The staff was excellent. They were very efficient and pleasant. The food was outstanding. I felt like I was in Italy

I want in for lunch today, knowing there was a new owner, and I hadn't had a chance to get in there since then. I held my breath walking in the door, hoping to see the same beautiful nostalgic decor from decades past. To my delight, it looked beautifully the same, but soneobw better! There was beautiful music playing at just the right volume... Frank Sinatra, The Ronettes, and other sweet tunes. Heidi, my server, was excellent. She seems like she has worked there for awhile, and she handled MANY customers/tables with ease and grace. The food was EXCELLENT! I had spaghetti and meatballs. The spaghetti was piping hot, and there was no excess water under the pasta as sometimes happens in other establishments. Also, the price for my abundant, delicious meal, plus a glass of wine, was very reasonable. What a treasure in downtown Torrington, CT... a restaurant that has been open for 100 years! I spoke with a gentleman who, like me, had moved away but then came back to the area... and, like me, was so glad the decor, etc. was still the same! I hope they don't change a thing! ("If it ain't broke, don't fix it!") I will be back, and will be bringing my friends and family. Whay a delight! read more

Having recently found restaurant row in Torrington as well as being on my to do list from a recommendation, we decided to try the Venetian. Again, showing up on a Saturday night for our 7pm reservation we were promptly seated. While our server ended being very good, friendly, and knowledgeable about the CT restaurant scene, she clearly had too many tables to handle and had to make her own drinks that night due to a party in one of the back rooms. These factors lead to very slow service. Instead of ordering cocktails we ordered a bottle of wine which ended up not having. We accepted their replacement which ended up being fine. I started my meal with the pasta fagioli which was just ok. The pasta in the soup was overcooked and was mushy. I also like escarole in my pasta fagioli which was missing. For our main meal, we ordered the veal chop and beef ravioli. The ravioli was fine and the veal chop was ok. For desert we had the limoncello cake which was light and had nice lemon flavor to it. The restaurant fells like it could use a face lift and suffers from the Covid plastic separators between the booths. Overall it's ok, but probably not worth the trip for us. read more

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We celebrated my wife's birthday here and it was excellent! My family has been going here since my dad was a boy and it's always delicious. The ambiance is that of a rustic Italian village with beautiful murals on every wall. It's a very warm and welcoming restaurant and the staff is very nice & professional. The food is delicious, made with original recipes that they have been serving for 100 years! On top of all of this, te pricing is still very reasonable. Honestly, the Venetion is a staple in Torrington and an absolute must to visit. read more

Randomly chose this place for dinner while visiting CT. It is a little more formal than we expected and we were definitely the youngest one there by far. But the food and service were amazing! They start you off with some bread and butter and you get to choose a side of soup or salad with your pasta/entree. I got the linguini with clams and it was super clammy the way I like it. They were also super generous with the clams. The pasta was nice and al dente and just the right portion where I am super satisfied at the end. My friends got a shrimp scampi which was amazing and garlicky. Another friend got a chicken dish and the gravy was nice with the potatoes. Lastly not pictured was a pasta with chicken that was nice and citrusy. read more

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We enjoyed family lunch today. Quiet but we know it gets very busy for dinner. Old school atmosphere & all our favorites still on the menu. Our waitress was a one woman show from hostess to bartender to service. And all with a smile. Is the decor new or fancy, no, but that's not why we go out to eat. It's clean & the food is delicious. read more

Venetian Restaurant - Bolognese - Italian Near Me - Torrington, Connecticut

the new owner,Tracy, is fantastic. IYKYK she had some big shoes to fill and the communities expectations to maintain. The consistency of the food(was told they are all the original "secret recipes") and level of service were exactly what you would expect after 100 years. Bravo Tracy read more

I had my birthday dinner here tonight - 8 people. We were placed at quiet part of the restaurant at a round table, as requested for the reservation. The waitress's service was personable and professional! The food was delicious! I really appreciate the authentic, little Italy, traditional ambiance! It was excellent all around. read more

Went for lunch the other day and had their fresh pasta and it was fabulous! Salad was big enough to share and had a great time! Can't wait to go back. read more

