Al Giardinetto da Severino

First of all, I want to emphasize one thing: this is Italy, not the United States.<br><br>I visited this restaurant a few years ago and had a very good impression. The food was delicious and the service was excellent. That is exactly why, when I came back to Venice this time, I chose this restaurant for my very first dinner. Unfortunately, the experience was completely different.<br><br>First, the reservation system was very strange. Online, everything after 7:00 PM appeared to be fully booked, so we had no choice but to make a reservation for 7:00 PM. However, when we arrived, the restaurant was almost empty. Even by the time we finished our meal, it was still nowhere near full. So what exactly were all those supposedly “fully booked” time slots?<br><br>Then there are the prices. €25 for a plate of squid-ink pasta?! Come on. Even in expensive Milan, for that kind of money you can find lobster pasta. If you charge premium prices, I expect premium food. Unfortunately, the food here was just average and, in my opinion, far too salty. It simply did not justify the price.<br><br>But the worst part came when it was time to pay.<br><br>The card machine actually asked me to choose a tip — 10%? 20%? For a moment, I genuinely wondered whether I had somehow been transported to the United States.<br><br>And then, on top of that, the waiter verbally asked me for a tip.<br><br>Again: this is Italy, not America. Italy does not have the same tipping culture as the US, and restaurants here already charge coperto. Why should customers then be pressured to add another 10% or 20% tip on top of the bill?<br><br>If someone genuinely receives exceptional service and voluntarily wants to leave a few euros, that’s perfectly fine. But actively prompting customers for percentages on the payment terminal and then asking them verbally for a tip is something completely different. It felt uncomfortable and inappropriate.<br><br>I came back because I remembered this restaurant fondly from several years ago. Unfortunately, this visit completely changed my opinion.<br><br>Overpriced, average food, questionable reservation availability, and an unpleasant attempt to import American-style tipping culture into an Italian restaurant.<br><br>A truly disappointing experience. 0/10.