Sora Al Ponte

If you have a limited time and meal periods in Venice, please DON’T visit this restaurant. It’s very expensive and the food is meh — just average at best. We ordered a pizza, tagliatelle al salmone and a tortellini pasta dish. The pizza was the winner. However, the food (quality and portions) is similar to what you would expect at restaurant that costs ½ as much. Pasta was somewhat oily (the salmone pasta) and the tortellini did not taste as if it was homemade. The restaurant charges 2.50 E pp cover charge PLUS 13% service and then they expect you to tip the server. For 60 E dinner, you expect so much more that what we got. Much better to tuck into a small restaurant somewhere. Save to high dollar experience for a place that is much better.

Avoid this place. We only had a pizza so I can’t give input on food, but it is the extra charges that give this 1 star. Only place we were charged a seating charge, which was bad but I guess not unheard of in Venice. The real killer was the currency conversion charge on my credit card. In small print it says I was offered to an option of currency payment and accepted to pay in dollars at a rate mark up. Didn’t notice this until we got home. This Is a new one I have never seen before.
STAY AWAY.

We were lured in by the fairly low priced two course lunch menu. The first course of pasta was pretty good but the second course of chicken for my husband and calamari friti for me were awful. I’m seriously thinking the calamari was the counterfit kind… look that up it’s gross. Europe in general has such great chicken, I couldn’t believe how bland my husband’s chicken tasted. Then the bill arrived with the unexpected cover charge and service charge and suddenly we had a very disappointing and expensive lunch.

This restaurant is a total rip off and I would avoid even if you felt like you were going to pass out due to hunger!
We went here on our last night in Venice due to not being able to get in to our chosen restaurant.
The menu looked good and cheap! How very wrong we were! The seabass that was priced at 6.50 (no mention of this being per gram) actually came to a whopping € 53 as did the sea bream at € 51 therefore paying € 104 for a bit of fish!
The service was just as horrendous, the waiters looked like they were going to fall asleep and couldn’t wait for you to leave!
I wouldn’t have minded if the fish was presented nicely and the service was good but it wasn’t at all so I would definitely avoid at all costs!

One of the most consistent, cozy, wonderful restaurants in Venice. Nestled away atop a small bridge near the fish market, just past The Rialto, it is an excellent location. The same friendly staff has been here for years and always make me feel welcome. My favorite aspect is the atmosphere. It is dark and cozy, with the exposed beam ceilings Venice is so well know for. They have a very nice wine list, offering a wide variety of selections at reasonable (for Venice) prices.
Best things to order: Either I, (or some of the people who visit each week and year after year wish to return to this restaurant) have tried pretty much everything on the menu! The fish is amazing! Turbot is my favorite. A couple of nights ago I had the veal scaloppina with lemon! Super tender and amazing! The filet with balsamic also another great choice. The tagliatelle with shrimp and zucchini equally as good. There is something to be said for a restaurant with the ability to provide great, consistent meals!
I have been a frequent visitor to Venice for many years. I am now spending winters in Venice, escaping the tourist barrage and being able to enjoy the more peaceful side of Venice. This is one of my favorite restaurants, I eat there at least 4 times per week. Never have I received a bad meal, or bad service as stated in previous reviews. (I very rarely write a review of a restaurant, but this one deserves it, considering the ridiculousness of the previous reviews) If you are a serious budget conscious traveler I highly recommend that you stay out of Venice, or ANY other major tourist destination. EVERYWHERE in Venice have cover charges, it is just the way things are. In the summer they are higher of course, but in the fall and winter I do not feel 2.5 Euros is a bad charge. The costs of doing business in Venice is extremely high!

The waiter was very very rude, the lobster salad had more shells than meat, and on top of all that I had to pay 13% service fee of $ 5.12 euro and a table fee of $ 5 euro. Don’t waste your money there are many better options in Venice.

Part of our experience was our own fault. When we looked at the «prix fixe/​tourist menu» the prices seemed reasonable and many other restaurants in the area had said that their tourist menu included coperto (cover charge which is common), and servezio (tip). I think we assumed this one did as well. Not at all! Coperto was 3 Euro per person and tip was not included and automatically added at 12%. OK, that was our fault for not noticing that those words weren’t there. On the other hand once we gave them our credit card, he rang it thru on AMERICAN Dollars without giving us a choice, which meant an extra 3% service charge.
The food was fine. Not fabulous, not horrible. But the overall exprience was horrible. Our total bill for 3 people for lunch on the tourist menu ended up being $ 106. Which really was insane for this place. Dined there Sept 2013.
Skip this place!

Ostaria Sora al Ponte
Si vous souhaitez goûter à la vraie cuisine vénitienne il n’y a pas à hésiter l’Ostaria Sora al Ponte (sur le Pont) est à choisir. L’accueil est authentique à la différence de bien d’autres restaurants à Venise. Il est surtout fréquenté par des italiens qui viennent consommer l’apéro au comptoir car c’est également un bar à vin. Le personnel est connaisseur en vin, et vous fait partager ses connaissances en la matière. La cuisine est raffinée et composée presque exclusivement de poissons et crustacés. Il existe bien des choix en viande mais c’est limité. Attention ! L’Osteria est fermée le lundi et pour cause le marché aux Poissons à proximité est également fermé. Donc c’est un gage de fraicheur. L’accès est très facile, il suffit à partir du Pont Rialto d’aller tout droit en remontant un dédale de rues dans le quartier San Polo. Si vous parlez la langue de Dante vous serez encore mieux accueillis.

Un restaurant authentique
Quand vous allez dans une ville touristique comme Venise, vous avez souvent l’appréhension de choisir un restaurant «pour touristes», en d’autres termes cher et insipide. Pour éviter cela, tout au moins pour la ville de la lagune, je vous conseille cette Ostaria. Proche du fameux pont (Rialto) bien que perdu dans le dédale des petites ruelles, vous arriverez dans un lieu authentique. En effet, ici les italiens sont en majorité et la nourriture typique de Venise. Je vous conseille en tout cas de réserver à l’avance car nous avons pour notre part attendu un certain temps. Beaucoup de poissons et de crustacés mais aussi de la viande. Dans tous les cas c’est une cuisine simple mais très bonne. Les desserts sont eux aussi du même acabit ce qui permet de finir sur une bonne impression. Quant au service il est de qualité bien que sans fioriture. Une adresse à retenir pour tous ceux souhaitant sortir des sentiers battus (autour de la place San Marco).