Food was IMPECCABLE. We had the caprese, lasagna and scallops with asparagus pasta. Nothing had a flaw. So yummy, so classic. Service was quick and the sweet lady running it was so knowledgeable and kind. Ambiance is great, very small and intimate and worth the walk if you're staying closer to the Basilica! At the table, my mom said she would give it a 22/10. She's a tough critic! read more

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Great little local osteria. Very friendly, cosy and welcoming. Delicious local dishes. Especially loved the baccala. Everything great though. read more

Excellent service. Excellent food. We were in a group of seven and everyone's plate was reported delicious with several confirmed by me. Over a decade ago I tried what I considered the best lasagna in Brooklyn, N.Y. which ruined lasagna for me forever. Until I tried the lasagna here which brought back faith in tasting other great lasagna elsewhere. read more

I lead a group of 11 people through Venice to this location, only to be treated rudely when we walked in and I asked if they could accommodate a group of 11. GRANTED, this place is small-ish, but certainly can (could) accommodate a group this size. Instead, the lady (see picture) gave me a rude attitude and said our group would crush her kitchen. I would have been fine with this if it was relayed in a polite manner. No loss, we found an outstanding alternative. read more

Came to have our last meal in Venice before heading back to Miami. Small place but great food. Service was awesome she helped us with her recommendations and they were all delicious. Had the Lasagna which was Amazing and wife had the ravioli with mushrooms and some sauce which she loved my daughter had the pasta stuffed with Sea bass which she loved. Over all VERY GOOD AND NOT TOURISTY. read more

Osteria Alla Staffa - Menu cover photo - Venetian Near Me - Venezia, VE

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Small cozy restaurant. Feels very local There were some locals eating there. Not very much tourists read more

Charming establishment. They do accept credit cards now btw. My boyfriend and I came here for dinner and luckily did not need reservations. I ordered the squid ink ravioli and my boyfriend had the fish platter. Food presentation was beautiful and most importantly, the food was delicious. I highly recommend the ravioli. Service was great. People were friendly. read more

Osteria Alla Staffa - Squid ink ravioli- almost too beautiful to eat - Venetian Near Me - Venezia, VE

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Note that this place is cash only! There is an ATM machine that's a 2 minute walk away though. A little difficult to find since it's nestled amongst the alleys and there's not much data in the area. Also, no service or wifi inside. Really cute interior that's styled like a home and the wait staff are very friendly and speak good English. Clientele is mainly Americans but the food is still amazing and inexpensive. The waiter is super knowledgeable about wines and can recommend a good bottle. We got the half liter house wine for $12, which is pretty good. Grilled fish sampler alla straza ($25) - this was our appetizer and it had a variety of fish. There were three shrimp things, a few fish spreads for the breads, and octopus salad-esque things as well. Really delicious and definitely a must-get. Perfect size to share between 3 people. All of the other pastas were around ($15-$18): Black ink ravioli - this is stuffed with sea bass and a signature dish of theirs. Comes with four raviolis, which is more than enough. There is also a generous amount of saffron on top. I thought the inside was a little dry (probably should dip it more in the sauce), but the flavor was good. Ink pasta - huge portion, tastes as expected! Tagliatelle with local scallops and cherry tomatoes - this was delicious - especially the cherry tomatoes. You can tell that the pasta is very fresh and the sauce is creamy, but not heavy. Definitely would come back to this place in the future! read more

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A Venice gem . We started with warm octopus salad, lil octopus but very good. Sea bass ravioli with creamy saffron sauce. Squid ink pasta with cuttlefish (similar to squid), lil salty but good. Finished with the amazing white chocolate soufflé. And a bottle of water total costed 66 euros. read more

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To call this place a "hidden gem" wouldn't do it justice. Aside from being the best restaurant in the Castello district, it is probably one of the best restaurants in Venezia. The food is a mix of traditional Venetian plates, and more inventive plates that still stick to using traditional Venetian ingredients. We started off with a plate of Venetian dried meats and cheeses which were all fantastic and favorably portioned. For primi we had what was the highlight of the meal (you'll see other reviews make mention of it as well) - the black ravioli filled with sea bream. I have eaten at quite a few restaurants of varying Michelin stars, and this plate could easily top any of those menus. We finished off with the Fegato alla Veneziana which was extremely tender and flavorful. For drink we enjoyed a reasonably priced and extremely tasty house red (valpolicella). The service was top and company was great. Improvements? None, everything was perfect. Recommendations? Get there EARLY. It is a very small restaurant and fills up quick. We look forward to our next trip to Venezia to eat here again. read more

