Zu meinem Geburtstag am 15.11.2024 hatte ich 10 Personen in die Enoteca Mascareta eingeladen. Es war die beste Entscheidung, die ich treffen konnte. Einen italienischen Freund hatte ich um eine Empfehlung gebeten und es nicht bereut. Zwar war ich zunächst etwas irritiert ob des unauffälligen Äußeren des Restaurants - so ganz anders als die zahlreichen Touristenlokale der Umgebung - es sollte sich jedoch als Garant erweisen für eine unverfälschte venezianische Essenskultur. Schon das Probe-Essen zwei Tage zuvor war ein Erlebnis der besonderen Art, zumindest für ein deutsches Touristenpaar, das nur wenig Italienisch spricht. Gigi, der Maestro und die Seele des Ganzen, hat uns mit Freude und Geduld zugehört und wertvolle Menü-Tipps gegeben, einschließlich überzeugender Weinempfehlungen. Am Geburtstagsabend übertraf das Menü dann alle unsere Erwartungen. Ein unerwarteter Gruß aus der Küche eröffnete den Abend und machte Lust auf mehr, auf mehr Meer. Dann der Frutti di Mare-Teller! Er war schon rein optisch ein kleines Kunstwerk und vom Geschmack her erst recht. Was für eine Vielfalt an Genüssen, fürs Auge und den Gaumen. Wie gut, dass wir Gigis Rat gefolgt sind und den Pasta-Gang ausgelassen haben. Der Secondo war nämlich die Krönung des Ganzen. Herrlich bunte Gemüsekörbchen um einen butterweichen Wolfsbarsch herum drapiert. Ein Gedicht... dazu ein perfekt passender Wein - und Brot und Wasser sowieso. Die Bedienung aufmerksam und zugewandt - der Maestro immer in Blickweite, um rechtzeitig eigenhändig Wein nachzuschenken. Wir fühlten uns richtig angenommen in diesem doch eher von Einheimischen besuchten kleinen Lokal. Eine schöne Auswahl an Desserts rundete das Ganze ab und Gigi entließ uns rundum zufrieden in die venezianische Volllmond-Nacht. Danke, Gigi, für dieses schöne Erlebnis. Wir kommen gerne wieder. Herzliche Grüße aus Berlin Ursula read more

My husband and I went here after a recommendation from a nearby shopkeeper. He said if looking for authentic, delicious pasta, this is the place. When we arrived the place was packed and we were expecting to get turned away with the words "sorry, no reservation, no space" as we've heard so much before on the island; but to our surprise they found a space for us! Sure it was sharing half a four-top with another couple, but we had no problem and luckily they did too. There seemed to only be two people working and they were rushing around. Even then so, we got our menus, order taken and food all in good timing. My husband and I ordered a half liter of the red wine, caprese salad, seafood pasta, liver and polenta and tiramisu. The salad with Buffalo mozzarella was wonderful! Cheese so milky and perfectly paired with the tomatoes. My husband loved his pasta (but wish the pasta was homemade). I ordered the liver because I heard it's a famous Venice dish. I honestly don't like liver much but with the addition of grilled onions, polenta and bread, it was pretty good. The tiramisu was light and delicious way to end the meal. If you can stand the tight space, definitely check this place out! read more

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Don't go here. I reviewed over 150 restaurants on Yelp and this is one of the worse. The toilet looks like in a house with junkies. I will not go into details. I sat at the door and many tourists were just left standing and ignored and worse, the owner would roll his eyes if some didn't understand his English. He seemed to really dislike Asians for this reason. My friend was given a really dirty wine glass (which was changed when he asked, but no apology). When I asked about a fish, I was ridiculed by the waiter as he seemed not to enjoy spending more than 10 seconds at my table. After 15 minutes I emptied my wine glass. I sat for one hour without a drink and wasn't asked if I want something else. This restaurant is a typical tourist trap. WiFi is working. Food portions rather small. read more

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Navigating through Venice to avoid tourist traps is not easy. So places like Al Mascaron are nice to know. Although full of tourists - of course - it's not focused on ripping them off. They just serve decent, tasty food in more or less affordable prices. Most of the dishes are based on fish or seafood and that's good. Their homemade pasta is worth trying as well as their house wine. read more

