21/07/2025: Antica Locanda Montin is, as its name suggests, a historical inn, still offering both accommodation and food. The restaurant and décor are steeped in nostalgia, perhaps to a fault.
This review is strictly for the restaurant.
The main dining room is dark and very traditional, with paintings covering nearly every wall. It could certainly use a modern refresh. The garden, its best feature, is genuinely lovely and surprisingly spacious, especially by Venetian standards. The service is polite, which in Venice qualifies as a minor miracle.
The main issue is the food. The restaurant is rooted in tradition, but unfortunately, also stuck in it. The menu is so firmly anchored in the past, it seems to have missed several culinary movements, including most of the last seven decades.
The same tired Venetian classics are trotted out, lovingly untouched by innovation or whim. No seasonal variation, no playful reinterpretation, just the same dishes, again and again.
I can’t imagine the existential dread of being a chef here. While most restaurants now respond to the rhythms of nature, shifting menus by the week or even by the day, Antica Locanda Montin remains immovable. Its menu changes not by season, but by era, and the era in question appears to be post-war austerity.
Elsewhere, restaurants accommodate dietary needs with grace and creativity. Here, asking for a vegetarian or vegan option feels like you’re getting less, not something different of equal value.
It’s a real pity. The place still radiates charm, and its story is tied to great names in the arts. One only wishes they would breathe some fresh air into both the décor and the cuisine ... the place deserves it.
20/07/2025: Hidden away, it's hard to find if you don't know it. It's certainly not a "hit and run" place. A historic, very characteristic place. The food is good, and the staff is very professional and friendly.
What more can I say? It can't be said more.
Prices... directly proportional to the service and quality.
😍
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