Amol U.
Yelp
Great food, but 1-star for absolutely horrendous service.
After seeing this spot recommended on a few "Best of Venice" type lists and guidebooks, we were excited to check it out. We were seated right away around 7:00pm on a Sunday evening, no reservation necessary. The terrace has an excellent view of the Grand Canal, which is no doubt the highlight of dining here.
The wine list has a wide selection, many of them very reasonably priced. For food, we went with the onion soup, sliced beef with goat's milk and basil foam, and monkfish cooked in an asparagus, mushroom, and truffle broth, all of which were really well done. On the basis of food quality, we'd absolutely recommend this place as a delicious, centrally-located destination with a uniquely Venice view.
But two complaints tanked this experience for us. One, it took our food FOREVER to arrive. After we ordered, our appetizer came in reasonable-ish time, about 20-25 min. After that, it was another hour-plus (!!) before our mains were ready. And sure, service in Italy is on the more lax / leisurely side than in the US, but this was next level inattentiveness. During that time, the waiter never checked on us or kept us updated without us prompting them.
Second, when we pointed out that tables seated *after* us had received *the same* dishes earlier, we were rudely rebuffed and in curt fashion informed that some dishes took longer to prepare than others.
Did they really mean to tell us that the monkfish and sliced beef took longer to prepare for us than the 2-3 other tables that we saw arrive later, receive these dishes, and depart while we waited? Yes, with no shame whatsoever, they stuck with this lie. Literally as unapologetic and defensive as they could be for bottom-tier service. A few other other English-speaking tables near us even reached out to us to let us know they were similarly appalled at how we were treated; it was a source of mutually enjoyed dark humor.
The food is not worth the insult. I've noticed a few other reviews on Tripadvisor comment on perceptions of racism by the staff. Skin tone was definitely the only difference between us and the tables that were served on time and treated with respect, sooo draw your own conclusions. We definitely did. And don't eat here unless you're into shelling out $ to be treated like trash.