I found Ai Mercanti on the Michelin guide and noted that it was a 5 minute walk from our hotel. It…read morewas a restaurant I had bookmarked in my mind while we were in Venice. When my husband and I had just gotten back from a day trip to Bologna, we realized we were hungry for a late dinner. Ai Mercanti popped on my mind. I figured that reservations were required, but I took a chance and called the restaurant to see if they could accommodate us for a 9:30pm dinner. They told us to come right on down. Score! This restaurant was a hidden gem. Not only was it off the beaten path, but the food and service were excellent. We had an amazing experience. The servers were the nicest, and they were highly attentive. I overheard multiple waiters speak French fluently, so I thought it was impressive that they were tri-lingual with English, Italian, and French. This was one of the few places in Italy where I felt that the service team actually read the room. They knew when we were ready for the next course or when we wanted to finish dinner, so the pacing of each meal was impeccable and there was no dilly dallying around for the check. Each dish was a banger, and the portions were right-sized. I didn't feel overstuffed after a first, second, and dessert for once. We had the following: - Octopus with agretti (saltwort), grilled new potatoes, parsley oil and amaranth. I loved the simplicity of the flavors. - "Apparently" crispy egg, potato foam, Cantabrian anchovy. This is what a warm hug tastes like. GET THIS. - Cod in a lightly spiced coconut milk, lemongrass and coriander soup. Since Venice was a merchant hub for trading spices, I felt like I tasted more ethnic variety. For example, this was the first "Asian"-inspired dish I had in Italy. The cod was very tender, and the lemongrass coriander soup was a flavor party in my mouth. - Lamb chops, spring onion, curry sauce. The meat was tender. - Panna cotta, merengue, dulce de leche, salty peanuts ice cream. Each bite was a harmony of flavors and worked very well together. The panna cotta had a nice creamy texture. - Crème brûlèe. A beautiful, traditional classic dessert. They do this right.

(Overall: B) - Very small restaurant located in the interweavings of Venice, that serves…read moretapas-styles elevated small plates. Their menu is conceptually captivating and their food lives up to that standard, which is a pleasant sight. (Oyster: A) - Very fresh oyster, served with an mignonette sauce that adds a contrastive garlicky acidity that really flares up the palette! (Octopus Salad: A) - Lot's going on in this salad, but the guac packs an intense flavor bomb pairs well with the delicate seasonal produce and tender octopus. (Pigeon: C) - Dish looks apart and sounds conceptually interesting, but I don't think the ingredients work well together; given that the pigeon is boney and hard to eat, adding a thick barley gravy simply makes it harder to eat. I was hoping that the flavors could help highlight the beauty of the pigeon rather than dominate it in the case of the kumquat. Food: E Presentation: +1 Price: E Atmosphere: E Service: E Menu: +1 Overall: 4 stars Insta/Yelp/Beli/TikTok: @amei_eats

This small restaurant is tucked away on the corner of a smaller side street just off of the much…read morebusier Calle Frezzeria. They have a few outdoor tables and a cosy interior. The food was solid, very beautifully plated. The bread was very fresh - soft interior and crusty exterior! Our favourite dish was the Parccheti with Squid Ink. The Cacio e Pepe Ravioli with raw shrimps was also quite nice, although the filling was a tad on the salty side. Service was decent and efficient as well. Overall a solid choice if you're looking for a place to eat with a slightly more upscale vibe without breaking the bank.

We areglad we found this delightful restaurant. The food was excellent, the staff attentive and the…read morerecommendations on point. We actually ate there twice in four days!

Our family of 8 visited La Colombina on 2 occasions on April and we could not have enjoyed the…read morefood, the service and the atmosphere. Clearly, on both occasions it was our favorite restaurant to visit. We allowed the owner to recommend both food and wine and we were blown away. We will be back in the fall when we visit again.

La Columbina was an excellent experience from start to finish! We arrived for our reservation and…read morewere seated immediately -- no wait at all. The owner greeted us personally and offered some great recommendations from the specials, which set the tone for the rest of the meal. We ended up ordering the scallops, freshly caught lobster, sea bass, risotto, and lobster with pasta -- every single dish was phenomenal. We paired it all with a local wine that was excellent, and finished the evening with a limoncello to cap things off perfectly. This place is a true hidden gem. It wasn't overcrowded, the food was outstanding, and the whole experience felt special. If you're in the Venice area, I highly recommend visiting La Columbina -- you won't be disappointed!