Five of us arrived at 5:30 pm with reservations for 5:30. We were planning on having dinner before going to a 7:30 comedy show around the corner at the Warner theatre. We ordered drinks from the waitress. A few minutes later the waitress came back and asked if we would like to order. We knew what we wanted so we ordered and our drinks came a little after 6 pm. The restaurant was packed, and we were having good conversations and telling some jokes. At 6:20 the waitress said it was exceptionally busy and our order would take a while. We said not to worry we had a good amount of time before the show. At 6:50 we were getting concerned and the waitress said it would be a couple of minutes more for our food. A large table behind us was talking to their waitress and the manager and decided not to wait and left at 7:15, they were headed to the same show as we were. We decided to wait and at 7:27 our food was served. My wife had ordered the Cod and wanted no garlic on her meal. The $30 piece of Cod was the size of a deck of playing cards, there was a small scoop of potato, and the sauteed spinach had massive amounts of garlic and hot peppers in it. I had ordered the $27 Chicken Scapariello with no extra salt and no sausage. When it came there were 5 pieces of Chicken, each the size of a quarter, a small scoop of potato and sauteed spinach with the same seasoning as my wife's had. The other meals were acceptable, but not remarkable. We ate quickly and as we were getting ready to leave the manager came over and apologized and made excuses that the restaurant was busier than usual, she only has 2 cooks and a bunch of other things that were completely under her control. We got a small discount on the meal and scurried to the show, which was marvelous even though we arrived late. I will never again eat at the Venetian restaurant in Torrington CT. It may have been around for 100 years, but if this is the way it treats its customers it will not be around much longer. I gave the restaurant one star because there was no grade lower. read more

This was a wonderful experience! The food is great, gorgeous building and amazing service from Tracy! If you are in this town it is very much with visiting. read more

We had tickets at the warner theater and they accommodated us wonderfully. The food was as I remember it from way back!

This "sniffs in" around 3.5 stars... MEATBALL MOZZARELLA APPETIZER: -- moisture and flavor lacking on the meatball -- marinara sauce not great...lacked balance between sweet and sour -- not a noteworthy rendition RATING = B SALAD w/ITALIAN DRESSING: -- pretty good, fresh, moderately thick dressing RATING = A LINGUINI CARBONARA: -- not creamy -- no egg on top -- tiny bits of shrapnel of pancetta which was not even carmelized and flavorless -- this tasted more like alfredo dish and I hate alfredo -- they need to send this recipe back to the drawing board RATING = C- DESSERTS: -- they appear to use a dessert company that supplies box set options of upwards of 12 desserts to Italian restaurants...not bad but "it is what it is"...some hits and misses surely TIRAMISU: -- more creamy style and not the cakey variety RATING = A- SPUMONI ICE CREAM: -- super hard frozen texture -- decent RATING = B STAFF are kind and helpful. BOOTHS need major reno. They are tiny and not comfortable. read more

I have lived in the Torrington area for almost 20 years and have seen The Venetian driving by and wondered if it was good. Well tonight I finally went and can say it was probably the worst dining experience of my life. Walking in you are met with an almost "funeral home" smell which should have told me everything I needed to know about the place. I was there with a party of 5 with a reservation for dinner before a show at The Warner. We were promptly seated and from there it was all down hill. The waitress took our drink orders and disappeared for over 20 mins. She finally came back with one of the 5 drinks we asked for and then disappeared for another 20 mins. Someone from our party had to go prompt her to go to the bar to retrieve our drinks. At that point we were almost 40 mins into our visit when we finally ordered our meals. 3 from our party asked if there was a Caesar option available for salad with their meals. They were told yes, but with a "small upcharge." The "small up charge" is $12 a salad. $36 for 3 plates of warm lettuce. The soup of the day was Lentil Vegetable........ it was all uncooked vegetables with no lentils at all. At that point we placed a second drink order which proceeded to take another 30+ mins to arrive. We asked the hostess where our food was and her response was "we ask people to come early on show nights." We were there at 5pm. 2.5 hours before the show. How much earlier do they expect people to come? Dinner finally arrived shortly after the second round of drinks. The chicken parm was cold and had an awful aftertaste. Chicken Scarpiarello was pedestrian at best. Two orders of Veal Parm were mediocre. Our waitress was absolutely useless. When we asked about the $36 up charge she said "there was nothing she could do." She made no attempt to let a manager know. We paid our bill and left. We will never step foot in this place ever again and would advise you not to either. read more

This place was a time capsule from a bygone era - old school traditional restaurant. Decided on this place since it was within walking distance from the Warner Theater. A good size menu - many choices. Server must have been new - she did not tell us the specials - also did not check in on us after we started our meals - didn't ask us about our meals until we were done. No garnish in the cocktails. :( The food was good. It was tasty and seasoned well, but not the greatest presentation. The desserts were ok. There was just something missing - it just felt stale. I think we'd try it again, but would probably opt for something else to compare. read more

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Food is truly delicious and great service as a nice atmosphere but menu while nice they could have more items on it. Not much choice.

