The Venetian Restaurant

Review summary

1. D

   Dawn

   Coastal Georgia

   1 review

   4.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   The restaurant was beautifully decorated. We had a reservation and were promptly seated. The food was good, but choices of value items were limited. We had a difficult time finding the details of the menu that would be offered during their Christmas Dinner Experience so we were unsure what to expect. Good overall experience.
   

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2. d

   david

   Greater Boston

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

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

   Go for the ambiance and not the food. Our reservation was at 4:15 and they just opened at 4:00. Chicken parmigiana was cold and wet and greasy not the Italian Chicken Parm I am use to. My husband had the same meal and only ate a few bites, we should’ve had it taken off our bill but we were too embarrassed to ask. We definitely will not be going back there.
   

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3. J

   Jenna

   Greater Boston

   1 review

   2.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days 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.
   

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4. A

   Aimee

   New York City

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days 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.
   

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5. A

   Amelia

   Greater Boston

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days 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).
   

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6. n

   nancy

   Greater Boston

   5 reviews

   4.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 3 days ago

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

   The Venetian was a fun experience, and the food was delicious. Our server, Jill, was friendly and informative. She was especially nice to my son, who has high-functioning autism. The fantastic bartender made the best Hot and Dirty martini for me, and my husband enjoyed his Venetian Old-Fashioned. Only one complaint....our food came out at room temperature. While delicious, we could only give four stars for food. Everything else was excellent. The restaurant has a nice ambiance, and the Christmas decorations are beautiful. We will return!
   

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7. K

   Kennedy

   Greater Boston

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined 3 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.
   

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8. KL

   KarenL

   New York City

   15 reviews

   4.0

   15 reviews

   Dined 3 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!
   

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9. l

   lisa

   Greater Boston

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 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.
   

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10. M

    Maria

    Greater Boston

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined 3 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!
    

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