Went there for some real good Italian food. I have to say I was a little disappointed. To me a nice Italian place means lots of good food in large portions. This place had good food but it was in small portion and priced pretty high. A shared appetizer, dinners, white wine and one shared dessert cost over $120 and I wasn't full. It is an upscale place. The taste of the food was decent. The staff was nice. We sat outside under an umbrella and it was raining. Very nice! If you wanna spend a lot of money go there. The place should have 4 $$$ signs not 2 $$
Review Source:Food was delicious!!! Â I had Spare Ribs that you could cut with a fork accompanied by creamy carrot risotto. Â The Coconut custard reminded me of a dish I would get back home in Hawaii. Â It was the perfect end to the meal. Â
The service was very friendly and all that you except from fine dining. Â
The prices were appropriate for the quality of the meal. Everything is homemade!
So why not 5 stars? Â The ambience could use a little work. The art work seemed to lack cohesiveness and the tables were really close together. Â The restaurant got a little loud.
But overall this is a great date night, good food, service and the price is right.
What a fabulous place. The food was excellent, we had roasted olives and salami plate, shared a flatbread for appetiser then for main I had the gnocchi with sausage which was delicious and DH had the filet. Cooked to perfection. To follow, the ice cream with sea salt (heaven) and panacotta. Oh and a limoncello (when in Rome..) We were celebrating so we pushed the boat out a little on the wine but had it not been for that we'd have spent $60 a head which isn't overly pricey for such great food. The service was spot on, Genevieve (sorry if I spelled that wrong!) was a wonderful host, guided us in our choices where we asked for it and was extremely friendly and knowledgeable without being over the top or intrusive. The only slight comment I'd make is that we sat at the bar which I really liked for people watching and seeing the food come out of the kitchen but I would have liked to be able to put my knees under it. However this is a really small point and in no way removes any stars - and it's our own fault for not booking a table!
We will definitely be back to enjoy again. Highly recommended and we thank all at due venti for a wonderful evening!
Ahh!! The boyfriend and I went to Due Venti on Valentine's Day, and it was such a nice treat. Everyone was so cheerful and polite. I'm glad we called and made a reservation on Monday, because the restaurant was full halfway through our dinner. We opted for liquor instead of wine, he got a very generous Maker's on the rocks, and I got a well-made gin and tonic. For antipasti, we had the cauliflower fritters with arugula and a tomato compote. I've had dreams of these fritters since. Stupid delicious. Creamy on the inside, crispy on the outside, perfect balance of flavors. Sigh.
For our main courses, he had the gnocchi with fresh San Marzano tomato sauce and fennel pork sausage. It was light, fresh and definitely fennel-y. I had braised short ribs with cabbage and roasted carrots and potatoes. The sauce that the ribs were braised in was a flavor explosion, savory, cinnamony, mm! The dish reminded me of New Year's day pork and sauerkraut.
For dessert, we shared a pate choux with a dark chocolate mousse, sliced strawberries, figs, basil and balsamic. We practically fought over the last few bites. I also tried the house-made limoncello, which was refreshing and strong!
Overall, a really nice meal, and I can't wait to go back.....and get more cauliflower fritters!!
What an amazingly unexpected surprise!
Delicious new-Italian superbly executed by a husband and wife team.
We asked for our waitress' recommendation on drinks, dinner and dessert. This is what happened:
Wine - a lovely Campofiorino
Antipasti - calamari with capers, pine nuts, raisins and farro
Principali - Chilean sea bass with arugula, goat cheese
Principali 2 - Braised rabbit ragu over crepe strips with a braising sauce
Dolci - pears poached in port with marscapone gelato, gorgonzola whipped cream and black pepper streusel
Dolci 2 - homemade caramel and fennel gelato with sea salt
I have been dreaming about the ragu and marscapone gelato nonstop since we went!
OH MY GOD was everything so good! And the waitress and owners were so nice!
An event of a dinner (reasonably priced), and we can't wait to come back!!!
We've been here twice so far and both times have been fantastic. Easily the best spot around. The cauliflower fritters were wonderful, as were the ricotta cheesecake appetizer and white bean spread with raisin bread. We split a mushroom & goat cheese souffle during our first visit and ordered it again last night, it was even better the second time around. They have a great spicy calamari appetizer too, totally original, with raisins, farro, pinenuts, and tomatos, so damn good. A standout was the butternut squash panzanella salad with feta, arugula, citrus, and pomegranate seeds. Everything there is homemade, and you can tell. The lemoncello they make is out of this world, and goes perfectly with their desserts. Plus, great service is so difficult to find these days, but this place has an amazing waitstaff!