Osteria Alla Staffa - Venetian Near Me - Venezia, VE

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There's a reason why there are a ton of reviews and photos of the squid ink ravioli. It's THAT good peeps, get it! The best dishes were the grilled scallops, saor and the squid ink ravioli. You can pass on the cuttlefish (sandy and muddy) and the pistachio stuffed squid (just ok). Service was very good as well. We went for lunch and had no issues grabbing a table. Reservations are a must for dinner though. read more

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We had the three course specials. They were delicious! (The cheaper one €35 and the €56 one). The cheaper one came with the squid ink with tender pieces of squid in it. So good! The other one came with squid ink ravioli stuffed with Branzino on a bed of saffron cream sauce. The best! read more

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I was bit confused about the information here on yelp. First they do not pick up phone calls. I was trying to make a reservation. So I decided to go make one in person, only to be told that they do not take a reservation. But the owner said, come between 6:30-7pm and you will be seated on the first round 90% of the time. Anyways I just decided to show up for lunch time. The place gets filled up since it is so small but there was never a line. The service could be slow since it is just one guy on the floor so be patient. He is very nice even when he gets very busy. I had the black raviolli with seabass some people said must have, and my husband ordered lasagna. We also had mixed seafood of the day as an appetizer and tiramisu and hot soufle for desserts. Must haves are tiramisu and the soufle! They were the best part of our meal. If you like raw or semi-cooked fish, then go for the mix seafood! It is very pretty and tasty. It does not fill you up, so good starter! The black raviolli and the lasagna were good but I had better pasta for sure. I kinda thought there might have been better items on the menu. All of this for almost $90...quite expensive for lunch, considering we didn't drink at all. But it is still worth checking out for the food and the service the owner provides! read more

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I was worried that we wouldn't get a table for lunch, because there are literally MAYBE 10 tables in the whole restaurant. It's a small place. But we got there right when it opened, and we got a table easily. I've read on other sites that you should probably make reservations for dinner, though, and I think that that's a good idea. We came here specifically for the baccala. You can see it displayed outside of their window -- it's one of their specialties. We got an assortment of baccala, including the mantecato and five others. It was delicious! We shared one serving, because we wanted to save room for the pasta al nero di seppia (squid ink spaghetti). The pasta al nero was great, cooked al dente. I'm glad I tried it, but I can't say it's my favorite dish in the whole world. But I had to try it because it's the favorite dish of a family member, so of course I had to at least try it. Just don't try to smile while chewing -- it makes your teeth (very temporarily) black! They have local beer on tap here, and we got a couple of pints of that. We had a long, leisurely lunch, and it was marvelous. I think they allow you 1.5 hours for lunch, and 2 hours for dinner, so you have lots of time to eat and enjoy. read more

A fun, small atmosphere. Maybe room for only about 30 people but it's definitely a great place to try. Cozy atmosphere with delicious seafood. read more

Osteria Alla Staffa - Cuddle fish ink pasta and assorted fried Adriatic seafood - Venetian Near Me - Venezia, VE

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This place was awesome! An adventurous stop in Venice brought us to this place. Got the squid ink pasta and my husband got the meat pasta and both of us were really satisfied. Hard to find because it's Venice (its a maze), but just follow your google maps and you'll be fine. We also ordered the grilled seafood plates and that one I really recommend. Would come back again if we go back to Venice! read more

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I am from the US but I have really high standards of food and I am in LOVE with this place!!! The food was authentic italian food that was out of this world. We enjoyed the homemade parpadelle pasta with duck ragu, spaghetti with squid ink and octopus, and clams and mussels. The food was fantastic and so was the dessert and coffee. The best part about this place was the owners who recommended us the best bottles of wine and were extremely sweet and humble. This place is somewhere you must go if you are in Venice. read more