If I actually read or put stock in what Rick Steves writes, I would be blaming him for my poor experience. For sure, this isn't the typical tourist spot that Venice is littered with. But, it's just not very good either. The mixed seafood starter was "meh." The prosciutto and melon was ok, but for the €16 paid, it should knock my socks off. No way were the starters worth it. We got the lobster pasta for two (minimum for 2 people), and I'm glad we ended the meal at that. For €46, the lobster you got amounted to less than 1/4 of a lobster cut up and tossed with some nice, cheap pasta. It tasted ok, but I can't help but feel taken advantage of. Service was also hit and miss. Our order was taken quickly and delivered to the table in good time, but I had to request my check 3 times in about 20 minutes. That's really annoying and soured an already mediocre experience. I recommend you avoid this restaurant. There are better "non-tourist" places all over Venice. read more

Osteria Al Mascaron - One claw, four little chunks of lobster meat and a whole lot of empty shell fragments for €46. - Seafood Near Me - Venezia, VE

Came here right when they were about to close (almost 3pm), which normally we have the sense not to do, but in this case we lost track of time after wandering around in Venice and we were starving. They didn't seem to mind, and welcomed us in and gave us perfect service. If you do this in most places in the US, you can be sure you'll get some cold looks. We got an appetizer of assorted seafood and vegetables, sauteed cuttlefish, house wine, and a bottle of Italian beer which I've never seen before, called Morgana. Everything was great. The food here is a little on the pricey side (for what it is), which would be my only hesitation for coming back. read more

Osteria Al Mascaron - Cuttlefish prepared in their style (one of the few places on earth where you'll be able to eat this) - Seafood Near Me - Venezia, VE

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Osteria Al Mascaron came recommended from Rick Steve's guide book and we chose it for our last dinner in Venice. We luckily arrived and nabbed one of the remaining tables as it was quite busy. After a few minutes, we were given pre-printed menus that had a number of pasta options. The host didn't really seem too interested in discussing the menu options with us. I opted for the lobster pasta (per reviews) and the host was gracious enough to let me half the portion size. My husband decided on the bolognese. Our food came out a bit later after we had the chance to nibble on the stale bread. There was a lot of pasta to my dish and only a smattering of lobster meat. It was visually and taste-wise underwhelming. My husband's bolognese was bland and unremarkable. I heard the table behind us (tourists also who had come because of the same tour book) mention the same thing about the bolognese. We ended our meal with the panna cotta which was far too soft. The sauce was delicious but the panna cotta itself extremely bland. Also, at the end of our meal, we saw the host bringing fresh a fresh parmesan square to other tables and a grater. At no point during our dinner was this offered to us. I think the pasta dishes were a bit pricey given the quality of the dishes. The seafood antipasto items looked appealing though. Overall, we found the food and service to be quite disappointing. The decor was dark and dreary and the tables and chairs situated too close to each other. I expected much more from the establishment, because of the feature in the travel guide, and because of the number of patrons (albeit, 85% tourists). It was on a whole, a most disappointing last meal in Venice and I regretted not having chosen a better restaurant. read more

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Dinner here after touring the Doge's Palace and St. Mark's Square. Wasn't feeling too hungry so ordered the fish soup, bean soup and the spaghetti with mixed seafood. The bean soup was just a bit bland. Fish soup was really flavorful. Spaghetti with mixed seafood was cooked well, clams and mussels were great but the shrimp was small. Overall it was okay. A bit pricey but not too bad considering we were in Venice. read more

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When we asked a lifelong Venetian where to go to eat an amazing meal she suggested Al Mascaron. Locals know where to get great food right? Al Mascaron deserves all five stars and more. It is among my favorite culinary discoveries over a handful of trips to Europe. It's a small, casual establishment with 10+\- tables and the walls feature very cool local art and vintage photographs. The selections of wine were unique and very high quality. They serve one kind of beer. It's a local beer and it is great. The menu had approximately 10 antipastos/starters, 7 homemade pastas and 7-8 second course meat dishes. They also offered some additional veggie plates. The tables surrounding us were mixed with locals and some other visitors. Everyone was enjoying their meals. I could hear many ohhhhs and ahhhhs... lots of smiles and satisfied people. It was late, so we dined somewhat light. We had prosciutto and melon. The prosciutto was smokey and rich and the melon melted in my mouth. We also had homemade ravioli with asparagus and a locally made cheese (the name escapes me). It was the best ravioli I've ever eaten... very simple ingredients, very rich and complex taste. We drank the local beer and sparkling water. We finished our meal with a homemade panna cotta that was rich and creamy and out of this world. The service was professional and our waiter was patient and helpful. Although we are only visiting for four days, we do plan to return to try more of their menu or at least get the panna cotta again. ***not a good place to go if you are in a rush or want an obsequious waitstaff with fake smiles. They do not wait by the door to lure you in and they do not try to push anything on you. ***a great place to go if you are with close friends and you value authentic food with fresh ingredients. Relax and be patient. The food speaks for itself. read more

