Osteria Ai Assassini

Highly recommend. It's expensive but if you can squeeze in one fine dining meal, this would be it in Venice. Make reservations just incase if you're visiting during peak season. My husband and I dined here twice without reservations (in late November) but got lucky I suppose. Friday Lunch: We visited for lunch around 12:15 PM and was kindly greeted outdoors. We were the 1st table. About 20 minutes later, many people started trickling in. Our dish highlight was the pesce lasagna (a special they had that day not on menu). We are still dreaming about this today. Saturday Dinner: We stopped by about 2hr before closing time, and were initially turned away because the restaurant was completely full. Then the same older gentleman that we saw on Friday said he can seat us if we came back around 9PM. (He's got his table timing down to the T!). We were willing to wait. We tried different dishes and deserts, and enjoyed them all. The service was a bit slower this evening due to a couple of larger parties seated, but we were not forgotten. My husband and I have very much enjoyed our meals, their service, and our time here. Thank you Osteria Ai Assassini!

A solid 4.5 stars. The service was overall lovely (and the waiter spoke many languages!), just as the atmosphere. We received a small amouse bouche that was delicious. The pumpkin flan was perfection. All the meals were very good. Just be prepared to pay a lot, it‘s expensive. We’ve got 2 critic points: 1) the tuna could use a little more salt. 2) after eating we almost disappeared for the service crew.

I booked this restaurant at the last minute and I was so glad that I did! We dined for lunch and the server was very lovely and passionate about the food describing what made the dish or drink special. We had lamb chops and they were the most wonderful I have ever tasted! I also adore the Bellinis. They were authentic and delicious. Best Bellini I had in Venice. The tiramisu was delicious as well, my partner said he loved their tiramisu the best out of all the places we tried. We loved it so much we went back the next day for lunch again. This is truly a hidden gem in Venice on a street that many people probably overlook. Definitely try out this charming restaurant if you like authentic good food. You won’t be disappointed. :)

Absolutely delicious food. Soft jazz music playing in the background gives great ambience. Service is very attentive yet relaxed.

We had completely resigned ourselves to sub-par, overpriced tourist-fare as we had arrived in Venice with no reservations and no research done. We wandered into a dead end, on a quiet street just off the tourist track, and peered into a charming little restaurant. We checked out the menu (looked legit) and the proprietor came out to speak with us and tell us about the special dishes of the day (fish lasagna). We booked a table for 8:30 that evening and hoped for the best. When we arrived, we were shown to a lovely table, lit with soft down-lighting and were taken through the menu and given recommendations. We had a gorgeous bottle of regional sparkling white wine, a broccoli soufflé-type dish, fish lasagna, sea bass, and raspberry tart for dessert. We were encouraged to share all dishes (no upselling here) and this was the perfect amount of food. Each dish was fresh, flavorful, delicious, and interesting. The service was impeccable—the perfect combination of unhurried, attentive but unobtrusive, and inviting but not too familiar. When we finished our meal and expressed our appreciation, our server (possibly owner?) gave us a list of restaurants to try in Venice, with a similar vibe, that he could personally recommend. If you would like a quiet, casual-but-elegant dining experience in Venice, try this place. Suitable for small groups or couples. Not really suitable for children. Our meal cost about 175.00 Euros for two people, which we thought was an excellent value for the quality of food and wine and the lovely setting (comparing to NYC prices).

We had an excellent family meal here. I saw that this restaurant was near our accommodation, and read on their website that you need to make a reservation over the phone. When I called, they were very friendly and helpful, and spoke excellent English, arranging a table for 730pm. The menu was small and concise, but a reflection that each dish is precise and well considered. The ‘sarde in saor’ was divine, as was my partners fish carpaccio and my son’s octopus. We shared a pasta ‘dish of the day’ purely out of curiosity, and it was heavenly. Our main dishes were all excellent. As others have mentioned, the welcome and service is very warm and friendly, something not so easily found in Venice. The staff do leave you alone once mains have been served, but I interpreted this as allowing you time to enjoy your drinks and evening, wish no sense of hurry leave. The ambience was lovely, and this was by far the best meal I have had in 20 years of visiting Venice. I would give it 6 stars if I could. Dishes aren’t huge, but they are of superb quality and are memorable in a city filled with forgettable and overpriced restaurants.

The staff and food & wine pairing are great. Follow their chefs of the day and recommendations never go wrong.

Loved the fish lasagna, which is something I've never had before and was skeptical about. Good wine list too. Warm and friendly service. Thanks for a nice evening.

Stumbled upon this little place while looking for a late dinner and I'm so glad we did. Amazing ambiance - we sat outside on the quiet street. The food was so fresh and interesting and special. The service was perfect, our waiter could not have been more friendly. Just a wonderful dinner, highly recommend.

I could go on all day about this establishment. My partner and I are here on vacation and we were blown away. From the intimate feel to the beautifully plated meals, Osteria ai Assassini is an ABSOLUTE must! The servers were incredibly pleasant and seemed to appreciate our attempts at speaking Italian. The food and drinks were of the utmost quality. I still think about the meal we had here! Make sure to make a reservation before had if possible. You will not regret giving them a visit!