A one-star review. That happens very rarely with me. When travelling I prepare myself well…read more Checking ratings, reading reviews. Making lists with options to eat. So, what happened here you might ask? We walked by this restaurant a day before our experience. A lively place selling tasty-looking seafood. Checked the ratings, looked all fine. So we decided to come back the next day to get some nice early dinner. We wanted to sit inside actually, but were told to get a table outside. Looked like rain soon - which luckily didn't arrive. Our waiter seemed rushed and not really in a good mood from the start. Got handed the menu. But there's a nice counter inside with all kinds of nice fish and seafood. That's actually what we came for. We asked the waiter on how to order that, but were told "no need to rush" without further explanation and left. So my wife went inside to have a look, since we didn't find that on the menu card we've got. She ordered a nice plate of mixed seafood inside. Which somewhat angered our waiter. I was still reading the menu for some more dishes to order. Waiter took it out of my hand, telling me "you don't need that anymore, you already ordered". Yeah, some. But we wanted more. But we made a decision that moment to leave it and to stop ordering more. Really weren't in the mood for food anymore. Shortly after he arrived with the mixed seafood. And that was actually very tasty. Fantastic even. Had two glasses of white wine with if, tasty as well, but not cheap. After less than half an hour we decided to pay and leave. Even great, we didn't enjoy it much anymore. Asked for the bill, our waiter arrived with it shortly after. Then the reason for the one-star review came (actually reason enough at that point already). My wife merely asked if she could pay with a credit card. "Be quiet!" was the answer. Yes! Be Quiet...to my wife! These exact words. Not because of a language barrier (his english was more than fine), not because of a misunderstanding. Plain and simple rudeness. I hope his mother is proud of him. How dare you talk to a woman, to a paying guest like that. If my wife wouldn't have signaled me to stay calm, I would have caused a very big scene at that moment. But we were on vacation. We won't a moment like this kill our mood for the rest of the trip. But at that moment I was cooking inside. A verbal attack like this I've never encountered. I've read some more reviews later. It seems not the first time that service here is out of line. It's a shame. The food is wonderful. Not cheap though, paid almost 50 Euros! Coperta is a normal thing, but here a bit higher than elsewhere. And this is the first time I've thought that the coperta was not deserved. Almost took it off the bill, but we didn't want to cause a bigger fight. Not sure what was/is wrong with this certain waiter. A dislike to tourists? A bad day? But: there's no reason to treat us like this. THE worst service experience we've ever had. And that means something. If you read up on my reviews here on Yelp and other platforms you'll see that bad reviews like this rarely happen. Nothing's gonna happen to Mr. Friendly anyway job-wise. But I wish at least he would be told by his boss. Then again, one day he'll meet guests that won't hold back if he acts like this again. And I find comfort in that.

Best cicchetti hands down. Each one is enough for two people. Delicious. The seafood sampler is…read moreamazing.

Date of visit: May 28, 2025…read more This was a stop on a Venice food tour and was a fascinating place! With a long storied history and some fantastic food, we enjoyed this literal "hole in the wall" and probably would have come back here had we had more time in Venice. We tried the deep fried sandwiches and the mac and cheese balls; funny that these are both things that are plentiful back home in Milwaukee--never would have expected to see them in Venice of all places. Word to the wise: The outdoor tables are nice, but the birds--especially seagulls--are not afraid of people and will throw up gang signs as they try to take your food!

I came here for a quick bite and beer because of all the hype and reviews I read. Sadly it's not…read morememorable. Confusion on what to do when you pull up. Do you wait to be seated or do you seat yourself? After a good 10 minutes of standing, I just sat myself. The lady at the bar told me to go and order up front, I got a beer and a couple of fried bites. I'm not too keen of fried seafood in case and food in a case with cooling system. But when in Rome, or Italy, I went for 3 fried bites. Bad decision. All of them were warm with oil just spewing out. All you could taste was oil. I took 3 bites and left it. Beer was good.

We met the owner next door at the Ve(ry)nice Beershop the day before. He told us we needed to come…read moreto his restaurant and took us inside to arrange it. We showed up and his chef and staff put together a family style seafood tour de force. One of the best meals I've had. The starter plate alone was full of such unusual and delicious seafood, that I still think about it. Stop by during the day for cicchetti and a drink as well.

2.5/5 Service - Waited for abt 5mins for anyone to make eye contact with us since the servers were…read moredeep in discussion. They were nice once they finally acknowledged us. 4/5 cheesy tomato & eggplant - both were pretty good 4/5 fishcake- so good 2/5 Eggplant Parmesan- bitter aftertaste, prolly the worst I've ever had, not saucy enough, the ones I've had in NYC whether homemade or store bought, were always amazing-sweet, tart & saucy w/o being bitter 2/5 squid skewer- so dry, needs sauce

Fabulous service, incredible food! One of the best meals of our lives in such a warm, intimate…read moresetting.

If I could leave El Magazen 6 stars I would. The service was amazing and attentive. The wine was…read moredelicious, and the food... The food was outstanding. I would come back to Venice just to eat the food. My fiance and I had just gotten engaged a few days prior to eating here and this was a great spot to celebrate. We had prawns, lemon linguine, rack of lamb, and fried fish. All of it was to die for. The ambiance is incredible - I can't say enough good things about this spot.

Still one of the very best restaurants in Venice. Excellent food and service in a relaxed setting…read more Convenient to the Biennale venues but worth the trip from elsewhere in the city.

What a wonderful meal at Al Covo trying the tasting menu. We walked in around noon to see if they…read morecould take us without a reservation and were told to come back in half an hour when they open. So we wondered un the area and went back at opening time. The service was excellent and the food was even better. All the seafood was so fresh. Ending with the wild strawberries was perfect. Definitely go if you can. We were going to make reservations earlier in our travels but didn't know exactly when and where we would be so we didn't give out credit card info to secure a reservation.