Osteria Da Fiore

It’s a long time Venice institution and has held a Michelin star for decades as well. While, to me, the finesse is a bit excessive and I prefer the older homey approach, Da Fiore is undeniably an amazing restaurant and is a beautiful option for a special night out with your loved one. There are plenty of Venetian staples, refined and made lighter and more upscale here, as well as plenty of new inventive dishes, less typical but still steeped in tradition. The crab meat was delightful, the cod (baccala) amazing as it can only be in Venice, the eel with herb sauce and bitter lettuce beautifully balanced and the tuna fresh and clean, made in a Cesar / panzanella style. The wine list here is amazing, the markups sometimes a touch high but it is a luxury restaurant in the end. As I said before, a gorgeous place for a special night out. Love it.

I’m not sure how this restaurant has received its online reputation, but as frequent fine diners all around the world, we were highly disappointed. It’s not even close to our expectation. The atmosphere is more like a family diner, the food was mediocre at best, and the service was clumsy and inefficient. We had to ask for so many things that should have been provided. We had a clumsy young boy serving us (poor thing, I’m sure he was doing his best), although the older gentleman helping and overseeing things was polite. However his wine recommendation was just the most expensive on the list; it was awful. I requested dry and full bodied. The wine we were served was full bodied, but dreadfully sweet. Hugely disappointing. The seating is uncomfortable. The table is small. The lighting is not appealing or warm. We were cold most of the meal, I added a sweater around my shoulders. The citrus dessert my husband ordered to clear his palate because he was feeling ill from the food, was barely citrus flavored, and my dessert (a Mille-feuille) was made with some kind of plain custard and was already looking floppy when served. It was completely flavorless. My main course was like visiting grandpa’s place for dinner. Basic slop. :( The meat was unpleasant, the mashed potato was tasteless and sloppy, and the brown ‘gravy’ poured all over it was not high end or an elegant reduction. I ate a little of each to be polite, but.. ugh. We were served an amuse bouche initially; both were different. My husband received some kind of salmon, and I received a marinated radicchio which was too tough to cut through or even bite through, it was terrible. We should’ve left at that point. We both felt ill afterwards. The final insult; after expressing disappointment in my husband’s dessert (to which they agreed was not a good flavor), and the wine (which I didn’t touch after one sip), they didn’t wipe those items from the bill, as any high quality restaurant would do with a genuine disappointment. They just apologized and took full (over) payment. We remained as polite as possible, but we would definitely never return here. This restaurant is probably suited to quite older people who like old fashioned and soft/ sloppy foods, or families who enjoy wasting money. We paid over €200 for very disappointing everything. I would definitely NOT recommend to anyone who is accustomed to actual fine dining. We were extremely disappointed to have been guided here by a ‘fine dining’ search. All part of the fun of traveling and trying new locations I guess. There are many, many beautiful and high end restaurants in Venice to savor, with great pleasure. Da Fiore is definitely not one of them.

The best aspect of our experience at Da Fiore is that the booking experience is efficient. The restaurant was not particularly memorable in any way. I concede that as South Africans we realize time and again that our standards for meals are very high; we pay far less in South Africa for much better quality food and get larger portions so Da Fiore in particular, when compared to the top restaurants in South Africa that are similarly priced, does not offer value for money. The food is okay at best, the service is professional, the prices are simply not justifiable. The clientele on the night that when we went, were predominantly conservative, old and foreign. It matched the feel of the restaurant - polished but of a bygone era.

Da Fiore has long been our favorite restaurant in Venice. We were happy to see it is still thriving, as we had not been back since the pandemic. The menu is seafood focused with great pasta dishes to start. We always have one of Chef Mara's amazing risotto dishes. This time followed by soft shell crabs. Excellent service, always. Every table in the restaurant was taken, most by locals. Highly recommended.

Particularly enjoyed the soft shell crabs fried with white polenta and green salad, and the tagliolini on gratin with langoustine and red radicchio from Chioggia, which tasted like mac and cheese.

We had a wonderful overall experience. The food and service were excellent! We were celebrating our 35th Wedding Anniversary and they truly made it an evening to remember. They sat us in the balcony which took our experience to another level. The tuna tartare and the tagliolini on gratin with langoustine and red radicchio from Chioggia were both outstanding. Yes, the wine list is a bit pricey but in line with similar higher end restaurants. We will be back!

Its a hidden gem, not even on the top restaurants. but from what i can see all the guest leave with a good satisfactory smile. Everything is in order from the starter to the palate tester,secondi and mains. The food is divine thats soothes my taste buds. All the staff is very attentive , Tatiana is a good staff she knows her wine well. Other waiters are super friendly. You pay for what you expect. Definitely worth it and highly recommendable.

Had a lovely meal with exceptional food and very attentive service.