What a nice gem! The food was actually good and flavorful!…read more We went for lunch so a bit dead but heard is more a vibe at dinner! Service was good and servers was attentive. First meal in italy was not a bust!!

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!

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!

Very good Italian/ Venetian dishes. Not the basic food you get at other restaurants. Hidden gem…read more Delicious food. Dessert was devoured before pictured. Service was excellent. I highly recommend.

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

Was very good - 6 tables of outdoor seating - very old interior - in a good way. Chose outside -…read moreshared shrimp pasta & fish lasagna -both excellent - served with warm bread. Wine was served in a kool aid sized carafe - 2 on the house lemon cello arrived end of dinner . Good service

Friend recommended. Pasta dish was much spicier than expected and my appetiser was underwhelming…read more But ingredients were fresh and lovely outdoor seating. Service was inattentive & not communicative. Menu included 2 page manifesto against tourists. Menu is designed for sharing...probably better with a group?

Fantastic restaurant with authentic veneto cusine. Great…read moreseafood and pasta. Wonderful desserts. Highly recommend the restaurant especially the outdoor dining area on the canal for an intimate dinner.

Found this cute restaurant wondering about in Venice. We chose our seats, I like to see the action…read moreso sat next to the open kitchen area. Service was great the waiters came by often to check in on us. The food we had was good. The best part of this is the food arrived at normal time. Totally different than what I've been experiencing here in Italy so that was a great surprise.

I am writing this review because weeks/months after my visit, I still think about one dish in…read moreparticular: the seppie in nero, spuma di patate, paprika (cuttlefish in black ink, potato foam, paprika)--wow. My husband is from Toscana and found this restaurant for us on a day trip to Venezia. We live in Los Angeles. We're very judicious about where we spend our money at restaurants, but we will 1000% return here (multiple times) when we come back to Venezia. Modern spin to traditional dishes. Seems like it was designed for locals, but very friendly to tourists. The staff was very friendly, attentive, helpful. A+.

First dinner in Venice!! The restaurant is small so make reservations in advance. I will say this…read moreis one of the best food we had in Venice. It's too bad we were still jet lag and could not try the desserts. Service and food is really good.

We were on a tour by San Marco. I asked our guide for the restaurant he liked. "No, you don't want…read moreto eat where we eat ..." was his response. I assured him we did. He sent us here. And it was wonderful. I had a really authentic and delicious risotto plus a decent dry red wine (sorry, forget the name). It's a local "secret" but unlike other so called secret places, this one is not a tourist trap. Probably a 5 star but I hesitate to do that on one visit while I'm basking in the magic of Venice. My "secret" finding good local eateries is to ask a mature looking resident who might have a few extra pounds and ask for a restaurant. It has never failed from Omaha to Munich, Maranello to Stuttgart, Monaco to lake placid.

The service, food, and drinks were wonderful! It was so beautiful watching the gondolas float…read moreby and enjoying people watching while we enjoyed the great ambiance. I'm

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.