Ombra del Leone

Hidden Terrace. I saw in another review. Great description. Was very fortunate to hang out here for the Regatta Storica. Great seat to sit and watch the parade and the races as they fly by but also just as great to sit on the grand canal and enjoy the gondolieri who loiter nearby as they pass time in between fares. Prices are fare or even at a value relative to many locations on the main thoroughfare. Service is nice if you’re not expecting the world. Perhaps they are on island time. Which is great. IMHO.

Beautiful hidden terrace for a nice outdoor lunch overlooking the Canal Grande. I particularly liked the pece spada on patato cream. With table cloths and textile napkins. Around 50€ per person for a nice lunch.

Came to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. The view was magnificent and I loved hearing the ocean lapping and smashing against the jetty. Our waitress was up to standard. However, the food was a let down. My husband had swordfish with gnocchi and found it to be acceptable. My beef fillet was served well done and not medium rare as ordered....to the point where it was almost like liver. We opted to have dessert elsewhere.

After taking all the sights the main island of Venice has to offer I decided to find a place with a good rating, that would both be not over the top expensive, offer quality food and be off the main road. Ombra del Leone ticks all the boxes! Even with small groups of people going back and forth (noon time) it blended nicely with the sound of the tide and a peaceful view with gondolas smoothly flouting on the water. The kitchen was to be open at noon, so I had time for a glass of Chardonnay and I enjoyed every bit of it and the risotto which came after. So if you are looking for the same things I was then this is the place to go. However it feels the place might be much more busy during the second part of the day, keep in mind.

Perfect spot to enjoy our first night back in Venezia! We were looking for somewhere to get a great meal with a truly Venetian view and this was it. Of course you expect that you'll pay a little more being right off the Grand Canal, but from the delicious food (it was too dark to take pictures), the friendly service, and the location, the prices really weren't that unreasonable. I'm sure the area may be usually more busy, but it felt very quiet and somewhat off the beaten path despite the fact that it's in such a prominent spot. Definitely recommended for a special meal - you'll enjoy it for sure!

Away of the crowds. A bit noisy with the grand canal slamming against the patio edge repeatedly but you get used to it. No one to welcome you. We had our hotel make our reservations since they told this American over the phone “all booked”. The waitress was quite nice, spoke good English and helped me along. Only one beer, which seems to be the case in Italy. Who drinks beer? Not Italians! The gnocchi with scampi was excellent. Like little pillows with the best “shrimp” I’ve ever tasted. Lasagna was good too. Bread came dry with no olive oil or salt/pepper. The waitress pleasantly brought us some when we asked. Panne cotta was nice, not overly sweet. Two people, eating light, 74 euro. Nothing is cheap here. Nothing. Except the mosquitoes, plenty of free mosquitos.

I made a dinner reservation two months ahead of time and the restaurant confirmed the reservation. When my husband and I arrived, we were told they were closing in a hour for a private party. They never took the time to let me know ahead of time so I could secure another reservation. This was unacceptable and highly unprofessional. Then to just turn us away without even offering us a complimentary drink was even worse. All they said was I’m sorry but we will be closed. In this day with online reviews, I don’t understand how a restaurant could treat us so rudely. I showed them the confirmation email but they had nothing to say about it. Terrible customer service. On Tue, Jul 1, 2025 at 12:42 PM Info - Ombra del Leone wrote: Hello Jan I’m glad to confirm your reservation on Monday Sept 29 at 7pm for 2 people for your anniversary Kind regards Michele’s Inviato da Outlook per iOS

Price is on the high side. Service was alright. Food is great, and the view is beautiful, the outdoor area is facing the Basilica. Overall a good lunch experience for me.

This was a hotel concierge recommendation and it was great. We stopped in for lunch around 1:30 PM. We didn't make reservations and had to sit inside, but that's what wanted, it was warm out. We still got an amazing spot with an outdoor view. The restaurant filled rather quickly after we were seated. We liked the wine, we requested a dry rose and it was good, of course it was their most expensive bottle. Since it was lunch we ordered 4 appetizers to share, the Burrata (just ok, not as amazing as the night before) , cod and polenta (strangely delicious, think tuna salad on top of grilled polenta-tasted like a corn tortilla)-interesting and surprisingly delicious, finished with a beef carpaccio that looked like roast beef and tasted amazing. It came with a little bit of arugula as well. We left full and content. Very good. Would come again.

We stopped here for lunch. It was a recommendation from our guide as a place off the beaten path. We were hoping for an outdoor table on the bar side but the only shade was on the restaurant side so we headed there. The bar side had a club sandwich we wanted to try but instead we had a more upscale lunch of Caprese salad and lasagna. Both were very good. There was a 5eu cover charge Service was good. Views were beautiful as we were right on the water.

Surprisingly they couldn't get us in when I called but could when my hotel called - amazing. We went at 7pm on Tuesday, not full. No one to seat us, so we just lurked around until someone showed up about 5 minutes later. We got a front row seat with waves banging against the dock, pigeons and seagulls walking around trying to steal food and a bevy of mosquitoes, the norm in Venice. The waitress was pleasant and had enough English to tolerate us. Bread came with no olive oil. 20 min. later, I was able to grab her and ask for some oil, slat, pepper. Then the magic arrived and was lovely. Very good gnocchi, so soft and fluffy with "scampi" which I assure you weren't shrimp but more like Langostino, but lovely and tender. The meat lasagna was nice enough. Pan a cotta was very smooth and not very sweet to our palate but nice to share. All said and done, 74 euro.

Scenic views of Venice worth watching the sunset or hanging out in the evening. When I went they a had a great happy hour that included $5 wines and beers and a small menu of food. I was really happy with the quality of the service. Hell, even my Aperol Spritz was great while watching the sunset in Italy. Love it.