Walked by and was a sucker for all the food awards on the door. The Antipasto Misto appetizer was alright, but the vongole (spaghetti with baby clams) was so good I still think about it. Seafood pasta is what this place is all about. It's an authentic local joint, and the service was nice, until they tried to sneak in a vino charge in place of the water. read more

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In my second visit to Venice, I found Al Mascaron trying to find a different restaurant. In my first visit in late 2015 I had a great lunch at the same place. Unfortunately in this case, the dinner was not so great. As antipasto, I order prosciutto and cheese and was obvious that they were running out of prosciutto because it was to grease and in small pieces. My son ordered spaghetti with simple pomodoro and basílico and that was OK (pasta al dente and good pomodoro). My entree was bacalao venetian style with polenta. The plate was small and not so tasty. With low expectations we decided to order the tiramisu which was definitely the best part of the meal. read more

This restaurant really "surprised" me for the last night in Italy. The service is unbelievably RUDE!!! Do not choose this place if you are used to normal standard of service. Our waiter who claims to be the owner of the restaurant even told me: You are in Venice you know? We are not some high class restaurants!!! The food was just "meh" nothing special... People who do business with this kind of attitude will never last long anyway. read more

This is the kind of restaurant you want to have in Venice: Down to earth, good, local food. No thrills, just quality. The service is friendly and helpful even though the place is buzzing. Especially recommended for lovers of seafood. read more

Great place with great Venetian food. Service was great, and with great recommendation. Don't forget the dessert!

I've been to this place a few times. Basically whenever I'm in Venice. Al Mascaron was recommended to me (along with a less good place nearby) years ago by my aunt who had gone there. The first time I went a few years ago it was still relatively unknown. The service was just ok and the place itself was somewhat unremarkable and tucked away on a small "street". Long story short the only thing we could understand (not much English back then) was pasta with lobster for a minimum of two people, so that's what we ordered. What came out was a mound of pasta with a whole lobster sitting on top. So we picked out the lobster meat and mixed it into the pasta. Bottom line I would say this is arguably the best meal I've ever eaten. So whenever I go back that's what I get and I recommend you do the same. The desserts are also delicious. Now after reading the reviews here on Yelp I see this place is in the Rick Steves book. No offense to Rick but I'm sure this is the beginning of the end for this place. Already the prices are significantly higher than they were the first time I visited a few years ago. And I'm sure it's filled with tourists rather than a 50/50 mix of locals and tourists. But all that notwithstanding if you're in Venice you can't NOT go. The food in Venice in general isn't all that great at least compared to elsewhere in Italy probably because most places are tourist traps. The general rule is the further you get away from San Marco the better the food gets. But this place isn't that far away and still excellent. Go here and just imagine how good it was before it was "discovered". read more

If I could give this place 4.5 stars, that's what I'd give it. Firstly, they serve amazing food. We ordered the vegetable salad and the octopus salad for starters, and they complemented each other very nicely. The vegetables were diverse and fresh, while the octopus was equally fresh and flavourful. For main, we ordered a mix of different spaghetti dishes with crab, lobster, and clams/mussels/shrimps. They were all great and surprisingly differentiated; for example, the crab one was mild whilst the lobster one was much more fragrant and stronger in flavours. Secondly, they serve even more amazing desserts. You must have their tiramisu; it was just right on both the sweetness and the softness dimensions. We also ordered their espresso, which complemented the tiramisu well. I'd be willing to try out their other desserts, chance permitting. The restaurant is located close to Campo Santa Maria Formosa, which is a cozy and lively square, so I highly recommend coming to the area earlier to check out the hood before your meal. The alley where the restaurant is located is also full of cute and fun shops, so all in all, the perfect place for dinner AND an evening stroll! read more

Recommended by our hotel. Looked great and full of patrons; about 75% obvious tourists (including us). We had a small wait and were provided with complementary prosecco. Very nice waiter and food was good. We had the unfortunate incident that a waiter from another table removed 2 meals that were brought to our table that he felt should have been for his table. This was after we had placed our silverware on the plate. Despite this being unacceptable, an apology from the management would have lessened the incident. They were made aware of our dissatisfaction. Not the best experience on our 2 week vacation. read more

Felt like a local....service was good, food was on point. Will definitely come back here again read more

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Love the food, love the service, love the atmosphere!! Antipasto misto seafood plate is the best and freshest seafood...to be enjoyed. Finish meal with some house special limoncello. read more