Review Source:Best meal I have had in a few years! Â Amazing! Â The rabbit ragu was absolutely incredible!! Â The pasta is very fresh. Â The crostini provided on the cheese plate as well as the bread served before the meal is fresh baked each day onsite. Â The carmel gelato is worth it even if you are stuffed. Â My server had great suggestions for wine even split my last glass between me and a friend. Â I assume the folks who don't give this place five stars probably find olive garden "fancy".
Review Source:Love love love this place. Â So quaint and lovely tucked away in downtown Clawson... you would never expect such a great restaurant here.
Food is beautiful, servers are warm and knowledgeable. Â The chef is fantastically trained and executes everything brilliantly. Â This place is wonderful for anniversaries and birthdays or just any old date night. Â Love.
Service was great except for it was slow but that's understandable. Â Food was excellent! Â I love that everything is made in house. Â If you're not in a rush and want a nice slow dinner and enjoy your dining companion's company, then I think this is a great place for that. Â :) Â There were lots of people there when we went that was on a date. Â Very small place with warm colors, and seatings outside on the patio as well. Â
We ordered the salami and cheese plates to go with our wines. Â Both were excellent. Â This place serves just the right portions. Â Their house made bread baked fresh were so buttery and hot. Â Entrees, I had the stuffed squid and it was fabulous! Â My hubby had the sea bass which was also good. Â Dessert we each had coffee and shared the chocolate mousse salami. Â It was surprisingly good. Â
Definitely will be back for a future date night.
This place had a lot of potential with the nice sized patio and the friendly wait staff, but then we got the food. Â Since it was a little pricey for lunch, I thought it might be amazing, but after being rationed with my one piece of bread I had a feeling it was taking a turn for the worse. Â Then it happened, the bland meal appeared in front of me. Â The only reasoned I finished the meal was the fact the portion was very small and I was starving after being cut off from the bread. Â I had the braised short rib pasta, it was homemade but apparently they forgot to add the flavor. Â It was even sweeter when our party of 6 had the automatic 20% gratuity tacked on and could only split the check 4 ways. Â After dropping $20 on lunch and sipping on my succulent tap water, I wish I had just gone to A&W and got a float.
Review Source:Went to Due Venti for lunch the other day and was really not that impressed. Six guys from my office went and not one of us had a meal that had us wanting to come back for more.
The restaurant and staff were very courteous and helpful. The patio was beautiful. However a couple things that bothered me were there was an automatic gratuity of 20% for parties of 6 or more. I'm not saying she didn't deserve the 20% but the waitress just limited herself to the 20%. Also they can not break the check more than 4 times. For a group of 6 people whom half have cards, this was annoying trying to split the bill.
The food is authentic and made from scratch, but seemed kind of bland. I had the pasta with a braised short rib ragu. The pasta was good, but the meat had no spice or flavor to it. The homemade Cabetttia bread and lemon butter was delicious. Maybe it was just lunch but the portions were small, and a few of us left there still hungry.
Returned last night for my second visit (over a year? Â Wow...). Â Due Venti continues to have outstanding food and service and now has a full liquor license! Â That results in a greatly expanded wine list along with many more liquor and beer options.
Another great meal with outstanding service. Â I'm going to make sure I don't wait a year for another visit.
A very small place, with a nice outdoor patio, right next to Frittata. Â The interior feel is simple but cozy, with a cute little bar area arranged near the kitchen.
One thing that Italian food-seekers should be aware of, if they're going to Due Venti with any preconceptions, is that this is Northern Italian. Â Northern cooking in Italy often shares more with French cuisine than it does with simple, homestyle Southern Italian. Â There's more meat, more cream/butter, and a wider variety of herbs and vegetables. Â Things like cassoulet and rabbit ragu might seem strange on an Italian menu, but they're very much authentic in a Northern sense.
And Due Venti does it very well. Â The dishes are all very seasonal, and reflect the owners/chefs' frequent trips to Italy to check on the most recent trends. Â There's a comfort-food aspect to much of the menu -- things like braised lamb with home made ricotta gnocchi, white bean souffle, and the aforementioned cassoulet and rabbit ragu, but there's also sophistication in the preparations. Â The desserts are simple, but delicious.
In some of the dishes, there's a ton of flavor, and everything's cooked perfectly, in others there are a few misses. Â But that's the price of a menu that's always changing, where new and different ideas are always being tried. Â Not everything will work 100% according to plan, but most of it will.
A very nice, authentic change from the legion of homestyle Southern Italian-American places throughout Metro Detroit.
I was surprised to find so many reviews about due venti as every time I talk about it nobody seems to know what on earth I am talking about.
