Hello Restaurant Weekers! Can’t believe San Diego Restaurant Week came and went so fast this year. Luckily I was able to catch a few dinners before it ended. Old Venice kind of happened by chance. Anh and I actually were going to give Bo Beau a try but their hour+ wait wasn’t very appetizing to us hungry folk so we did some searching for participating restaurants in the near vicinity and Old Venice fit the script. We called and put our name down and were seated right away in the patio. The decor seemed very familiar and similar to Alexander’s in North Park. We asked our waiter and he informed us that the same family owns both restaurants. You can’t tell from the patio as much as you can from the inside but both Alexander’s and Old Venice boast white walls, white furniture, and white everything. We quite enjoy Alexander’s so this was a pleasant surprise to stumble upon.
I started off with the Stuffed Shrimp. My only comment for this is I wish there were more shrimp on the plate. They didn’t last long. The crab was noticeable and it may have been on the heavier side but the slice of lemon helped infuse a little bit of freshness and lightened up the plate.
Anh ordered the Pesto Caprese. She loves her caprese salads so when I saw this was on the menu it was a given. Everything here was a little larger than it had to be. Especially the tomato slices which were almost an inch thick. Aside from that the pesto was nice and the basil was fresh. If the tomatoes were cut thinner it would have been more enjoyable.
Anh followed that up with the Seafood Risotto. She claims she never had risotto before. Me being the understanding and supportive boyfriend could not believe her, especially since we’ve been together so long and I’m sure we would have had it at Arrivederci in Hillcrest. Nevertheless, she liked her first risotto experience! Luckily for her, there were no Top Chef’s cooking in the kitchen tonight. It wasn’t overly mushy or on the flip side overcooked either. There were equal parts mushroom and seafood and the asparagus gave it a little crunch. One other thing that Anh boasts is a wine sensor for items that feature wine. It didn’t bother her that they used white wine here though!
I chose the Chicken Florentine. Honestly I wasn’t all that excited about it when I placed my order. Maybe it was because I knew the pesto in the caprese was coming and I was two timing it? Who knows but I had a self inflicted mental block lowering my expectations. Personally, having little or no expectations tends to work in my favor most times. This was no exception! This was my favorite dish of the night. And it was certainly a dish I’d order again. The chicken was moist, mushrooms juicy, and the pasta al dente.
We capped our evening off with the Tiramisu. The presentation was a little clumsy to me, but the coffee notes were pominent throughout and the cheese was fairly delicate.
They ran out of the Rasberry Napoleon so instead they offered a Strawberry Cheesecake. Even though it was no Junior’s, I left with a smile on my face.
Overall we really enjoyed our experience here. Our waiter was very attentive and kind and checked up on us to make sure we had everything we needed. Each course came out promptly and it was a very pleasant time. The pizza looked great so that’ll be for next visit!
Old Venice
2910 Canon St.
Point Loma, CA 92106
619-222-5888
www.oldvenicerestaurant.com
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