Bottom line: Very very very good. Would go back again! Went here in september of 2011. Between two people, we had the ham and cheese appetizer, the lobster pasta with tomato sauce, a pepper pizza, and for dessert, wine with cookies. All very delicious, with ultra fresh ingredients and perfectly cooked. The highlight of the meal was hands down the lobster pasta. If i remember correctly, this was a seasonal dish with housemade pasta. Absolutely amazing. read more

After being turned away at another restaurant that was closing for the night, we decided to give this place a try. The owner was very nice and was happy to accommodate us. We ordered 3 different fish plates and the lobster pasta. All were VERY good. We even thought about ordering seconds. Will definitely come back next time we are in town. The dining room does get a little stuffy when crowded but the food is worth it! read more

Osteria Al Mascaron - Lobster pasta was amazing! - Seafood Near Me - Venezia, VE

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Liked this place very much! Food was fresh, atmosphere was lovely with art covered walls. Service was charming. read more

Osteria Al Mascaron - Seafood Near Me - Venezia, VE

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This quickly became our favorite restaurant in Venice after we happened to walk by and a true Venetian recommended it. Not a tourist trap and the food was authentic for a great price. House wine is delicious. Customer service was great and everyone there was incredibly hospitable. We got to meet the owner who was more than accommodating and our waiter even gave us tips for what to do during our time in Venice (ask for Gigi and Macho - they're both amazing). Highly recommend going here at least once during your stay in Venice! read more

Absolutely wonderful seafood meal that was authentic and not a tourist trap at all. At first I was leery because we walked in after 9 pm with no reservation and all tables occupied. No one acknowledged for about 10 minutes but once I caught what appeared to be the lead waiter's attention he told us to wait about 5 to 10 minutes. No am so happy we did ! We started with a mixed seafood antipasto that was to die for. My wife and I shared spaghetti alla vongole that was out of this world and the kids shared mixed seafood spaghetti with a generous portion of mussels, clams, shrimp. We had a hard time time deciding on or main course and Gabrielli, our waiter, said he would put together a massive mixed seafood platter for the 4 of us to share. Yum! Sea bass, baccala, langoustines, cuttlefish and a few other things with one piece being better than the next. Overall a great experience topped off with delicious panna cotta and complimentary limoncello. So happy we wondered in and a truly great meal! read more

The Lasagna was cold and the waiter did not have time for me ... Maybe because I was American and he was more interested in his Italian customers. We ordered charged water and probably got tap water in a fancy bottle. Not charged water ..... Stay away from this place ... read more

During the Venice Architectural Biennale, got recommended by a friend, getting there was a process but eventually we bumped into the place after seeing a crowd queuing with glasses of Proseco and white wine, then a waiter went out with another bottle and some glasses and passed it to one guest and said "have a drink while waiting for your table" Food was a superb experience of Italian comfort food and the house wine was acceptable, I would order a bottle from the wine list Lovely place must visit as a bucket list read more

delicious!!! great find just walking by. had tasty seafood soup, melt in your mouth caprese & lasagna bolognese. read more

Osteria Al Mascaron - Seafood Near Me - Venezia, VE

Excellent! I think the most characterizing fact about Mascaron is that the true Venetians frequent this place. The food is honest, fresh and delicious; the atmosphere is simple and authentic. I met both owners and learned that all food was cooked in house, fresh ingredients were purchased same day from the market, goods such as oil and wine were supplied by small artisan shops from all over Italy, and artwork was contributed by the local artists and the friends of the restaurant. Tip: if you're ordering from a guidebook, first tell your server what you like and ask for recommendations, they usually have great suggestions! If you speak some Italian, ask to be seated with the locals, you can learn a lot about Italy and its culture. I returned to Al Mascaron several times, and every time was a wonderful experience. read more

This place was very appealing to look at, and was packed. However, the food was not good, and the service was awful. The waiters were very dismissive and inattentive. The vegetarian plate as an appetizer was tasteless and overcooked. The pasta we had was nothing special- it was the worst pasta we have had in our 4 days in Italy, and we haven't even tried that hard to go to good places. At the end of the meal, the waiter ignored us as we tried to get a check, but then sat people down at our table WITH US in an obvious attempt to get us to leave. He did this to two other tables next to us as well. Not very welcoming! read more