Due Venti is a true hidden gem of Clawson and I absolutely love it!
Due Venti is a small, cozy and romantic gourmet restaurant, Menu is seasonal and Italian influenced ( not really Italian but definitely European influenced), Â most of the ingredients they use are local. Every experience at Due venti has been an explosion of flavors.
Servers are very knowledgeable on the menu and they explain everything in a very detailed way (from ingredients, where they come from, preparation and taste), decent selection of wines (some Michigan made). Service overall is great, it could get a bit slow but given the quality of the food and the fact that everything is made from scratch I think it is understandable.
The food is amazing; ambience is cozy, romantic and classy. Definitely one of my favorite spots for a romantic foodie night out with hubby!
Reservation is recommended as the place is small and often full.
My best friend was in town for a rare visit and I wanted to treat her to a special dinner. Â I had walkd past Due Venti a thousand times and after scooping out the menu online, I decided that was where we were going to go.
It was late in the summer so we asked to be seated on the patio. Â The patio had such a nice vibe - Main Street isn't so busy that its distracting and the patio carries the vibe of the indoor portion of the restaurant quite nicely.
Jeffrey was our waiter that day and he is spectacular! Â Knowledgeable about the food and he listened to what we liked in a wine and picked the perfect wine. Â (The wine was so good, in fact, that I bought a case of it later to give her for Thanksgiving.)
After that, we ordered an appetizer - the fretelli - which we both savored and enjoyed immensely. Â We then had salads - I can't recall what salad she ordered, but I ordered a salad with heirloom tomatoes, watermelon, fresh mozzerella slices and a balsamic vinagarette sauce. Â My friend hates tomatoes and tried the salad in spite of this and LOVED it. Â For my main dish, I ordered a lobster ravioli that was just delightful. Â We rounded out with a dessert that was out of this world fantastic.
The service throughout the meal was just impeccible. Â As I said before, Jeffrey picked the perfect wine for us and helped select our meals based on our taste in wine. Â He offered fresh grated cheese and cracked pepper and let us know which meals "absolutely required" this addition. Â He was spot on every time.
I can't wait for the next occasion to go back!
Driving down Main street, approaching Clawson, i was on the hunt....scouting out places for lunch, when i noticed Due Venti was 'Now Open for Lunch' (as displayed on their sign).
No need to tell me twice! I quickly veered into the parking lot and jolted inside.
The restaurant is quaint & charming, and offers its patrons seasonal items, with a Northern Italian influence. I was hoping this dining experience would be better than my previous visit....and it was, thanks to a delectable meal!
Fritelle = an appetizer of cauliflower fritters topped with a garlic aioli sauce (very garlicky) and a side of tomato caponata. Not only was the caponata heavenly (a jar to go, per favore), but it added a great balance to the dish (offsetting the overly garlicized aioli). Serving size was enough for 2 people.
Panino Favorito = Perfetto! Everything about this sandwich was perfect! From the subtle hint of figs, to the smoked prosciutto, peppery arugala, smooth & creamy goat cheese, all nestled between two slices of some tasty rustic ciabatta bread and served with a side of kettle chips.
Grazie mille Due Venti era molto buono!
I have heard great things about Due Venti and decided to make a reservation and visit the restaurant. Upon arrival I noticed that making my reservation was a smart move due to the small space and by the popularity.
The menu was smaller but acceptable because of the quality of the ingredients and preparation time that I assume go into the dishes. The server knew a great deal about the restaurant and ingredients. Everything is local, organic, or imported because the emphasis is on quality.
The food is truly excellent and seasonal so the menu will probably change based on ingredients and time of year. The first course I enjoyed was the Fichi Ripiene. This was stuffed figs that had Sangiovese cured sausage and touch of basil and a warm goat cheese then finished with fig reduction. This was remarkable and truly one of the best things I have had in months.
The next dish was Ragu di coniglio. This was crepes (look like noodles) that was finished on top with pulled rabbit. The sauce was thyme and orange zest and main body butter and tomato. Then top with cheese and shaved black truffles. There were not any truffles on the dish but this did not take away from enjoying how tasty the dish was. There are black truffles that grow in Italy during the summer but, generally the harvesting season is late autumn and winter. This leads me to believe that they were canned or vacuumed pack truffles so they should have been in the dish.
My dinner partner enjoyed the Fritelle. This was cauliflower cakes served with garlic herb aioli on top and accented with caponata. This was comfort food that  had a playful spin. My partner thought they were under seasoned but, I thought she was being picky. The main coursed she ordered was the scallop dish that was lightly dusted with corn meal or bread crumbs and suateed. It also had brown butter pumpkin sauce which was good. The scallops were not that impressive but still enjoyable. They seemed a little expensive compared to some of the other options that I would have payed more for.