Food and service fantastic!! We were able to leave our car in their parking lot to attend the show at the Warner.

Apprehensive at first since the restaurant just changed hands. We have been going to the Venetian since the late '70s and enjoying Michael's hospitality. I can report that the food and ambiance remains wonderful in an 'old school' charming way. The only slight ding was the service, but I attribute that to a busy night and new staff becoming accustomed to the restaurant. I'll definitely be back to give it another go! read more

The food is good. Service and ambiance is nice. Cheryl is an excellent sever. Attentive and pleasant.

Great food, not a relaxed atmosphere, owner was very nice but the waitress was not very friendly. Overpriced.

One word: AMAZING! New owner is knocking it out of the park. Service, food, ambience everything was perfect! Ordered the goat cheese appetizer, had tons of beets and enough for 2 ppl. Delicious! The Salmon with zucchini noodles was cooked perfectly, the veal Parmesan was huge (sorry I forgot to take pics), even the salads that came with the meals were delicious. The bread too! Creme brulee was awesome as were the cappuccinos. I can't recommend this place enough. read more

Food is good but place is very outdated. Mostly booth for seating that are more uncomfortable than a coach seat on a long haul flight. They need to ditch the booths and put in nice 4 person tables. Also update the place to this century read more

The best restaurant in Litchfield County when considering all aspects of what makes for a great place to dine.

Old school Italian with pleasant, efficient staff and very good food. Shrimp scampi was a big hit Adjacent parking lot is a bonus.

I returned here yesterday when I was in town, bringing a guest following what was such a positive visit a month ago. What happened here...?! It's not the same place it was when I found it last month. The place was dead at 12:00 on Friday. We were the only two people eating there. No music. No lights. No take-out going on. They had no Coca Cola but went to the store to buy some. The unfriendly waitress told us she had just put bread in the oven and it would be out in a few minutes. Ten minutes later she came out with a basket of cold, hard, dry, stale bread and dumped on the table with a bottle of tasteless olive oil. Another 10 minutes later the came back with the Coke they had gone to buy. The antipasti had grey cold cuts on the plate, which we didn't eat. She seemed surprised that we didn't eat them. Everything took forever and a day, even though it was lunch time and we were the only two patrons. The penne a la vodka was mushy pasta swimming in watery, flavorless juice. The chicken Milanese was a paper-thin, slimy seemingly imitation chicken "cutlet" hidden in a half-inch of breading. The waitress was just plain unpleasant. Their tableside device for collecting payment had tipping presets that started at 20% for what was poor, unfriendly service, poor ambiance, and inedible food. I spent a hundred bucks on a throwaway lunch in this place, which has now been placed on the "DNR" list." I read elsewhere that the restaurant recently changed hands. I predict it will be closing imminently. Do yourself a favor, and stay away. read more

I've driven past the Venetian for years but never went in until recently. If that night is any indication, don't be put off if you walk inside and it's crazy busy. Not only did I have only a short wait for a table, but the craziness died down, was quite while I dined, and then started to pick up again when I left to see a show at the Warner. The food was delicious - the added Gorgonzola to my salad was incredibly generous, and the Carbonara (made sans peas) was so silky and rich, I wish I had some now. The interior front room looks extremely... classic, definitely a more traditional era but in a nice way. read more

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I love the Venetian. We usually go here for special occasions. This year we went for Mother's Day. It is always such a treat. Food is simple and delicious. Price point is high but it's worth it. Atmosphere is like stepping back in time to a 1960s supper club. I adore it. The food, the people, the atmosphere! Win! Win! read more

My boyfriend got very sick from eating the clams casino here I had lasagna it wasn't very good for the price i feel i could have made it better than them and extremely high prices to end up with food poisoning we won't come to this place again. Watch out for the seafood orders . read more

