The Venetian Restaurant

Tried this place as it was open later and had decent reviews. Over all it was a very nice experience that my Girlfriend and I had! But a few things… first, it is VERY old school. We are in our 30’s and we were by far the youngest people in there. And everyone else had their Sunday best on (it wasn’t Sunday)… we did not. And it seemed like it was noticed. Not a bad thing, just good to know. But as it is very old school I could tell that if someone came in not looking the social norm there may be some odd looks and even served a bit differently.
The food was very good but again, old school Italian. The calamari is not fried, but it IS delicious! The ravioli was freshly made, the dressings home made, and veal was great. The décor is rather dated. It’s fine to keep it looking from the 40’s-50’s but it does not seem like it has been upkept extremely well. Overall a good experience though and I would recommend it.

A gem in Litchfield County (Torrington, ct.) it’s been there forever. Family owned and run. Mike D. Gets it done! Classic old school Italian (northern and southern) table side Caesar Salad, Dover sole, house made spaghettini with fileto di pomodoro sauce. The building and its interior are a time warp. Classic signage out front. We don’t go enough!

Never again!!! I truly cannot understand the people that have given this restaurant a good review. The pasta was frozen and it tasted like it. It may have been made on the premises as they claim but it is frozen for afterward. When I hear fresh pasta… that means to me… made that day and never frozen. My pasta dinner tasted freezer burned. The waitress admitted to us that this is how they do it. The owner was rude. As soon as he realized we were unhappy. he avoided us like the plague. Don’t waste your money

Besides the very friendly host, this place is horrendous. My SO and I were looking forward and unfortunately have never felt so disrespected at a restaurant. I was given glares and the waitress was incredibly rude, blaming a mix up on our food on us.
The food was lukewarm and small. The salad was drenched in its dressing. It was not an enjoyable experience.

I came here once with my husband (who has been countless times in the past) for an elegant date night. We had just returned from FL where we had stuffed ourselves with fresh seafood for over a week. This may be the reason for the 3 stars. I ordered something that I thought was standard Italian fare… The shrimp scampi. It was very disappointing to say the very least. The ¾ pound of angel hair was your typical Barilla brand, the 5 medium sized shrimp were bouncy over cooked with not as much garlic and butter as I hoped. This dish was very bland. For $ 22, it did not deliver flavor or quality. This was over a year ago and I have yet to give it a second try. We shall see.

Brought guests from San Francisco here one with an Italian background. Food is authentic «old world» Italian that you just can’t get anywhere. The owner Michael performs his magic tableside caesar salad and it was wonderful. I had veal and my wife had Dover Sole also filleted tableside by Michael and delicious. Our Italian friend had the house made ravioli and he said it was better than his mothers. Service was excellent yet unobtrusive. The warm home made Italian bread was also quite good. Try the chocolate mousse for dessert, it is also home made and the best anywhere. The Venetian never disappoints.

We’ve been here many times; sometimes for dinner and other times we’ve had parties here. Each time we’ve felt like very valued guests and were treated great. The food is fantastic and every dish has that homemade taste to it. Any pasta dish is out of this world, but I strongly recommend the linguine with clams and mussels. It’s definitely a dining experience every time you come. The only drawback is that at times the wait staff can be rather slow and tough to find.

I don’t know where these other people were but I found the chicken piccata nursing home quality. Very institutional. Maybe I ordered the wrong thing but the overall experience was at best mediocre. I should have tried the pasta? The salad got them the star but even that was uninspired. The waitress was cold and Gestapo-​like. She was on par with the food. Go elsewhere. They won’t care.

My husband and I took someone’s recommendation and wanted to try somewhere we haven’t been before so we decided to try this place. Big mistake. It was a Friday night, not too busy, we were seated and our waitress took a good 10 minutes before she greeted us and took our drink orders. After that, it took another 10 minutes to take our order. We started off with the calamari, it was served sautéed in a red sauce which was fine with us except it was Luke warm. That really turned us off. My husband got a salad with his entrée and I got the pasta fagioli soup and it was also like warm and barely had taste to it. Our entrees came, he had baked manicotti which was not a huge portion but it was just plopped on a plate so the presentation wasn’t great. He said his was not bad. I ordered chicken Marsala that came with potato and seasonal veggies. My potato was literally a peeled potato that was boiled and put on my plate. The veggies were really soggy and over cooked. My chicken had cold spots so I barely ate. The waitress tried to be nice but the waiting time and food taste and temperate really frustrated us. Needless to say, we skipped dessert and got out of there and will NOT be returning. For the prices, the food should have more taste and should be hot.