The restaurant was warm and very welcoming and had a really nice ambiance. We could tell that even though the space is small the owners spent close attention to detail. This also comes to light in there food. The servers were good. The main attraction is the food and rightfully so. This place is truly amazing and I enjoyed every minute of my experience. Honestly, one of the best places to dine for skillfully and thought out works of magic.
I don't give out 5 stars just because I always feel there is room for improvement. Â I'm pretty much thinking this is as good as it gets.
First - Service. Â EXCELLENT. Â We had Tracy tonight, very knowledgeable about the food, really friendly, attentive, but not overly so. Â She was great
Second - food. Â Where to start? Â I love that the menu is seasonal. Â They have a few things that stay on the menu, but most others change with the season to take advantage of the local bounty. Â I LOVE THIS!
We had a couple appetizers, the white anchovies (awesome) and the olives and vegetables. Â Seasonal veg on the plate, one of which was beets that were roasted and marinated in citrus and coriander. Â What a great combination I would have never thought to put together with beets. Â
Hubs had the sea bass, very tasty (maybe a little room for improvement on that dish as far as the crunch factor that was missing on the pistachio crust) but it was still delicious.
I had the Tagliatelle. Â Fresh pasta, smoked tomatoes and roasted red peppers with sausage made on site (as is pretty much everything including the bread). Â It was really good. Â Lots of complex flavors.
To finish it off, I had the peach tart with Amaretto gelato. Â - WOW. Â Even their decafe coffee was amazing. Â I really have nothing bad to say about this place. Â Tracy was very knowledgeable about the wines as well, I'm telling you that you need to try this restaurant. Â You will not be sorry.
Went with work colleagues for dinner in the middle of the week and enjoyed the experience. Â The appetizers were the highlight. Â Pasta dishes for the mains were quite large (ample for leftovers) and consistently good. Â
Service was a bit slow and took nearly 20 minutes for us to order our mains and then a long break between appetizers and mains as a result. Â Wine list was limited ... hand crafted seemed like a nice way of saying "we're still building the cellar" but that's understandable considering the recent liquor license.
Don't be put off by the location or surprised if you drive right by it the first time, it's a nice spot.
What a great experience! Â This local restaurant is small, but delivers on the flavors. Â They source their ingredients locally, even the wines, so you can feel good about supporting the local economy by eating here. Â The restaurant is fine dining, but isn't pretentious. Â The greeter was very friendly, and conversed with us while we waited for our table. Â Once seated, our waiter was great. Â Attentive, but not overly so. Â He knew the menu by heart, and gave us his recommendations.
I started with their winter salad, which consisted of arugala, citrus slices of orange and grapefruit, candied walnuts, and a slice of baked goat cheese. The salad was good size, and everything tasted great. Â My date had a creamy garlic soup which she said was wonderful.
For my entree, I had the espresso-crusted beef tenderloin.  This was one of the best steaks I've ever had.  The meat had a good crust on it, and it was cooked to a perfect medium rare.  The sweet potato-mascarpone  polenta was delicious, and a good diversion from the usual meat and potatoes.  Portion sizes were spot on, not too little and not too much.
Pricing was decent. Â Two appetizers, two entrees, and 3 glasses of wine for less than $100 with tip is not bad for a restaurant billed as fine dining.
Overall a pleasant experience, we will definitely be back to Due Venti. Â They change the menu with the seasons so I'm excited to see what they offer for spring.
Sancho was intrigued by Due Venti because the chef-owners are hand crafting the northern-Italian fare for their customers every night...and it is not Applebee's or Chili's, which is always a plus.
The setting is classy, but not stuffy. Our server was professional, and again...classy but not stuffy.
The menu items all sounded very good on the somewhat limited menu. One previous reviewer mentioned that Due Venti was out of a particular dish that they were again out of on the night we went...probably time to come up with a replacement dish? Although our server made apologies for the limited wine menu (they only have Michigan wines...by the glass only $$$), he did mention that they are in the process of obtaining a better liquor license and will expand the selection in the future. For now, Sancho does not discuss the flavors of Michigan wines in public.
Our food was very good. Tasty, tasty appetizers...they have Taleggio! The gnocchi tasted great, the sauce was silky and hearty. The ravioli was pretty good, a tiny heavy, if there had been a bit more brown butter sauce, a little lemon & more chopped fresh herbs it would have been outstanding. The poached pear dessert was excellent.
Due Venti shows promise to be one of Detroit's best. With minor tweaks to the menu and a good Sommelier, the future looks bright (but Sancho is hungry right now). Sancho liked Due Venti, with reservations...no pun.
