Venice’s Osteria alle Testiere

Well, the menu DOES seem expensive. http://www.osterialletestiere.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Menuengjune.pdf

The restaurant is very highly rated, and that carries over to the prices. It is currently the No. 1 rated seafood restaurant in all of Venice. I generally prefer less expensive, less hyped restaurants.

It is a tiny place and they only do two seatings a night. That is how they make their living. Appetizers cost as much as main dishes ( primi and seconding) ; all are around €24-29. It states right on the menu that you are expected to order two courses, appetizer plus either pasta or a main. But they let you order just the two appetizers and then pay and leave? Or maybe this was lunch?

I appreciate good food, but I really hate getting ripped off at overrated restaurants. After seeing that menu, I would have been really angry too!! LOL..

Presumably, you would have a menu to read before ordering your food, no?

I am not understanding why you were shocked and appalled when you "only ordered two appetizers and the bill was 60 euros". Surely you ordered from a menu ...... had you left your reading glasses in your hotel so did not see the prices? Or were the prices not on the menu? You say the restaurant is overpriced and for you maybe it is, but what is your reason for saying it is over rated? You only had "3 tiny scallops on a white plate" so how can a restaurant be judged over rated on 3 tiny scallops?

I'm also confused. Did you not look at the prices on the menu before you ordered?

I see you and your friend both posted your complaints on TA as well?

So you say there that you ordered the seafood mix appetizer from the Adriatic Sea for 28 euro, and your friend had the scallops appetizer for 24 euros. You also had a (small) beer for 8 euros. Well, there ya go: 60 euros, as priced on the menu.

Your friend (I assume) wrote on TA: "Nothing served with any dishes, just the seafood served..."

Appetizers at nice restaurants are not meals so portions being diminutive doesn't surprise me. Entrees being à la carte (not coming with other dishes) at a fine restaurant doesn't especially surprise me either. Shame you didn't have a great experience but, well...

Wonder how you got around the stated mandatory of 2 dishes per person unless that wasn't a requirement for lunch?

I see that chicksberry has sometimes replied on their other threads here - perhaps they will come back to discuss some of the comments made and clarify....

Was this lunch or dinner?

I do not understand the outrage. You chose to dine there. The menus are posted at every Italian restaurant to peruse before sitting. As webfey1 points out, the menu is online as well. You were not misinformed.

There are many places to dine in Venice with more modest prices, but a dinner for two (2 courses each) with alcohol (wine for us) will usually run 100 Euros in a nice place. You can eat cheaper, of course. The choice is yours.

Why is everyone "yelling" at him. I appreciate the post. It's good to know if it was worth the high price. I don't mind spending a lot of money on a great meal, but his post let me know that the meal wasn't good enough to warrant the prices. We all do our research, but sometimes being there makes a difference. Thanks for the review.

bilezmom
Please read the post above by Kathy so as to fully understand what happened.

I saw the review on Trip Advisor, and it is a bit rough. The poster complained of the difficulty they had finding the restaurent. It is just off Campo Santa Maria Formosa, one of the larger campos in Venice, and one has to cross only one bridge to reach the place.

Belizmom, not one person here has “yelled” at her.

We simply pointed out that the prices were there for them to see. It was obvious from the menu prices (and from any review one reads) that it is a high-end place, and they should not have been surprised. This is not a crab shack in Maryland, where nice fresh seafood is served up “to go” or for eating off a paper plate at an outside table. It is one of the top-rated restaurants in an expensive world-class city. Such a place is not for everyone.

FWIW, when we were in Venice for a month we tried to get reservations there and could not; they were fully booked for the next two weeks. My sister and her husband went for lunch instead, and said it was worth every euro cent.