Excellent home made pasta, great service and comfortable atmosphere all for a moderate price

I have a couple of new notes. (And how disappointing to have to write this)
We went yesterday evening and even though we were first in the door of 3 parties, we were not sat first. We stood waiting for a table to be cleared for about 15 minutes while others were seated.
Service was very slow. She was polite (the server), but we had our menus closed on the end of the table and she knew we were ready to order, told us she’d be right back, and didn’t return to the table for 20 minutes after that to take our order.
My husband had a hat on (b/​c it’s winter!!! and also b/​c he didn’t have time to put gel in his hair so he just threw on a hat), and the owner of the restaurant asked him to take it off. I’m a firm believer in I’ll wear what I want, b/​c my money should be good everywhere. We didn’t make a stink out of it, but we were a little peeved when we got up to leave the restaurant and saw a woman sitting at a nearby table with a hat on…
I ordered the same thing as last time, the carbonara… and it was delicious again. I added chicken to it. Was surprised to see a $ 7 upcharge for chicken. Most restaurants charge just a few dollars to add more meat to the meal. Husband got the pollo parmigiana… ehhhh, he wasn’t a fan… and I tried it and it was just ok. Breading was soggy by the time it got to the table, and sauce was very bland and average.
We also had an upcharge for the hubby’s salad. Server ased if he’d like a little gorgonzola cheese on the salad and he said sure, thinking that some people just don’t like that taste on their salad so they ask in advance… but no, she failed to tell us they charge for it and it was added to the bill.
No room for dessert… so still have yet to give that a go!
All in all, the food is good here… but I really am a stickler on not judging people that are in your restaurant, and people should be able to wear whatever they want unless they have a specified dress code somewhere. We were the youngest couple in there just grabbing a nice quiet meal on a Sunday evening together… but we were not treated as well as the other customers in the place… for the kind of money they charge there they should improve on their customer service so that all patrons will want to return…

This is my favorite restaurant in the world — not kidding [and I’ve been to some great ones]. Family-​owned and operated by Michael and Fiorita DiLullo for many decades, and in the family before that, the Venetian is EXCEPTIONAL, cuisine extraordinaire, the owner and chef hail from Abruzzi and bring their Italian magic with them, as well as decades in New York’s finest. Charming ambience, lovely Italian murals on the walls, sweet bunkettes, wonderful waitresses who’ve been there a long time, and all the DiLullo family understands the meaning of excellent service. They pride themselves on doing the best they can, and that’s why they have survived here, when so many other restaurants have folded in this area. Do NOT miss a lunch or a dinner at the Venetian — you’ll be really happy you stopped in. It’s a FIND.

Quality in all respects! The Spaghettini al Filetto Pomodoro is over the top delicious! Stuffed Artichokes, Calamari Salad, Veal Piccata, Vegetable Ravioli and every item on the menu is superb! If you haven’t been … Go!

Classic style Italian restaurant with very nice food. The table-​side Caesar salad tasted great, and who even makes Caesar salad table-​side any more? The Veal Saltimboca melted in my mouth, but the dessert menu needs work. With so many Italian bakeries in Torrington, they should be able to bring in fresh desserts and drop all the frozen items. Very friendly, professional service.

Home made pasta folks at its best! I’m sure I’d have to go to Italy to have such authentic food as the Venetian has. And in this day and age, it’s rare to find. Even their salad dressings are home made — I had creamy italian and it’s to die for. There were so many great things on the menu it was hard to choose. That only means one thing, I’ll be going back again and again to try them all! I LOVE the Venetian restaurant and I’m a foodie so I know what I’m talking about. I was impressed beyond words! Can’t WAIT to go back, maybe tonight!!!

This has been our «go to» restaurant whenever visiting my hometown. Consistently good with many choices, all expertly prepared. Mike is the consummate host. Have enjoyed many fabulous meals over the years. Bravo!

Great food, friendly and adept wait staff in a 1960’s setting. From bread to dessert, everything freshly prepared. Moderate pricing for exceptional food and service.

Although we thought we’d be having pizza, we ended up having a lovely meal after a long day. The roasted peppers w/​mozzarella was seasoned perfectly — I wanted more! My children had the minestrone as an app and ate every bit, declaring it delicious. I had veal saltimboca, which I greatly enjoyed and my husband loved the seafood risotto. Desserts looked good, but we were full. Service was impeccable — and well timed. We’ll go back!

Located close to Rt 8 on the way to the Berkshires this charming old world Italian restaurant was a great find. The owner cmes to your table to make the ceasar salad. Fresh pasta, good service.

One of the best Italian restaurants in Connecticut. Everthing is homemade.