It's been a long time since I've been this let down by a restaurant. It was a bad experience all around.
The Service:
Our server was pretentious and unhelpful. According to her everything on the menu was 'brilliant' (far from it, more below). Throughout the meal, I felt like we were an inconvenience. Â The most frustrating was that she never asked how the food was (bland, bad, more below), instead she would state "Everything's Wonderful," nod her head and disappear, before we could respond. The bill took nearly 45 minutes to arrive once we were finished. She repeatedly mentioned that "she had eaten everything on the menu" so it was a surprise that she could get behind it.
The Meal:
I'm sure this sounds drastic, but the meal had no redeeming qualities.
The soup was dull and flavorless, its best feature was the side of bread and mozzarella. We sent the soup back (though we were still charged for it). Â My pork chop was dry and the stuffing was bland. The side of tomato steamed onions had the feel of a teenager's first attempt in the kitchen.
To top it off, after we waited so long for the bill, we were rushed out  while the manager (I assume) waited at the door to lock it behind us.
I hate writing bad reviews, but I also hate being treated so poorly on a rare night-out.
What a gem! I had the pleasure of dining with an old friend here last night and I was beyond impressed with the ambiance, service and food.
Our server was fantastic; very pleasant and knowledgeable. He described the restaurant, menu, ingredients and wine list from memory. Not too imposing and great at recommending wines.
My friend had a Filet Mignon dish which was served with polenta and green beans - it looked amazing. I opted for the gnocchi with was served with prosciutto, mushrooms, some bitter greens in a butter sauce. The gnocchi was the best I'd ever had! Perfectly cooked, not chewy or dense - delicious little pillows! We both had the house salad to start which was really nice. Mixed greens, golden raisins, pine nuts and a slice of goat cheese. The bite of the goat cheese paired perfectly with the sweetness of the vinaigrette.
The wine list is limited, but they have specially-crafted wines from Fenn Valley Winery in Michigan.
Overall I was really impressed! So great to see a family-owned restaurant successfully operate in SE Michigan. I'll definitely be back!
LOVE Due Venti!!! Now I have a favorite Italian restaurant close to my neighborhood. What's even better is that it's the kind of place I can afford to go on a whim and get by without reservation nor spending a fortune!
Due Venti is definitely up there among the best italian restaurants I've had in greater Detroit. I can't say it's the most authentic, but still it's probably as close as it gets in this area. The other really good one is the Cafe Cortina in Farmington Hills but Due Venti wins me over with its location and cheaper price.
The restaurant itself is pretty casual and low key with warm-tone decor throughout and a patio for the summer time. Our server was extremely friendly and came across as very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the food ingredients and its preparation. I enjoyed discussions with him on the specials and listening to his recommendations. Apparently the highlight of the restaurant is that, apart from its northern Italian recipes, everything is made from scratch in the house, including its bread and butter. That really was a great thing to know! Since they have my favorite boylan sodas, I went for the grape flavor which turned out to be just the most delightful companion to my meal. The Watermelon Arugula Salad that I ordered was so fresh and delicious, perfect for summer, the sweetness of juice from the watermelon complement so well with the bitterness and freshness of the arugula; my boyfriend got a house salad, even though it was simple, the cheese and the aroma of the olive oil tell that the preparation was taken care at the details. For the main entree, I got the pollo and he got the sea bass. I usually don't order chicken at a good restaurant, mostly because I'd much rather test the cooking with something more interesting and versatile in taste. But their chicken didn't disappoint me! It was tender, juicy, came with a net of rustic vegetables and potato that were so flavorful, reminding me of village home cooking that I had in Italy. His sea bass was fantastic too, almost melt in the mouth and perfectly enhanced by the goat cheese that adorned the plate at just the right amount.
We both destroyed our meals really fast - happy with our full stomachs yet lamenting there's no space for the dessert any more. I would've totally tried the home-made fennel and sea salt sorbet!! How interesting it sounds isn't it. Oh well, that's another reason that I should rush back for my second meal at Due Venti very soon. : )
A side note, thumbs up for their service. Very welcoming, willing to help, and most importantly perfect pacing at bringing up the food. Three different waiters served our table, separately taking in charge the order, bringing the food, and cleaning of the table, but everything was handled quietly and professionally. I hardly noticed it. We were also left time to digest and talk between the appetizers and entrees, which made the experience much more enjoyable and relaxing. When we were leaving, I even got my left-overs wrapped up in a cute "gift-box" like to-go package. BONUS!!
