Owned by the folks of gelati institution Venezia Gelato, Venezia has been around since May of last year, but it’s only now that it finally has the direction and focus it needs. Chef Claudio Mendini arrived from Italy about two and a half months ago, bringing an all Italian menu of thin crust pizzas, pastas and main courses. The interior is a pleasant open and airy space with little decoration; just a few modern paintings and an enticing gelato bar. The menu offers a good range of familiar Italian favorites and we found everything pretty tasty. The set lunch changes daily. We were pleased with the Hawaiian pizza, which had a lovely thin crust (with its accompanying pumpkin soup, this was easily enough for two persons). The penne with salmon and pink sauce was similarly well cooked if not particularly memorable. Pity we were too full to try the homemade gelati. All in all we found Venezia to have a pleasant atmosphere and pretty good food for a lunchtime meal. Although the service was a little uninspiring, this is definitely somewhere we’d consider for a reliable, Italian quickie.
