the VEGAN panella.

Then the bibimbap came, and I was shocked. There was an egg and beef on top of the rice. I immediately told the person who served it that I had ordered the vegan version, and they replaced it.

When the person who took our order brought us the check, I saw that neither of my dishes was marked as vegan on the receipt. My friend’s pad thai, on the other hand, was clearly labeled with chicken as the protein. I told her the food had been wrong. She said she would speak to her manager. When she came back, she seemed to think we were complaining about the prices. It was NOT about the price. What upset us was their attitude. She never apologized.

I’m lucky I’m not allergic to dairy, so nothing serious happened to me. But what if someone with dietary restrictions orders vegan or gluten-free food and ends up getting something that could make them sick? It shows a complete lack of respect for customers.

Reintroducing dairy unexpectedly caused bloating and cramps. This was not only ethically disappointing but also had a direct impact on my health. I hope the restaurant handles vegan dietary requests more carefully, as mistakes like this can have real consequences.

The bibimbap was honestly the WORST I’ve ever had. Not good at all. Nothing about it was authentic. Since it’s called “bibimbap,” I expected it to come with Korean gochujang, but instead, they served some random sauce that tasted awful. And the greens that came with the panella were super salty!

Also, when she asked what we wanted to drink, we had to repeat multiple times that we just wanted water. Is that really so hard to understand?

And strangely, our table was the only one without a lit candle. I can’t help but wonder if all of this happened because we were the only two...

My boyfriend and I have been talking about trying this place for forever and we finally went tonight. And what a disappointment it was.

We walked in without a reservation on a Friday night and got a table right away. Excellent. Service is fast. The server came up before we’d had a chance to look at the menu and told us about the specials. Great. My bf ordered a black walnut old fashioned and I got a rye sour ($13-14 each). Both were excellent. But the cocktail list was very limited. And they have more wine on the menu than food. We got the bacon-wrapped cheese-stuffed dates which were the best part of the experience, however we got 7 bite -sized dates for $14. We ordered another round of the same drinks while we waited for our food which was taking a long time. My bf got the special (sea bass on rice) and I got the honey Chipotle salmon on wilted spinach and mashed potatoes (~$32 each). (I’ve never seen food take longer to come out.) Mine was okay but not worth the money. His was unbelievably disappointing. The sea bass had no flavor and tasted like it wasn’t seasoned at all. And the portions were small. Neither of us were full at the end. The bill was $140 before tip for 4 cocktails, 1 appetizer and 2 entrees. (The server got 20% because he was great.) That’s what I would expect from a fancy restaurant. This isn’t that. My chair felt like it was about to fall apart under me (I’m a women’s small/medium… so…) The restaurant is on the smaller side. Not that many tables. But the acoustics are awful. Sound bounces off of every surface. It sounded like we were in a restaurant 10 times as full. The minute we stood up and walked outside, I got the worst stomach ache I’ve had in a very long time. I’m surprised we were so disappointed because we went to B Side for a company Christmas party and the food (mostly endless appetizers, including the bacon wrapped dates) was to die for. We won’t be going...