Diet breaker!!!! I couldn't have picked a more exceptional place to do it too. I had some friends in from Chicago who always complain about where they were taken to eat in the past visits. I had to make sure to impress this time around so I chose Due Venti.
 On a Saturday at 6:00 they had room to accomidate 4 dressed down mid 20's who were clueless as to the fact that a reservation is recommended. We were seated quickly and got cozy in an instant in this dimly lit minimally (not fashionable minimallistic, but more normal italian joint swag, but toned down tastefully) decorated place. The atmosphere is nice, there were a fair few older groups dressed in a business casual scale niceness in there, but none of them looked twice at our t-shirt clad crew.
 Our waitress was over within a second to get things rolling. She was very knowledgable about the resturaunts theme and all the fine details of the food and drink offerings. On top of knowning whats going on she was over the top nice which has come to be somewhat rare with my dining experiences lately. Â
 On to the food and drink. The reisling I ordered was very nice, it has been a few weeks so I can't recall everything about it, but I remember it having a citrusiness to it, and not being too over-baringly sweet (which I find many michigan reislings to be). The homemade bread and butter was good. While the bread lacked any standout characteristics, the tomato basil butter was subtle, but very nice.
  The special for the day was Chicken 2 ways, a smoked leg and breast confit with some sort of carrot honey puree. 2 of our group ordered this, and were pleased by it, one gushing over the carrot honey puree.
 I ordered the gnocchi with raisins lentils pancetta and swiss chard covered in olive oil. The dish was fantastic! The ricotta gnoochi was a little denser than my own or other resturaunts (gnocchi is the first dish I try at any Italian place) which I found I enjoy more than the pillowy versions. Getting a fork full of all of it together was a wonderful balance of earthy, sweet, and robust flavors of all different textures. The pancetta always seemed to the be the last lingering flavor in your mouth. I thought that they put a few too many lentils in the dish, but I guess if you like them alot, shovel down, if not just push them to the side.
 All around it was a great experience of wonderful food, a decent atmosphere and stellar service. My friends from Chicago got back to their room satisfied. Place would probably make for a better date night than 4 old friends trying to catch up though.
Due Venti is, hands down, one of the best restaurants I've ever been to in my short-but-well-traveled life. Yes, their wine list is by no means extensive, but the wines are good AND it's not necessary to have an unnecessarily extensive wine list to enjoy a good dinner (you might even say that having an overly extensive wine list is a cover-up for mediocrity, but here is neither the time nor place to discuss that idea). Every time I've been to this restaurant, I've had an incomparable experience. The first time was last fall, and the more recent times have been this winter, so the menu has been different, but delicious nonetheless.
The fritelle, the cauliflower appetizer, I have had every time I've gone, and every time it has been superb. Breaded and fried, without the slightest trace of grease, and topped with a garlic aioli. Excellent. I had the eggplant my first time there, and I have to admit, it was basically just an eggplant lasagne. It was, though, the best eggplant lasagne I've ever had. I believe I had the cannoli for dessert my first time around, and that they were great as well.
The most recent visit was on Valentine's Day, and I had pistachio-encrusted sea bass with accoutrements. The sea bass was perfectly cooked, and the mint and chickpea salad was great, but the pistachio flavor wasn't really all there...which was fine by me, considering the other extensive merits of the dish. The star of the evening, though, was the dessert. Pears, poached in port, with mascarpone gelato, topped with a black pepper/brown sugar sauce and gorgonzola whipped cream. I'm typically not a fan of such complex dishes, but this was simply divine.
Due Venti is definitely a must-visit. No doubt about it.
Due Venti is certainly small - fifteen tables, max, and reservations are often a good idea.
If you're looking for a good Italian restaurant with above average food, excellent atmosphere, excellent staff, locally owned, and who uses locally grown food, then I would try Due Venti. Â It is a small restaurant, so you should call for reservations. Â The times I've been there, they were extremely busy and had to wait quite some time to sit down.
The most attractive piece to this place is the small quaint restaurant, fresh food, and excellent staff. Â Every time I've had dinner there, their staff has been exceptional. Â If you stick around and it slows down, the owners who are also the chefs will come around and talk to you about the meal. Â It's an opportunity to tell them what you think about their restaurant and their food.
Their dishes are all made from scratch including all their pastas. Â I recommend trying their garlic soup (if you're a garlic lover), fritelle (a cauliflower fritter), Torta della melenzana (baked eggplant, extremely flavorful), zeppole (handmade donuts with chocolate espresso sauce)
I believe it's a very nice place to have dinner, local food, local wine, and supporting our local business owners
Love this place! I have been in there several times to try their seasonal menus. I love that they focus on a small window of menu items, but there is always a variety to satisfy everyone. The soups are wonderful. I would highly suggest putting this on your list of places to try if you have not been there yet.