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Why 5 stars? Because it was a great finale for our meals in Italy. --- --- --- With the great reviews here, we knew that we couldn't leave Venice without stopping by here. I tried calling to make a reservation, but the listed number wasn't working. Because we didn't have a ton to do, we just walked over to make a reservation in person. They weren't open yet, but I got the owner's attention and he came out to take my reservation. There are only two dinner seatings per night: 20 people at 7p and 20 people at 9p. We were lucky enough to get the last spot at 7p. I believe the same guy who took our reservation was our server. That, or he was the brother, because they looked very similar. But not only were we able to get reservations at the last minute, but we also were fortunate enough to be sat at the very first table that he visited to take orders from. This meant that we got our food super quick! Also, we were sat at communal tables and were next to a nice couple from Iowa. The conversation was great throughout the meal. As for what we ate and drank... House White Wine: Above average compared to the others we had in Italy, but not the best. Spritz: My wife loved this... I thought it tasted more like a wine cooler, which isn't my favorite thing to drink. Prosciutto and Mozzarella: The most expensive and fancy version of this appetizer that we had in Italy, but it was really great! Beef Ragu: My wife's entree - we thought it was a solid 4-star dish. Squid Ink Pasta: My entree - amazing. I loved every bite of it, and it got better and better as I progressed through the plate. Ciccheti: I wanted to try it because it was all displayed in the window and looked really great, but to be honest, it was just okay. Panna Cotta: Fairly average. Now you may be thinking, why did I give this place 5-stars when there were definitely plenty of 3-4 star items as a part of our meal. Well, I really did love our appetizer and my squid ink pasta, but the star of the show was... The Souffle: One of the best desserts I have ever eaten in my life. Absolute perfection on a plate. Epic. Life changing. All of the above. If you come here and order the proscuitto & mozarella as an appetizer, the squid ink pasta as an entree and the souffle as a dessert, you will be given eternal happiness. read more

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LOVED this place. It was a small, 20 person restaurant in the tiny streets of Venice and it was perfection. Three people work here. THREE. The chef left for like 15 minutes. Why? To go to the local market to get more fresh veggies and fruits to serve us with. Now that's my kind of cookin'! We got some cod with veggies. It was awesome. And for my meal I went with the sea bass ravioli, all house made of course. It was incredible. The sauce was something like I've never had before. And we got one of their cheese boards and it was amazing. All fresh cheeses with oil and balsamic. Nothing bad to say about this place. It was delicious and the service was great. read more

Osteria Alla Staffa - Cod salad with veggies. Really good. - Venetian Near Me - Venezia, VE

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Absolutely fantastic!! I ordered the tagliatelle with duck ragout. Delicious! The Caprese was the best we had in all of a Venice!! I can't wait to come back here!! read more

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Amazing food, service and environment. Our family enjoyed it very much! So glad we happened to walk by.

This was one of our favorite dinners in Venice. We happen to find this place tucked off a small side street. We arrived before they opened for dinner service which I suggest. This is only because it's a nice small eatery and will fill up fast. The interior is like an updated home feel. They have the curtains closed so you can enjoy eating. The staff was sooooo wonderful and hospitable. My boyfriend had the set dinner menu which was amazing (you'll see in the pics). I shared his food...of course! I had one of my faves the spaghetti with clams (Spaghetti alle vongole) which was perfect and the pasta was al dente. Seasoned perfectly. I had asked about a spirit they had there Grappa the staff was so sweet and brought me some to taste! I loved everything about this place and would def revisit. I felt like I was a guest at their home! The other dishes will be explained in the pics read more

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This place has the best squid ink pasta I've ever had! I came here around 6:45, a bit after it opened for dinner. There was no line and the waiter was very helpful in explaining what's their specialties and recommending drinks. I ordered a squid ink pasta with cuttlefish because i heard it originated from Venice, so it's kind of a must-try. I asked if the spaghetti was black, and the waiter explained to me that traditionally, this dish should be prepared with normal spaghetti but covered in the squid ink sauce, so it's completely black. The way I described, which was having squid ink in the spaghetti, could also work, but it wouldn't taste as good as this way. (Guess I'd been having unauthentic ones before.) It was served quickly, and as he said, it was delicious! Better than the ones with black spaghetti. Probably because the sauce was more fresh and by not blending them in the spaghetti, the flavors were not locked up inside. Their bread was also tasty! It tasted as if there was extra milk in it. I hate to say but I've been in Italy for nearly two weeks and all the bread I had had before was disappointing. They all tasted unfresh and unleavened. Sometimes they're even just bagged products. But this restaurant certainly had great bread. Great restaurant, definitely try get there early to beat the line! read more

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What a unique Venetian experience. This is a small intimate restaurant with great people working there. I felt like I entered their living room for dinner. The tables are close, the ambiance was fun & energetic. But most importantly the food was excellent! I had the spaghetti with prawns, porcini mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. The pasta was a la dente, the sauce was exquisite and the shrimp and veggies were so fresh and delicious. We will definitely be back to this restaurant, just such an enjoyable evening. And the real kicker... it was steps from our Airbnb! read more

