The Venetian Restaurant

Review summary

1. A

   Aimee

   New York City

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 5

   The decorations were really pretty but unfortunately you have to pay 50/person even when you have small children. The menu is only a few options with no modifications allowed so my 5 year old had nothing to eat and we still had to pay $50 for her. Something to know before you book as we would not have if we knew this. Our waiter was not friendly either. We felt rushed and they even cleared our drinks before we finished them. I do not like to write a bad review but we looked forward to this lunch for so long and it was a let down. Online looks like a “must do” but it really is not.
   

   1 person found this helpful

   Report
2. J

   Jenna

   Greater Boston

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 4

   The holiday menu only a few basic options. This is fine for adults but in order to reserve for the holiday experience we had to pay $50 pp for the 3 course meal. This included my 3 year old who only ate plain pasta. My 6 year old at least sampled most of the options. The tiramisu was the highlight. We get that they need to make money but it would be wiser to make it more family friendly as far as the menu goes seeing as last year we enjoyed it so much (when we had an option of menus). Next year we will just go to Lucca. It seems like a lot of other restaurants have stepped up their holiday game so I don’t know it’s worth the price. Also, at the end of the meal you get an envelope with an incentive to come back again (soon). You aren’t allowed to open the envelope before use. Spoiler alert it’s a $5 coupon. Overall it’s esthetically appealing but underwhelming. I feel bad the waitstaff has to answer the questions of bewildered guests.
   

   1 person found this helpful

   Report
3. A

   Amelia

   Greater Boston

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   I was looking forward to the Holiday pop up experience but I left disappointed. I’ll highlight 3 complaints that left me less than impressed with the service and overall experience: 1) The first seating was at 11:30am. The restaurant locks the front door and forces you to wait outside in a queue. It was 23 degrees out. At 11:30 the door did not open. At 11:32 the door was still not open. My complaint may seem petty but I felt it was disrespectful to the guests to leave us freezing outside instead of allowing us to wait inside or to just seat people as they arrive. If you’re going to leave your guests standing out in the cold the least you could do is open the door on time. 2) The restaurant’s website explicitly states that the Holiday pop up is “family friendly” and a children’s menu is available. I asked the hostess for a children’s menu. She said there was no children’s menu but she would “ask.” She never returned. I asked the waiter and he confirmed there is no children’s menu. I don’t know if they’re dishonest, disorganized or just not family friendly at all but my picky eater wouldn’t touch his entree and I wouldn’t have booked a reservation here if I knew my child wouldn’t be able to eat anything aside from a slice of bread…. 3) …That leads me to my final complaint: The food. It was terrible. There are two salad options: Caesar or Greek. The entire table had to agree on one salad because you could not order both as the salad was categorized as “family style” and everyone had to share. The salad portion was tiny and was supposed to feed 4 people. It was smaller than the size of a regular restaurant single serving. The dessert was one serving of tiramisu that was cut into 4 smaller slices and 4 mini cannolis. There were 4 entree options. One was pasta. For $50 per person, a small scoop of salad and some pasta seems a little overpriced. I understand that you’re there for the ambiance, (once you thaw from your standing outside, of course).
   

   Is this helpful?

   Report
4. K

   Kennedy

   Greater Boston

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   I have now had two reservations this holiday season and both experiences were amazing! We were seated right away at the time we came in for our reservation. Did not have to wait too long for a table at all. The staff was all very friendly. The food was also very good! We even drove 50 minutes to get there. We were very impressed. Definitely will return next year.
   

   Is this helpful?

   Report
5. KL

   KarenL

   New York City

   15 reviews

   4.0

   15 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Cocktails were great, pasta was good and appetizers were pretty good. Ambiance is spectacular!
   

   Is this helpful?

   Report
6. M

   Maria

   Greater Boston

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Food was AMAZING!! Everything we ordered was next level. Hands down the best Italian on the south shore!
   

   Is this helpful?

   Report
7. l

   lisa

   Greater Boston

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Wonderful holiday experience. Appreciate them accommodating for our guest with celiac. Service was professional and friendly. Fun holiday drinks.
   

   Is this helpful?

   Report
8. L

   Lindsey

   Greater Boston

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 4

   We went to the holiday pop up for the second year in a row. Last year the kids were cranky, one of the entrees was meh and it was not a great experience. We thought it was a fluke and decided to try again since the christmas ambience is so lovely. We waited 25min for our waitress to even acknowledge us and instead of a Christmas welcome we got a quick “what can I get you.” The appetizer came 50min after being seated and entrees took 1.25 hours to arrive. The restaurant was extremely loud. I think the combination of noise and waiting is what broke the kids and made for a miserable experience. When we asked the waitress to check on the kids’ entrees she was obviously annoyed and it poisoned the rest of our interactions. Parents beware - this is more of a date night, drink at the bar sort of place. Food is hit or miss but maybe worth a chance at the holidays IF YOU’RE KID FREE.
   

   Is this helpful?

   Report
9. S

   Sarah

   Greater Boston

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   We enjoyed it but some of the tables a close together so it didn't feel as intimate. We had to wait about 25 min despite having a reservation. The service and food was good though.
   

   Is this helpful?

   Report
10. n

    norma

    Greater Boston

    4 reviews

    5.0

    4 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    What a nice festive evening with friends. Service was attentive, professional and friendly. The meal was served at a good pace. No rushing. Parmigiana, carbonna and Sunday gravy all were delicious and all had leftovers to bring home. The ambience was very festive and made for a nice before the holiday dinner. So glad I was able to get a reservation. It was worth the hour drive for such a nice evening.
    

    Is this helpful?

    Report