Venice Ristorante

The good - Valet parking - must have in LODO.  Service was very good.  Staff advised us of upcoming specials.  Staff had excellent knowledge of wines.  Fantastic food ingredients, preparation, and presentation.  Varied menu, with selections for everyone.  Very upscale decor.  Fascinating, open, glass enclosed wine cellar for viewing.  The best and largest wine selection that I have ever seen.  They had 4 pages of red wine available by the glass.  The red wine was also broken down by country and region.  Very reasonably priced.  The deserts were amazing.
The bad - We waited a long time for desert, but the place was 100% filled.  This is not  a place for a quiet date.  It is loud, but the place was 100% filled.  While it is very nice and upscale inside, it does not look like an Italian establishment.

I had not heard of this place until it popped up on Yelp during a search for Italian fare while planning a birthday outing.

Upon arriving, we were seated immediately near the windows, the interior was very dim so my eyes took a bit of time adjusting even though it was dark outside.  For a group of three, we sat at a small table with barely enough room for all the water and wine glasses. The tables are arranged tightly so that i literally bumped my elbow into the person seated behind me while removing my coat. - FYI, i don't think they have a coat check.

For drinks our waited definitely hinted at the costliest wine by the glass or Perrier if we wanted water.  My husband and I only wanted a glass of wine each so we ordered by the glass and daughter had iced tea.

As for an appetizer, we had a good laugh because we weren't exactly sure what it was we ordered to share between the three of us.  I mean we knew it consisted of a portobella mushroom but not sure exactly how it was prepared or how big.  our appetizer arrived on a long rectangular plate with the actual serving size about the slider hamburger bun.  we all looked up half expecting the rest - no worries, all two bites were tasty.

The entrees were excellent and we left nearly nothing on our plates.  I had a pasta dish with seafood.  The shrimp were just a bit overcooked however.  The sauce on all of our entrees were perfect.

We had tiramisu for dessert - yum!

Overall it was great but i would still pick Maggianos over this one.

I think this place is great.  It helps that Venice has an amazing happy hour.  The small plate menu that is available during happy hour is to die for.  My hands down favorite is the butternut squash ravioli and I've been craving it all day.  I've only had good experiences at Venice and recommend it.