Venice Restaurant & Pizza — Restaurant in Ridgefield

Early August 2022, we chose to return to Venice Restaurant for their speed of service, lack of required reservations and convenient location to the Playhouse. Our two main dishes, a repeat of my lobster ravioli but now a special with some grilled shrimp on top was tasty; the chicken roulade stuffed with mushrooms that came with a side of pasta with red sauce was also good. Both salads, one Caesar and one house were fresh and crispy.

Revisiting the Ridgefield Playhouse for another event, I looked at some menus online of places we've been, one that offered a glass of wine to those attending the show, and a couple of others. We chose Venice Restaurant & Pizza for its "Dinner For 2 Special" @ $43.95 which includes a bottle of wine and a choice of two entrées. (Wine upgrade to a Chianti or different Cabernet for $9.95.) We chose the Montepulciano d' Abruzzo which had a DOC designation. It worked.

Entrées come with either a cup of Pasta Fagioli soup, Caesar salad, or for a dollar upgrade, the House Italian Salad with Gorgonzola. Anchovies can be added to either for another dollar. My partner had the soup which he enjoyed. I chose the House Italian Salad, which was large enough for me to give him some after a few bites, but we wondered where the gorgonzola was seeing only shredded mozzarella.

They have a long list of dinner choices from chicken to fish, and beef to veal in addition to classic pasta dishes. The waiter told us the shrimp scampi and the lobster ravioli were popular, but advised the scampi dish was larger than the five piece ravioli. I chose the ravioli with vodka sauce since I wasn't that hungry and didn't want a leftover bag. The taste of lobster was present in every bite. Very good.

The other dinner ordered was pork chop pizzaiola. Pan-fried and cooked with garlic, kalamata olives, onions, white wine and some marinara sauce, it's a large serving. My partner loved it and ate both chops down to the bone.

Business was flowing, from dining room patrons to take-out pizza customers. The entrance door directs people straight to the take-out counter for pickup or to order a slice, or to the right to check-in with or without reservations, and be seated in the dining room where there are both booths and tables.

A lot of diners seemed to be ordering the dinner for two special. Available Monday through Thursday. This is another restaurant and pizza place you'd have to frequent often to know what's best and to your liking. Full but not...

We went there for lunch at the request of my mother in law. I did not have high hopes. I was so wrong! We had the calamari on the specials menu which had just the right amount of heat. They also put peppers, garlic, crushed tomatoes and beans in the sauce which I've never seen before, but boy, was it good?! I decided on the bolognese pizza because I had never seen that done before. The menu said it had peas on it, and then in parentheses, it said the peas were optional. I assumed it would come with the peas, but I guess you had to specify, because they didn't put them on. That was disappointing because I was really looking forward to peas on a pizza! But it was still so good! They used the bolognese sauce in place of the regular pizza sauce. The pizza was firm, not burnt, the cheese was thick and stringy. Best pizza I have had in a long time! My husband got the stuffed shrimp, which he loved. The portions were huge and the prices were very reasonable. My pizza was a small and it was at least 12 inches but likely 14, which most places are now calling a medium pie, so the price was cheap for what you got. The only bad thing is that the place is too far from us to...

This is definitely a great staple place for Italian food that is not going to break the bank. I would say they used to have the best Sicilian style grandmas pizza here but it is no longer on the menu from my knowledge. When sitting down for dinner though I got the fettuccine Alfredo and it was the best I’ve ever had. Seriously so good and much much better than chain restaurants. My brother got a calzone and he said it was fine, but he liked the calamari. I will say I got a glass of Pinot noir and it tasted watered down. This normally means it’s just a cheaper brand which is ok but I would rather just spend the extra 2-4 dollars knowing I won’t get a migraine from my one glass of wine the next day. The service was awesome. So kind so attentive but also not breathing down your neck. I will say the outdoor chairs were not the most comfortable and inside seating did seem a bit dingy but I did appreciate the fact that the outdoor area had big repellent around the area so you were not being eaten up while dining. Will be...