10/10 the best restaurant we have been to on our Italian adventure. Everything is homemade and you can tell! I got the tagliatelle pasta with duck ragout, and my husband got the gnocchi with cuttlefish and we loved it all. They also bring out little treats beforehand that were both delicious, along with their super soft bread. Ended with the tiramisu to share and wow...and not only was the food amazing, but the service was phenomenal. So kind and welcoming. I will be recommending this place to everyone I talk to that comes to Venice. You won't be disappointed!

Fantastic service, food and Italian wines; warm upscale-casual ambiance -- we preferred this over Ai Mercanti. Perfect ending to our last meal in Italy and recommended by Concierge at Baglioni Luna Hotel; we went with out 2 daughters (6 and 11 yo) and they loved it all!

Service was great, ambiance (jazz off a turn table) was on point. The veal liver venetian style was excellent. The steak tar tar appetizer was also excellent. Also had the spaghetti with duck ragu, was so so. As was the linguine with cuttle fish. The kellerbier was great! All in all, was good to very good but not excellent

Finding somewhere to eat in Venice can be overwhelming. Pushy restaurant workers pressure passersby into their establishment and tourist traps with massive, mediocre menus fare abound. So it was an undeniable breath of fresh air to find Osteria Ai Assassini, tucked away in a dark alley, on our last night in Venice. And what a meal it was. We opened with a wonderful seasonal cocktail--prosecco with homemade grenadine--recommended by the server. From there, he continued to land every recommendation, steering us to the local fish specialties and seasonal fare on the menu. The server was also able to provide us with wine pairings for each course, none of them disappointing. The star of the show was the pasta course (as one expects in Italy): homemade tagliolini in a mountain butter sauce adorned with lemon zest and truffles. Beyond just wine and food recommendations, the service went far beyond our expectations. They provided us with a quiet, and quasi-private booth to accommodate our baby asleep in his stroller. And when he awoke, the server even entertained him to keep him from crying so we could sit and enjoy our food. I have never seen a staff quite so committed to making guests enjoy their experience. We loved Osteria Ai Assassini. And our lone regret is that we didn't order more food or have time to return again the next night. My recommendation is not that you *should* go, it is that you *must* go. And you must go prepared to order a bunch of food or return again.

We had a lot of great meals in Italy, but this one was my favorite. Every dish was beautifully prepared and served, the waiter was superb, the music (classic jazz LPs, played on a turntable) heavenly. Highly, highly recommended.

Vera Mente Buono!! This place is 4 months old and best meal we have had in Venice!! Great service!! We started off with the local octopus with red pepper sauce with potatoes...next level delicious!! Excellent char flavoring on the octopus. For the main dish we split the spaghetti with mussels, olive oil and pepper flakes...cooked perfectly Al dente with nice heat from pepper flakes! (No pic ) For dessert we had the best creme brûlée!! Outstanding and set the bar!

Superb! Dark, sexy spot tucked away down a side street. Resist the temptation to eat outside and get a table in the back so you can truly soak the place in. Whatever you do, get the "sour" shrimp - it's unlike anything you've ever eaten. Fantastic decor and customer service. The wait staff all speak perfect English and are happy to help with allergies or small changes to the dishes.

I called for a reservation and ask if they spoke English. Asked for a reservation and they said they were booked for the week. I they had the receptionist at the hotel call and she said no problems and made it. Concerned about the discrimination. We went to the restaurant and nice ambiance. But the food was not to are liking and we left.

In the age of survival of the good, bad, and ugly on Yelp, I'm happy to contribute a fresh review of this restaurant. My husband and I were a bit on edge after a long day of sightseeing and lingering jet lag. After feeling bummed that it was 8pm and no reservations for the more popular spots, my husband picked Assassini simply based on distance and the featured review... "dazed tourist look".... Assassini is quaint, unpretentious, and our server made us feel welcomed. He spoke English, which was helpful, and gave us excellent recommendations for dinner. I had the sea bass, covered in artichoke, served with polenta. It was so tasty, and I had mentioned I didn't eat fish so it was a spot on recommendation. The prices are fair for Venice, and the quality of service suited the bill for sure. We also noticed many Italians here, can't go wrong there. Highly recommended.

A little touristed-out on a whirlwind visit, my friend Daiga and I were sent here for lunch by a friendly store-owner who totally understood our glazed look and request for 'simple, tasty and where you would eat'. While it's not like any place in Venice is NOT hoping for some tourist traffic - we just loved this place. Simple, terrific and very fresh food, friendly but not fawning service, basically - just what you want for lunch. I'd definitely go back. Loved the squid ink pasta. Saw the store owner there 20 minutes later. With all his friends. Totally recommend.

The Osteria Ai Assassini was recommended to us by our bed and breakfast owner as the place to go for great seafood in Venice. Well he was wrong! The service was horrible and the food was mediocre at best and way over priced. If yelp would let me recommend zero stars I would have.