Venetos Cucina Italiana — Restaurant in Oceanside

One of my worst dining experiences in years. We were seeing a show nearby, so I found this place online. I called to make reservations, and the lifeless-sounding lady who answered told me they don't take them. It probably should have been an indication not to go. We popped in around 8 p.m., and the bar was empty, but the hole-in-the-wall seating was packed. They tucked us away in a claustrophobic, stuffy corner, and we waited. And then continued waiting. We were determined to be patient because it was busy, but eventually, we pulled the server over. He said he'd be right back. He wasn't and at this point, the other diners were winding down and leaving. Eventually, he deigned to bring us water, trying to whirl around to go again before we could register he was there. We said we'd at least like to put in a drink order. Rather than apologize for the wait and inattention, he became brusque, shrugging, telling us that everyone came at the same time. His tone was sour, put off that we had the nerve to be salty. Hmm, perhaps they should take reservations? Food for thought, yes? Well, let me tell you, any food would be better than what they served us. They brought out rolls basted with butter and herbs, which looked great, but I'm still trying to determine if they were actually hockey pucks. Dry, overbaked, and stale, we had a bite or two and gave up. When our pasta dishes arrived, he returned with Parmesan cheese and, without asking, just popped his arm over my shoulder (remember, I was in a tiny corner) and unceremoniously flicked a heaping spoonful in the general direction of my food. However, a quarter of it landed on my dress like greasy spoon confetti. Before he could react, he did the same to my friend, showering her with cheap cheese as well. A dairy communion? Are we blessed with mediocrity now? We hoped the food would make up for the dismal service, but we were oh so wrong. I felt like we were living in the before segments of Restaurant Impossible. My friend's Penne Ala Vodka with scallops had no scallops! She called him over to ask where they were, and he just said they don't make the dish with them anymore. Um? Perhaps the menu could reflect that? Mayhaps he could have mentioned it when she ordered a scallop dish. No apology. He just left again. My shrimp and asparagus fettuccini was akin to Lean Cuisine, which is doing that brand dirty. It was plentiful but tasteless, with pale asparagus and frozen shrimp. I ate perhaps five bites and had enough. The restaurant had no pride in their food, and our server had been so pugnacious that we knew complaining would be a fool's errand. He asked if we wanted boxes, we said no. Still, he dropped off boxes. When he saw that we didn't take the food to go, he came over and started boxing it for us. We said we weren't interested, and he was confused. At this point, the place was empty. His demeanor improved when he dropped the check, I suppose hoping a spoonful of sugar would help the lousy food and service go down and would reflect on his tip. Well, here's a tip: if you see this place, keep walking. I will never return. Obviously, I can make boxed fettuccini and imaginary...

Delizioso! We've been meaning to come here for a while, and wish we had come sooner. The restaurant is beautifully decorated so it feels like you're in north eastern Italy (Veneto), and plays music that suits the ambiance.

The food though. I cannot stop talking about the food. My husband's demeanor changed when he took a bite of the lasagna. It blew him away - he said "It's better than anything we had in Italy" and I agree. The lasagna was superb! I had the cheese ravioli with meat sauce, and I couldn't get over the SAUCE alone! It had a gentle spice to it which tasted completely different from the lasagna sauce. I wanted to take a container of it home.

They have a wonderful selection of wines and desserts- the Tiramisu is fantastic! Tiramisu is my favorite dessert, and I thought I'd never have tiramisu as good as what I had in Rome. This one compared and it's a lot closer!

Possibly most importantly, the food is high quality. Normally if I eat until I need to roll home, I feel terrible shortly thereafter. That didn't happen here. The food is so well-prepared that we were able to eat to our heart's content and walk out with huge smiles.

Both of our entrees were around $20. Many have raved about the garlic knots, and they were also great and came with fantastic marinara.

Visit this place. It's so good. I cannot...

Went here for dinner on 7/19/18, to celebrate a birthday. The owner served us alongside his server whom he said was his daughter. We later learned that she was not, but she said that the owner was like her 2nd father. She seemed to have a very high regard for him. The service was nice, but a tad slow, atmosphere very nice, the food, mostly good. The bread was good, if you like a focaccia bread seasoned with rosemary. I had the lasagna and while the sauce was very good, in my opinion, there wasn't enough of it, the noodles were thick and too al dente for me and there wasn't hardly any cheese or meat. I recomend that they remove a few layers of noodles and ad more sauce, cheese and meat and go ahead and charge $2 more. My daughter had the cheese ravioli, which was good but not fresh made, which is fine with me. I tried my wife's tortalinni with pesto sauce and it was perfect. I didn't try anyone else's food but they were very happy with their choices. The owner sang happy birthday in Italian which was greatly appreciated and enjoyed by our family. They also gave a very nice complimentary desert which was excellent. Pricing was very fair. Our family had a really nice time. Yes, I would go there again. I pray that Veneto's has a long and very...