Review Source:Due Venti is the first restaurant that has really left me on the fence... 3 star or 4 star?... 4 star or 3 star?... split the difference with a 3.5 star?... to me that's a cop out.
So... (deep, cleansing breath)... 3 star it is.
I like the food at Due Venti. Â The Torta della Melenzana (their take on eggplant parmesan) was quite lovely. Â I find most Italian restaurants cake so much breading and cheese on the dish that the subtle flavor of the eggplant gets lost in the shuffle, but that isn't the case here. Â The butternut squash soup I had as a starter was also tasty albeit nothing spectacular. Â The cannoli were nice.
My rating is limited to 3 stars for the same reason I gave Cinco Lagos only 3 stars... there's just something about the menu that seems a little too safe to me. Â I understand that this is a small operation and as such, the selections must, at the very least, appear somewhat familiar to the population to draw them in. Â I also understand that by following the locavore credo (which I applaud) there will be some limitation to the ingredients available at any given time. Â I simply feel that restaurants of this calibre should be willing to serve something that is a little more risky than say, for example, a seafood offering based on scallops.
Perhaps that's not really what they aim to do at Due Venti. Â I suppose that not every place needs to push the envelope. Â As I said before, I like Due Venti... for now, it has the potential to be outstanding.
Quickie review.
It's proof that just because one went to the Culinary Institute of America, it doesn't mean you're going to make the most creative stuff. Â You might be technically competent, however. Â Or...maybe, that's not the point here.
Good food. Â I enjoy it. Â Pretty good for the price point.
Slow service. Â I'm guessing they need more cooks for the size of the place. Â IIRC, there were only two servers for the entire place when I was there.
Disappointing wine list. Â I wish I could BYOB. Â Need more choices, but I understand that their license limits them somewhat. Â Still, it would be great to have a greater variety to choose from. Â I appreciate the locavore concept kind of transferred to wine. Â I think I still would prefer to have more choices. Â One can only grow what one can grow in Michigan, I assume. Â For example, can one grow Nebbiolo in Michigan? Â (Not that a suitably delicious substitute can't be found for pairing a dish that might do well with a Barolo, for example...) Â So, I imagine that's going to be limiting from the aspect of wine pairings, but I can't say I'm going to be dogmatic about Italian wine with Italian food. Â Sometimes, however, pairing wine from a particular region to the food from there seems to work best. Â In any case, more variety opens up more possibilities.
Desserts have been quite good.
It's a great neighborhood find. Â It's decent. Â It's tasty. Â It's well done. Â I'll be back for sure. Â I've recommended the place too. Â Is it excellent? Â Umm...almost.
Ok, first things first....3.5 stars. WARNING-You cannot get anything here to drink but wine. Then the wine list is severely limited to 3 Michigan white wines and 3 Michigan red wines...anyone who knows anything about wines HAS to know that red wines from anywhere where that has a winter is going to suck and taste like acid. So if you want alcohol, stick to the whites...if you want beer or liquor you are screwed.
We had the cauliflower appetizer that has been the rave and it was quite good, sautéed and not over done...but nothing amazing about it. The basic house salad is served a la carte, but it's large and you won't feel jipped after paying 7 or 8 bucks for it. The homemade bread and homemade butter was a nice compliment to the apps-but they give you one piece of bread per person(read: they want you eating apps, not bread).
Entrees: I was VERY impressed with my husbands lamb chops...for 26 bucks he got 6 decent sized chops that were perfectly cooked and seasoned perfectly. I have never seen that quality of lamb anywhere near that price-EVER. I had the pistachio crusted seabass and it was as good as any of the best seafood places in the area-so mad props. Another person got some mushroom stuffed crepe things...he said they were great, but for 19 bucks I would imagine it to be a little steep.
Desserts-pretty good....I had the cannolis which were good, but not blow your mind good...our other dining companions enjoyed their blueberry tart. They did have a after dinner drink menu, but I didn't pay much attention to it...espresso, etc.
Overall, I did like it but 3.5 stars for the lame-o wine selection and no other booze...there was also no tiramisu on the dessert menu or anything with chocolate, so that was a dissapointment. I liked it but I am just not DYING to go back, ya know?? I am sure I will, but maybe I was having an off day myself...
Because my husband and I both love to cook we tend to be pretty tough critics when it comes to restaurants. We will only spend money on items that we can't make better ourselves. Really there is only a handful of restaurants in the area that we enjoy and Due Venti is one of them. It is a limited menu, but most things are fresh and local and absolutely delicious. And the menu is very reasonably priced. Their selection of Michigan wines are surprisingly nice too. My favorites are the menu are their salads - whatever is seasonal + the house. The gnocchi is also heavenly. We've been here 4-5 times most recently in mid-August. My husband had the rack of lamb which was cooked perfectly.