Went for the first time since Venetian was taken over by new owners. Very disappointed. Food was just okay, service was slow and not very friendly. On top of that, water glasses were never refilled. read more

2012- Small 5th anniversary dinner celebration for 6 prior to a show at The Warner. Owner/Manager sat us at round table in front. I had confirmed they would allow delivery of flowers/ balloons in advance. Menu was straightforward and classic. Veal, fish, pasta and chicken dishes executed perfectly. No table-side caesar salad or deviation on menu choices for the evening because of the show that night. (They were booked solid.) Waitress Patsy was great and kept up with our drink orders and requests for more bread, water, etc. For a memorable special occasion, I would go there again. read more

Service was beyond slow. Everyone was served at different times. Had to remind them about bread despite lots of butter on table. It finally came out towards end of meal. Food was blah. Seemed like 50's menu. read more

My husband and I had not been to the Venetian since the sale. When we arrived, we asked the host about the sale and Michael. He said things going well and Michael (former owner ) had taught the new owners recipes, etc. Also, Michael would stop in frequently to advise, share recipes, techniques, etc. Wow, the food was still amazing! We had linguine with fresh clams and also the Manicotti. Everything was amazing delicious. AND we saw that Michael was there! Such a special experience. Home made pasta. We also love the ambience. Very cozy and special. I highly recommend this restaurant. NOTE: prices for entrees higher than they were before, but understandably so. Check this restaurant out. Old fashioned yummy cuisine. read more

We love this restaurant, And my wife and I agreed we should frequent more often. The food is delicious, I had the chicken parm and my wife had the special which was baccala. Both delicious. I especially enjoy the Caesar Salad for two which is prepared next to your table. It's excellent and Mike, the proprietor of this restaurant prepares it. We had Lemon cake for desert with cappuccino. Delicious. A final note, this Italian restaurant reminds me of Patsy's in NYC. It's a restaurant I can picture where the late Frank Sinatra would be a regular. It's a must if you've never been. read more

Service was quite slow, but otherwise really outstanding food. Place needs a bit of updating, but the clientele is considerably older, and probably would not notice. Got the scampi w/shrimp and my girlfriend got the linguine carbonara; both we stellar. We also had the tableside Caesar salad, which was amazing. Great chianti, and espresso martinis. read more

Their is a waitress here, her name is Sara or Sarah i dont know how she spells it. But she is the most beautiful woman i have ever seen in my entire life. My family came here before the Matilda show, she was our waitress and i just couldnt help but notice her smile it really brings out her eyes. If she sees this, you are absolutely gorgeous. If anyone knows her I would hand down give her the world MY GOD read more

Came at noon with a party of 9 for my fathers birthday. Had a nice quiet table in the back room. The women who was our sever was not rude nor friendly. Food was okay, not worth the $350 bill. Limited vegetarian options. read more

Had New Year's Eve there and was happy. Service was slow, but waiter was very personable. Had nothing to do for the rest of the evening so we were in no rush. Pasta was homemade and awesome. Sauce great and portions really nice. The cocktail was served with no garnish, the appetizers came out one at a time and the Cesar salad table-side was a little lack luster, but really enjoyed the soup and bread. Ordered the cheesecake to go - no whip cream or berries and was disappointed, but would definitely be rushing back for more food and pasta and will skip dessert. Happy New Year! read more

Excellent Italian food with the F"fresh pasta. The pasta and gnocchi were the best we ever had. We loved the atmosphere as a through back including 50s music. It is a really treat. The artichoke appetizer is a must! read more

Considering there are new owners for the first time in 50 years, everything was still outstanding. You cant get Italian food like this anywhere else in Torrington and the surrounding towns. Also, our server, Casey, was one of the best we've ever had. She was extremely knowledgeable about the bar and the menu, was attentive, and even made us laugh. You don't get service like that very often these days. read more

We ended up at the Venetian quite by accident last weekend, and we could not have been more pleased with our experience there. The beautiful brick building and neon sign caught our attention, so we walked over and went in to see if they could seat us. We were immediately taken by the quaint interior, a step back in time and style to those classic Italian eateries you might find in NYC (and that is a compliment, not a diss). The staff and service were friendly and attentive, with perfect timing for our meal service. The table-side caesar and linguini carbonara were incredible. The atmosphere was perfect. I've already told several friends, and I already plan on going back. Highly recommended! read more