Best food and price on the grand canal in a tucked away location from the crowd. Highly recommend the gnocchi with a white spritz. Great food and bartender knows what they are doing

You pay for the location. We went for dinner here, and got a table almost immediately (surprising) for a waterfront place. The food took an eternity to arrive; good thing the views of the water and Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute were sublime. Every dish was around €20 to start and barely filling, but nothing special whatsoever. We had fettuccini, prawns, and calprese; the house white and (fantastic) tiramisu were the only redeeming qualities in our opinion. The wait staff were very personable and friendly as well. Nice atmosphere, but we recommend the same money spent at three other nice trattorias instead of this waaay overpriced ristorante.

Stopped here for a Bellini as it's next to the infamous Harry's bar. The Bellini is only 10 Euro which is better than the 21-26 euros next door. I will definitely go to Harry's but I wanted to see what regular Bellini is like before thinking about getting the expensive. The bartender was super friendly and their bathrooms are modern and well kept. Great spot.

I really wanted to enjoy this restaurant. The concierge at our hotel suggested it was a wonderful family atmosphere seafood restaurant. He has suggested other restaurants that were amazing this however was a complete disappointment. Location is great! Beautiful spot on the canal for taking in the sights. We arrived early for our reservation and the restaurant was not full. They casually set up a table for us. Once seated we waited and waited and waited and finally some breadsticks and water were brought to table. No olive oil as you would expect. 30 minutes later after all the water and dry hard boring breadsticks were consumed by our hungry group they came for the order with no other check ins at the table. We all asked for any recommendations for the menu which had very few seafood choices, just shrimp, salted fish and octopus. Hummm I think a seafood restaurant has more options than shrimp and salted fish. But let's move on. Waiter recommends the polenta and salted cod as it's a traditional Venice dish, great we will try that. What about entrees? Ahhh whatever you want. Not helpful but ok. We order the grilled shrimp,gnocchi with shrimp, plain pasta for the little one, ahhh and he dish that is expected to be amazing the clams and linguini. And just in case Meat lasagna as an alternate in the not much seafood restaurant. Wine finally arrives and it's very tasty pours us all a tiny splash and disappears. He brings the polenta and salted fish doesn't refill any glasses and walks away. What??? Polenta is epic hard and flavorless salted cod looks like tuna salad without all the fun stuff in in. Another flavorless item. Chewy polenta with mushy white tastes like nothing fish, we hope. Glasses are empty for another 20 minutes with a restaurant that has many empty tables. 2 tables of people walk out without ever ordering upset with the lack of service. Ok fine, I reach back and grab the vino to serve the table. Another 20 minutes and finally food!!!! Grilled shrimp looks good tastes very plain but at least it's edible. Grilled veggies have zero flavor. Shrimp with gnocchi and tomato sauce tastes likes rago and the shrimp have been completely over cooked! Clams with lingunin,chewy and the clams are bitter and zero flavor again. Meat lasagna dry and minimal flavor but this dish has the most going for it at this seafood restaurant. And the plain pasta is the best offering they have even though its over cooked and not even freshly prepared pasta. How sad and utterly disappointed our whole group was. 3 plus hours wasted at this spot. Guests at table next to us were delightful to chat with. I'd avoid this spot until they get a chef and their service figured out. I really wanted to like it... but don't waste your cash or precious time when there are so many other options!!!! Or just come for a beverage??????

Made the reservation on OpenTable after seeing the location and the reviews. Last night in Venice and hoped for a great dinner. Sat down at 8:30 to be told that we had just made it and kitchen was closing in 30 minutes. Very nice waitress with a great attitude so we figure it will be a nice evening despite the empty dining room. Ordered three courses and a bottle of wine. Once the middle course is served we see our waitress with her coat on and we see the staff emptying the trash. The main course comes, nobody comes to refill the empty wine bottle and it's clear that they simply want to close down. Waitress comes back it seems having realized (or being told) that perhaps we'd like coffee and dessert. At this point we're feeling rather abandoned so we get the check. Most expensive dinner of my 4 nights in Venice and without question the worst. Probably great to have the view on a night when the weather permits but not for us this time. My advice - go elsewhere.

Excellent meal...the best we have had in Venice! Fried Fish has local crab and homemade fettuccine with vegetables extremely fresh

Amazing views, but complete tourist trap. It's all about location with this one, and it's a great place to sit and enjoy the canal, but the food is crap. No flavor and it's comical to say that the gnocchi came with prawns - when you order a dish with seafood you want to see it. Also, don't ask for Parmesan cheese, it's not cheese. But enjoy the views!

Having read the yelp reviews, two were 4+ and one was awful. After a full dinner for four with appetizers, main course and dessert, we determined the awful reviewer ordered the wrong meals. This was a fantastic meal. Stellar ambiance, fantastic service, and above all... the cuisine was outstanding. Highly recommend the cuttlefish and tuna. Can't wait to come back and dine here again.

View was amazing! We had a party of 8 (4 kids 4 adults) and the servers went out of their way to satisfy every request. Our kids played inside while we enjoyed ourselves after dinner. Diana and Michele did a great job. Food and wine were a 4.5 out of 5. It was a great time and would recommend. Very accommodating with Gluten allergies.

The most perfect lunch!! Amazing location on the water. The lasagna and lamb chops were amazing. Staff was very friendly, and very accommodating when I asked to move because there was too much sun where we were sitting. All in all a great experience. Really recommend this location to anyone visiting Venice, truly amazing food and atmosphere!

Great service and amazing food! We will definitely come back to this restaurant the next time we visit Venice.

Stopped here for a drink and snack. Good food and decent prices (rarity in Venice), but wouldn't describe it as a revelation.