The atmosphere is cozy. The waitstaff friendly and attentive. We also enjoy that it is casual and comfortable. Not trendy or uppity but classic.
Nestled in cozy Clawson, you'll find a gem in Due Venti. It's an intimate and personable locale featuring original, homemade northern Italian flavors of lemon, garlic, olives, white wines and homemade pastas. While it's across the street from a drive-in A&W and next to the (wonderful) soft serve Dairy-O, the blue collar neighborhood belies the sophistication waiting inside.
We started with the meat and cheese plate. It was good fun to pick at, mix 'n match, etc. In addition to an interesting selection of meat and cheeses, Due Venti adds pickled cipollini onions and peppers to the mix - a nice touch. The chef's attention to acidity is something you'll see in later courses.
We followed with the house salad. Featuring candied walnuts, a lemon vinaigrette dressing and leafy greens, it was one of the best tasting house salads I've ever had. Creative and refreshing. Yum.
Now, Due Venti serves only wines by the glass from one select Michigan winery (the name escapes me - any Yelpers know?). I was concerned at first as Michigan wineries are most known for sweeter wines like Rieslings and fruit wines. However, the wines were great and surprised me. The sauvignon blanc and chardonnay were both delicious, drinkable and crisp. Both whites paired with our dishes very well and this is especially true for the salad.
For entrees, we had the pistachio crusted sea bass and homemade (to order) potato gnocchi. The fish was moist, well prepared and served with a great white wine sauce. The gnocchi were the perfect size, texture and served with fresh vegetables and light garlic sauce. We were impressed mightily with both.
We came this far - how about desert? I've seen other Yelpers reference the donuts and we did the same. A sweet, warm ending to the meal, they're delicious. The espresso chocolate dipping sauce is good in all the ways you want it to be.
To describe Due Venti in one word: cohesive. Hidden in Clawson is not just a good restaurant but a good concept. A kind of holistic vision guides the seasonal menu and it's Due Venti's  strength. The chef creates continuity between courses with impressive flavors. The courses pair well with and against each other, creating a comprehensive dining experience.
So it looks like the reviews of this place so far have been pretty bipolar. Â Fortunately, when I went it was an "up" night. Â
I came here for a date. Â Earlier in the day I tried making reservations for the evening, but they said they were full and then they asked for my phone number in case of a cancellation. Â I thought this was a nice gesture, but figured they wouldn't call back, so I made plans for Indian food.
Well, they did call back - right before we were about to leave. Â Since I had wanted to try this place for a while we headed to Clawson. Â
The atmosphere I would describe as earthly modern - if that's even a real term. Â The dining area is totally open, so you can do a little people watching if you're into that. Â Some of the tables are positioned a little close together, but nothing where you're bumping elbows with your neighbor or anything. Â
We ordered the cauliflower appetizer, which was pretty good. Â My date loved it I think. Â For main courses, I got the veal, which was excellent. Â The sauce (specifics escape me sorry) it came with complemented it perfectly and the cut had plenty of tasty fat. Â She ordered the pistachio encrusted sea bass. Â This was also very good - there are lot of ingredients in this dish, but they end up being subtle and come together quite well. Â Usually she doesn't finish everything she orders to protect her figure or whatever and I'm able to get the rest of it. Â No such luck this time. Â For dessert, we had the zeppole (italian donuts) with espresso chocolate sauce, which was good as well.
Don't come here expecting Olive Garden sized portions. Â There is no endless bread basket or bottomless can of Chef Boyardee or whatever. Â The portions are just enough I think. Â Price wise is it a little expensive? Â Yeah, maybe a little. Â But I think Due Venti's food and atmosphere is charming enough to offset this cost.
Very dissapointing overall!
We waited over 1 1/2 hours for our meal...we were walking out when the waiter brought our food out. Â We were starving and decised to stay.
The salad  and soup was very overpriced and had no flavor.  Our fresh pasta dish that took 1 1/2 hours to make was terrible.  The tomato sauce was not fresh and tasted like a can of tomato paste.
The other dishes were cold and just as bad.
When we complained to the hostess and waiter about how long it was taking to get our meals they told us "Everything is made fresh so it takes longer." Â We were overly unimpressed with the freshness of the meals.
I had high hopes for this restaurant and sad to say it ruined my Birthday dinner. Â Even after they cut 25% off the bill it was still too much to pay for the quality of food we received.
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