Antica Dogana

What a place, and the sunset was beautiful. The food and service were fantastic, and there's even boat parking. One of the best restaurants I've ever visited. See you again in a few weeks.

The food has become very good again, especially the local Venetian dishes: seafood, pasta, fish, raw dishes, all sorts of things. The service was attentive and professional, too, which makes this one of the better places around now. It's an old customs house right on the big lagoon in Treporti, at the edge of Venice, and a lovely place to watch boats go by and enjoy the sunset. They must have a new chef.

We arrived for a summer evening to celebrate our engagement and the award of my doctoral thesis. There were six of us and our small dog. We left irritated, partly intimidated, and indignant at the owners' arrogance, and ended up going somewhere else to toast our occasions. All evening, we were treated in a brusque, snippy, annoyed, and arrogant way. It seemed our dog and our being tourists bothered the owners. We were told sharply which glasses to pour our water into, with the result that there was no water bowl left for our dog. We were also told the bill absolutely could not be split and that our napkin shouldn't be removed from the table when plates were cleared. Nobody apologized when other guests and staff had completely blocked our car in. The untrained staff were hectic and disorganized, and the courses came in the wrong order. There were many other issues I won't list, or this would get too long. I could only recommend this restaurant if you arrive from Venice without a dog, as a couple, without children, and with a sailing boat, and want an expensive meal of mediocre quality. Maybe then you'd be served nicely. The standard implied by the owners' behavior and the price range wasn't met at all.

We liked the location, the food, and the service, but the bill was a real disappointment. They gave one price if we paid cash, then charged €100 more when we said we'd pay by card. Asked why, they came out with things like “this is Venice” and “we have commission fees to pay.” Where I live, the bill is just one amount. More than anything, instead of being pleased to earn over €1,000 from us in an empty restaurant, they got mad. Such a pity.