Osteria Alla Staffa - Venetian Near Me - Venezia, VE

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The seabass ravioli! Is so unique and yummy! The cream sauce they use is heavenly, I literally wiped my plate clean! This is a small local Italian pasta shop and it gets packed so expect a wait. The service was prompt and the prices were fair. I highly recommend this place for a yummy pasta dish. THey're famous for their squid ink pasta, but be warned, it will turn your mouth black temporarily! read more

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Service was friendly and kind. Everything we ordered was simple, flavorful, and delicious. It's a tiny restaurant and was a bit warm, but cozy and cute overall. read more

Amazing experience waiters were very helpful and kind. Food was also delicious (100% recommend linguine with pesto).

Recommended! Make reservations, they are a MUST. This restaurant is small, 7 tables small, but it's worth it and you need to plan ahead to call ahead to get a reservation. Service was great and fast. The absolutely best thing we had here were the squid ink ravioli stuffed with fish and covered in a saffron cheese sauce. I didn't think it sounded amazing so my husband and I shared the appetizer and after the first bite I had wished we had each gotten our own. Get it. I had a good and tasty but frustrating main course. I ordered the whole grilled Branzino fish. I wished they had filleted it for me because I ended up pulling bones out all meal. As a novice to whole grilled fish, I didn't know how to fillet it myself or how to eat it without worrying about swallowing the bones. My husband enjoyed his fish as well. Fish and seafood are the specialties here, so take advantage of it. We weren't ever offered a dessert menu or dessert so we assumed they didn't have any but looking at other people's photos, there must be dessert options. I'd totally go back here for the ravioli alone and next time: no whole fish and I'll ask for a dessert menu. Make a reservation. read more

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We were looking for some great food that was not super-high priced. We found both here at Osteria Alla Staffa. It was about a 15 minute walk from the NW corner of St. Mark's Square. We arrived around 12:30 pm. The dining room is small. There were 8 tables that could seat about 20 people. There was only one couple there when we arrived but the place was packed by the time we left. Our waiter was attentive and spoke enough English to make our visit very pleasant. The menu was sub-titled in English - a big help for us in ordering. We ordered tall glasses of beer and a bottle of still water. For starters, I asked for a small plate of Spaghetti Bolagnaise and my wife ordered the Caprese salad. My small plate of spaghetti was a bowl and it was a larger serving that I expected. The spaghetti was perfect al dente and the bolagnaise was rich and flavorful. My wife's caprese salad was huge! It was also very good. For dinner, my wife ordered the Seafood Stuffed Black Ravioli. Her dish came with 4 large black raviolis in a yellow creamy sauce, flavored with Saffron. Her dish was very good. For dinner, I ordered a plate of Grilled Local Seafood. The plate was large and was nicely arranged with at least a half dozen variety of seafood items. As I needed to process (deshell / debone) some of the seafood before eating, I mostly ate my meal with my hands. My dish was also very good. Our total meal cost with food, water and beer was about $82 Euro. A bit more than we wanted to spend, but we made this our main meal and went all out. Totally worth the price. Note: They have free WiFi. This was important to us as we were mapping ourselves to a nearby water taxi stop and there was no cellular phone / data signal inside the restaurant. Our water showed me which WiFi network to connect to and he even typed in the password for me. read more

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The absolute best restaurant we tried while in Venice. I made a reservation ahead of time. We ordered the squid ink ravioli stuffed with sea bass & ricotta, lasagna, and an order of spaghetti with scallops. For dessert we ordered the soufflé white chocolate with pistachios. Everything was delicious! Our waitress was also very sweet & would do a great job at checking up on us every so often to see if we needed anything else. read more

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This place was truly charming. It's small. Only about 9 tables. We loved the open kitchen and how much fun the staff seemed to be having. There was another review that said it was cash only. We were happy to see they took credit cards. My husband and I split the ravioli with porcini and Asiago cheese. My husband said it's the best thing he has eaten on this trip. Our friend ordered the fried seafood mix. It was huge! I had the roast beef which was more like a steak and very flavorful. I'm giving them 4 stars because my husband didn't totally love his tuna. We would go back. Next time I want to try the lasagna! read more

Osteria Alla Staffa - Wine from the Venetto region - Venetian Near Me - Venezia, VE

