"What a bizarre, disappointing experience. Note that accessing Venissa, if you are staying in the city of Venice, requires some effort. The island is about 45 minutes away from the city. You can access it via water taxi (about 150 euro each way of via the water bus (much more affordable; in the evening, it runs about once an hour . Based on what we understood about the restaurant, we were excited for the journey. We booked in the more casual bistro. What we ended up having was our worst dinner across several nights in Venice, with mediocre food and atrocious service. It was difficult, at times, to determine if the awful service was the result of arrogance, indifference, or incompetence. We arrived about 20 minutes before our booking time. The establishment was empty; after a little time, a gentleman met us and seemed irritated at our early arrival (note, others arrived earlier . Oh, you want an appertivo? was his question, as if having an apertivo prior to dinner was a bizarre request in a city known for its apertivo hour. We sat at an outdoor table and were, a few minutes later, presented menus including Venissa 's wine. Venissa is noted for its wines; we were excited to try them, being that the whole project is wine centric and much of the impetus for our entire trip around the Veneto region was to try its wines. During both our apertivo and in the dining room, it was extraordinarily difficult to extract any information about the wines from the staff. The most we got was that one was an orange white and that the more expensive one takes longer to make than the less expensive one. At 25 euro a glass, plus the artisanal nature of the product, we expected a bit more flair--tell us something about what you 're doing with the wines and why it 's special, about the grapes, about the flavors. Maybe ask if we like it! Perhaps suggest what might go with our food. We got none of this. Indeed, wine service at every other osteria we tried in Venice was better than Venissa 's. Just odd. I didn 't expect staff at a wine-focused restaurant to not want to engage about the wine. Our booking time passed; about 5 minutes later, we walked into the bistro. Oh, you want your table now? was the reaction, as if being seated at one 's booking time was an unusual request. We were then told to pick any table we wanted. The atmosphere, at least at dinner, stinks. The casual bistro 's large room is pretty, but there was only one other table of guests. The space had no energy, and the staff added none; they would disappear for long periods and their behavior defined going through the motions. We attempted to ask basic questions about the menu. For example, one dish was listed as being served with daily seasonings. We asked what these were and were met with a clueless expression and the ultimate answer of shrimp. We asked for the daily fish offering to be described and were told it was white. This was despite the staff seemingly having competent English. Again: arrogance, indifference, or incompetence? It was hard to tell. When we were served our food, the plates were placed in front of the wrong person. (A huge deal?, no, but not what you expect at an restaurant of this cost and reputation. The dishes were fine, but nothing special. Pumpkin spatzle was overpowered with herbs. Pappardelle needed salt. The fish, served with potatoes and zucchini, was passable but far from the best dish we enjoyed in Venice. Overall: disappointing. We took a long journey and spent more money than any other meal for a subpar experience: average food; interesting (enough wine, but poorly explained; and an empty dining room, made even more soulless by bizarrely poor service. Save yourself the trip and money and eat in the city."
