Venetian Hot Plate

Food 5Atmosphere 5Prices 5Service ( Manana) let's say " paced"This couple left Venice decades ago. Ended up in Port Aransas Texas and did what they know. Make Italian food.For me this story really begins in childhood. As a kid vacationing here,there where two restaurants. Not much but fishing,beaching and eating the typical Gulf Coast fried( delicious) platter.Sometime around 1970, this building was constructed to house Custards Last Stand. They didn't last long as I remember. Back in the day, the season was summer period. You had to produce a years income in three months.The building stood vacant until Venetian Hot Plate moved in during 1995. I have never been one to eat Italian on the Coast. It has always been a time for pursuing fresh seafood. As times have changed,fresh seafood is available practically anywhere so I'm not as motivated by seafood only down here.After 30 years of drive bys,I finally decided to give it a try. So glad I did. Excellent food.Not only do they commit to Italian wines and basic home cooked Italian fare,other items are available.We had a great meal,wine and desert at a very comfortable pace. I'm giving five stars for the whole experience but pushing it over the top for me was the classic rock soundtrack in the background....Go!

I was waffling between a 4 and a 5, and the milky, tender, and delightful veal pushed me over to the 5. The servers and all the staff were very friendly, knowledgeable, and welcoming. My wife and I decided on a Friday to try to get in either Friday or Saturday, and we got a 5:45 reservation Friday, with the only other options being 5 or after 8 either day. Obviously, a popular place. I got Veal Piccata-fantastic! Tender? Milky veal with a nice sauce and great topping. My wife got the Garlic Lemon Butter Shrimp. It comes with a nice garlicky spinach. Both dishes came with tasty potatoes carved out like mushrooms. Dishes also come with hot bread and a house salad. The salad had a tasty balsamic vinaigrette dressing. You can upgrade to one of a number of other salads. The wine list is extensive, but is on the pricey side and (naturally) has quite a few Italian options. Beverages are soda iced tea, and beer and wine. No other liquor is available. For dessert we had the special--an Italian Orange bread pudding with golden raisins and slivered almonds. It was DELICIOUS!We enjoyed our meal and experience!

Update 11-28-2023Off season in Port A, TX this week... not a whole lot of folks around the week after Thanksgiving, many of the people who are here were at VHP tonight, the restaurant was busy on a Tuesday night, when many other places in town had 1 or two cars in the parking lot... say no more! VHP consistently serves up one of the best meals in town!Tonight's culinary adventure began with a bottle of 2020 Stefano Di Blasi Gold from Tuscany (when in Rome, right?), the bottle was from our cellar at home, so the modest $20 corkage fee was a bargain. FYI, when dining out, BYOW when you can... call ahead to find out about the corkage fee. If allowed, it's the best way to have great wine with your meal without breaking the bank!The food parade began with an order of the Misto Mare, a delightful blend of shrimp, diver scallops, blue lip mussels, littleneck and chopped clams, steamed and served in a light garlic white wine sauce. The surprise is a little kick from the pinch of crushed red pepper... OMG good! The seafood was SUPER fresh, not a hint of "fishiness" from "yesterday's catch!"We followed the seafood with one of our favorites, the Domingo's Grilled Romaine salad. If you've never had grilled lettuce, try it sometime, it's a game changer when to comes to getting your veggies in every day. The grilled lettuce was presented with a light balsamic reduction, a nice handful of fresh parmigiano cheese and crispy baked prosciutto... heaven on a plate!The next act, the entrees, included one of the specials of the day, the lamb chops, and the Scaloppine Carciofi. The serving of lamb chops was HUGE and included enough for lunch tomorrow! Wonderful sauce under the lamb, with sides of garlic spinach and roasted potatoes. YUM! We ordered the lamb medium rare, and many of the chops were more rare than MR, we saved those chops for lunch tomorrow... Not sure why I keep ordering the same veal dish (Carciofi), I should have read my last review! LOL I'm drawn to fantastic food! It was awesome as usual... perfectly cooked tender veal, smothered in a creamy artichoke, tomatoes and mushrooms sauce, with red potatoes (cut in the shape of mushrooms) and garlic spinach on the side. We easily brought home two pounds of leftovers. Everything was Delicious, with a capital "D."We ended the meal with a wonderful piece of Tiramisu ... forgot to get a pic of that... sorry! LOLSpecial shout out to our waitress, Karen, who did a fantastic job... attentive but not intrusive. Thanks Karen, job well done. The bus boys also did a great job (didn't get their names), including bringing our "leftovers" bag out to the car after we left it on the table (happens often).One observation I will make about the process/procedure at VHP... a trend we're seeing more and more, was a 3.5% add on to the check AFTER the bill was initially presented and the credit card run. No notes on menu, no mention of the charge when picking up the bill to run the card, or even when presenting the final bill to the table. Ours was a debit card, so likely no fee incurred, but for the $6, I let it go. Note to business folks, as consumers we get the charge, just be upfront about it... stop the "hidden" padding of the bill to help the bottom line. Many customers, in that situation, will take the charge out of the tip, which hurts your wait staff. Be upfront and honest, and not short-sighted! OK, off the soapbox!Highly recommend Venetian Hot Plate, one of the most special restaurants in Port A, and worth the visit every time we're in town. A real treat!