Love it, love it, love it! Their pasta with seafood are some of the best tasting Italian food that I've ever had anywhere in Italy! This is definitely not a budget place but I would call this a mid-range place in terms of price. But considering the quality and freshness of the food this is a "do not miss" restaurant. Order the antipasto misto plate for the best, most delicious and freshest seafood anywhere. There are enough food for 2 people. The spaghetti is a delight and is like no spaghetti that I've ever tasted before in my life. We got the spaghetti ragu di carne and it arrived with no cheese and it tasted great. Minutes after we dug-in to our spaghetti our server came by with cheese and it completely changed the taste of the food for the better. The addition of the cheese gave a buttery, creamy taste to the spaghetti that makes me drool even as I think about it. Just like the antipasto there are enough spaghetti for 2 people. I love the homey feel of the place and there are drawings of seafood all over the walls. Not the least expensive of places but definitely worth the cost! read more

Osteria Al Mascaron - Handwritten menu. Probably changes almost every day. - Seafood Near Me - Venezia, VE

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This was the best meal I had while in Venice. Coming from a foodie city (SF) I have high expectations for Italian food. With the many touristy, sub-par places I felt for a few days that the Italian food I heard about all of my life was not real. Then I went here. The food, the wine--it was all good. And fresh. Go! read more

Would not recommend eating here. Ordered the lobster pasta and it was extremely dry and bland. Server was extremely rude. Only came here because the place we were originally going to was closed. Go elsewhere!!!! read more

We wanted to try a different restaurant on this street but after waiting a while for an open table, we ended up here. It was a pleasant experience! Stefano is a very nice man that was patient with us and all of the questions that we had (the menu wasn't very descriptive). He suggested we try the Venitian special of squid ink pasta with cuddle fish. We were very skeptical but wanted to give it a try. I'm glad we did but it wasn't my favorite dish ever. I had the ravioli of the day and it was lovely. Although it's not on the menu, they were preparing a large batch of seafood risotto for a private party and he put aside a portion especially for me which was wonderful. All in all, we each had 2 courses (my risotto was like a half-course portion), and the house wine and we spent about 75€ which is pretty standard in this type of restaurant. We were pleased but not blown away, Stefano was wonderful to us American visitors though! read more

We went here both of our nights in Venice. We had both the seafood pasta and clam spaghetti with their house wine. It is definitely lesser known among tourists, and we only knew about this restaurant because of Rick Steves. We loved it, and the atmosphere was great! read more

Wonderful seafood! One of the best places to eat in Venice. Attentive waitstaff, great wine selection, and the food! Some of the best seafood I've ever eaten. And the pasta was phenomenal. We got the pesto pasta and the seafood pasta. Both were wonderful. I suggest getting there earlier in the evening, as it does get pretty busy during peak hours. But other than that, this place is a gem among all the tourist traps that litter the streets of Venice. read more

Staff didn't acknowledge our presence. Took almost 2 hours to get a table. Took 30 mins to get menus. They said water was included then charged us. They said they'd bring bread, no bread. Not once did anyone say sorry for the inconvenience. AVOID and have a good night somewhere else. read more

The space was crowded and clearly attractive to a heavy tourist trade. While we sat there, we saw 3 different single women (one twenty-something Asian, one thirty-something blonde, one fifty-plus-something) eating alone. What that fully means, I don't know, but touristic comes to mind. An American man walked up to the host to ask for a business card and praised the place as being so good he'd already eaten there twice. The menu is relatively short and ordinary. Therefore the least ordinary things that we saw in Venice was what we ordered - lasagna (low on the tomato sauce and with a béchamel layering - likely prepared hours in advance and heated through, but it was very good) and sausage with herbed potatoes and polenta (salty but good - could've used a side of dijon). Not recommended, but not a bad place either. read more

Did not eat there but had the house wine which is absolutely fantastic and for 6 euros for half a liter a great price for venice. The food looked very nice but as said didn't eat there. Very authentic italian osteria read more

I agree to both positive and negative reviews listed so far. The waiters may appear rude but on the other hand, only US waiters are so polite. Initially I found the waiter rude but now I think he is just blunt (since he is so busy..). Outside US, in many countries, waiters are blunt. Their menu is almost exclusively seafood and focus on a handful of dishes (which are good signs). The amount is not great but the seasoning is very good - the subtle taste is what we cannot do at home. We had mixed seafood spaghetti (minimum 2 - sounded weird but we understood why) 15 euro each, grilled fish 19 euro, and fillet 19 euro. Interior has full of funny decorations. Overall, we are quite happy. As good as any 5 star yelp listings. read more

Last saturday! It was a very nice dinner, good fish and pasta and superb panacota and white wine. One has to share tavola with people, it ´s a chance to meet people from everywhere. read more