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A friend of mine who recently visited Venice recommended this off-the-beaten path restaurant. I was fortunate it was open on a Sunday, as many restaurants in Venice are not. I tried to make reservations for 6:30pm (when they opened). They said they don't take reservations, but should be no problem at 6:30pm. Good thing I was on-time, as the restaurant was full by 6:35pm (restaurant only has seating for 26) with 10 people waiting. I got the warm octopus salad (pictured) as an antipasti which was one of the best seafood salads I have ever had. I also got the seabreem (bronzino) which came as a whole grilled fish (head and all) with some typical grilled vegetables on the side. The food was excellent and price very reasonable. Menus also in English and English spoken. Recommended. read more

Osteria Alla Staffa - Venetian Near Me - Venezia, VE

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Sea Bass Ravioli was the most unique and best tasting Italian seafood dish that I have ever had. Succulent & flavorful, I would order this over and over again. Lasagna came out sizzling on a hot plate. Best Lasagna ever. Restaurant was small but service was great and the staff made you feel at home. I will tell everyone to come visit this place. read more

Expensive but good food and excellent service. They made me carbonara even if it wasn't on the menu!

I'm fighting with myself on how to rate this place. We walked over to this place when it was supposed to open. The door/metal gate was half opened. Instead of opening the gate, they shut the gate without saying a word. Confused as it was already past the opening time, we walked away and debated if we should check back later. We decided to come back. If you are not ready to open for the day, don't open the gate. It wasn't a hot day so it wasn't like it was hot inside. They simply could've just say come back, we're not ready yet. When we came back, the waiter was cheerful but paid a lot of attention to another table. He also gave us a little attitude for having a stroller. The food was actually good. However, because of the attitude they gave us, I've taken a star away. read more

Wow. What amazing food, service, staff, and ambiance! If I return to Venice ever this will definitely be added to our itinerary...again! Our server was excellent, he helped us pair everything with the wine we chose. After dinner espresso and dessert were also swell! This place is a little hidden so you have to walk the paths of Venice a bit, however it perfectly works up an appetite! Try this place...you won't regret it! read more

Osteria Alla Staffa - Seafood linguini and squid ink ravioli..mmm! - Venetian Near Me - Venezia, VE

We had an amazing dinner at Osteria Alla Staffa, maybe one of the best in Venice. We ordered: * Sea Bass Ravioli in Saffron Sauce with Poppy Seeds -- probably one of my favorite raviolis ever * Lasagne Bolognese -- rich and comforting * Grigliatona Mista di Pescato del Giorno (Grilled Fresh Catch of the Day) -- loved the variety of fish and shellfish * Pistachio Cake -- I like pistachios, so of course I liked this cake The house white wine is crispy and light; it complements their seafood very well. The house espresso is rich and dark; it complements their desserts very well. I am not gluten-intolerant or allergic to seafood; I complement Osteria Alla Staffa very well. read more

This place was on the recommended list from my Airbnb host. It is tiny with only 11 tables but worth a wait!! I had the tagliolini pasta with Venetian sausage and pumpkin sauce which was amazing and a Spritz cocktail. I will eat there again. Lots of locals and Italians eating there, less touristy. read more

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We visited during off-season at the end of November and were able to walk right in and get a table for 4 - I think we had a good timing and a bit of luck because it is a tiny place, so it wouldn't hurt to make a booking. Our waiter was all smiles (and spoke English well - we try to speak our limited Italian but we're not very good) and the rest of the staff were friendly as well. The open kitchen also gives the restaurant a very intimate vibe. All the food was delicious with good sized portions. The menu is heavy with seafood and traditional venezian dishes. We had the Caprise salad, lasagna - not as good as my mom's but still tasty ;), tagliolini with sausage and chicory, spaghetti with scallops and artichoke, and spaghetti with local seafood - mussels, clams, langostines (a bit of work to eat, but worth it.) For dessert - a white chocolate souffle with pistachio and catalina crema (creme brulee). All this, and a .5 liter of house red for about €100. read more

Osteria Alla Staffa - spaghetti with seafood, lasagna, spaghetti with scallops & artichoke, tagliolini with sausage and chicory - Venetian Near Me - Venezia, VE

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This spot is so quaint and small, just precious! We liked how intimate the setting was and we enjoyed the food. Our palettes are not quite used to "true Italian cuisine" so there were many things on the menu we weren't prepared to dive into, but the lasagna was delicious and homemade from scratch, A+. They did not have a dessert menu but there food was well made and definitely fresh ingredients. read more

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