Venetian Hot Plate is a must try Italian restaurant in Port A. Reservations are recommended and they are very accommodating. They were closed Sunday and Monday so you can request a reservation by leaving a message and I received a return call promptly to secure my reservation. The owners are always on site and they are so friendly and social. The service is suburb and the wait staff is always filling up your beverages and bringing extra bread. Always feel like you are being taken care of. They start the meal with sourdough bread and an extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar dipping sauce. They bring more bread throughout the meal. Ordered an arugula salad with avocado, red onion, tomato, mozzarella and prosciutto and the flavor combination was insane. I have tried many things on the menu, but my go-to entree is the Lasagne Della Mamma and it is cooked in a oven and comes out piping hot with layers of mozzarella, noodles, meat and sauce. It also comes with a dinner salad as well. They have a great selection of wines and the decor is very Italian. High recommend this establishment for great Italian food and an amazing dining experience with impeccable service.

Finally got to try this place out for my birthday dinner. Great food and great service. Ambiance was very nice. Recommend to everyone.

Our absolute "go to " restaurant! The food, ambiance, and service is always the best to be found in the Costal Bend! Paul's wait service is always outstanding in his attention to details, his knowledge of the menu and related daily specials, combined with his friendly and engaging personality makes it always a special night, no matter how many times we come to VHP. Every time I come it's always difficult not to order my favorites ( the crab crostini, the bolognese, and death by chocolate). I broke out at the last visit and had the Linguini Gulf and the Tiramisu. The absolutely exquisite aroma and flavors of these alternatives now make it tougher for me to decide in that they are equally as good!! PS we couldn't change out the crab crotini, maybe next time.

This IS my new favorite restaurant in Por Aransas! Very authentic Italian cuisine, great bread! Wonderful service and very attentive staff! Great value too! Wine was marvelous. Atmosphere was cozy Italian restaurant, as expected. Nothing bad to say.... We will definitely be back!

Wow. we never expected to find such a delicious Italian restaurant in Port A, especially on a cold and windy winter day in the off season. I highly recommend dining here when you're in town. We will definitely be back. Note: definitely get the garlic bread and definitely split the grilled romaine salad - it's HUGE! The Lasagna Della Mamma and the Penne Bolognese were excellent. We also loved the affogato and the Tiramisù for dessert. It was all so good.

Everyone had wonderful food except for the "grilled calamari". It was explained and noted on menu as "grilled" and server indicated split like lobster tail. It was solid white - not grilled. Looked poached. No flavor, not grilled and served like fajita meat strips. I should have complained but all else was good and I was with a group. Enjoy the Venetian but skip this dish. Not edible.

Best place to eat at in Port Aransas, TX. They have always had the same staff for years. Unlike most of the other restaurants have a large turnover of employees. We have never had a bad meal at the Venetian Hot Plate.