Osteria Bancogiro

You’re probably nervous about picking a restaurant in Venice. You suspect that most places cater to the worst kind of tourists, the unsuspecting ones who will drop top dollar for an overpriced alfredo and a view of the Grand Canal.
You can breathe a sigh of relief.
You’ve found Osteria Bancogiro, friend.
A few steps from the Rialto Bridge on the San Polo side of the Grand Canal, Osteria Bancogiro serves Venetian dishes with a more modern twist.
Eager to try local specialties, my friend and I asked our (cute!) waiter for recommendations, including a Veneto wine. We were especially pleased by the antipasti: burned octopus with black rice, beans & celeriac and king prawns with leek, pistachio and goji berries with sweet-​and-​sour sauce. We also enjoyed the traditional Venetian cuttlefish served in a sauce of its own black ink.
We were a little disappointed that despite our canal-​front view, the neighborhood seemed eerily still by 9:00 at night – probably not atypical in a town dominated by tourists. I wish we could’ve gone for a glass of wine in the daylight!

You can’t believe this place exists so close to the tourist crush of Rialto. But it does. And it’s worth you’re time. Service is professional and serious and friendly. Very nice wine list… ask for recommendations.
The seafood starter I had was a stunning, loving presentation of six types of Adriatic seafood, and simply stunning. You want this trust me. Main of sea bream in a bag with vegetables and pine nuts was more basic but impeccably fresh.
This is not a rip off place, but one that takes pride in Venetian cuisine. Relax here and enjoy a beautiful meal on the Grand Canal.

I had an excellent meal here a few weeks ago. There is a bar downstairs, and the restaurant proper is upstairs. It was quite, with excellent service and very good food. The wine list is very good as well.

Ordered the gnocchi (primi) and cuttlefish (secondi) and tiramisu for dessert. Very impressed! Great food, good price, a must-​try for the Venice traveler.

Spritz à 3 € dans un cadre sympa… Une prochaine fois on y grignotera, ce qu’on y a vu avait l’air appétissant.

Awesome experience in this restaurant minutes away by foot from the Rialto Bridge.
We started by having drinks downstairs and moved upstairs for dinner. Romantic lights, tables not too close to another.
We loved our appetizers: polenta with some type of cod on top. Then, we had amazing homemade fresh pasta and shared a caramel moelleux.
So good and authentic. Don’t waste any time and go! Dreaming to go back!

Great Cicchetti. We really loved the Cicchetti here, it seemed to us to be definitely a level up from some of the other places that we tried and seemed to be fresher… We sat outside on a chilly November night around 6pm and though we didnt’ have table service we didnt’ mind walking into the bar and ordering drinks and wonderful treats to share… It was so worth it and while we are not reviewing the restaurant upstairs I loved this little bar and its great views on the canal… all the servers were wonderful to us with lots of smiles and small chat. If I lived in Venice this would be one of my regular stops if I lived nearby… Highly recommend.

Came here for dinner. I’d say it’s between a 3 and a 4-​star, to be fair. Closer to four by Venetian standards, definitely 3 by the standards of NYC or any other Italian city where there are actually locals.
You can sit outside on a canal in an area that doesn’t get much foot traffic, which is beautiful. The wine selections by the glass are great, and the wine list is extensive, so have fun with that.
The food is fine… the bread is the standard frozen variety… the mozzarella appetizer we got was meh. We also got two pastas: a squid ink pasta and gnocchi with some sort of wintery meat (was it rabbit? I can’t remember; it was not memorable). The squid ink pasta was absolutely fine and definitely more flavorful than the gnocchi. The gnocchi was so underwhelming, between the lack of flavor in the sauce and the meat.
We got good and drunk and had a nice time eating in the candlelight on the canal sans tourists, so that’s a big deal in Venice, but don’t expect to be blown away by great food.

We had a fabulous dinner here. After being disappointed by a number of touristy spots, we found BancoGiro. It has a view on the grand canal, live music and a nice vibe.
The food was excellent and definitely a couple steps above the typical pizza and pasta places. I had a cuttle fish ink pasta with mussels that was spicy, tasty and cooked perfectly. The mussels were very fresh and well prepared.
For a main, I had the lamb with mint and eggplant. Everything was great. My daughter loved her Branzino with lime and coconut.
The house wines were outstanding.
Service was decent. They helped us get a table when it was very crowded and were responsive when we needed something. Not the most helpful or friendly but not rude or neglectful either as is the case in some spots. Overall, we had a wonderful evening.

One Star. I know — it’s difficult to give this to any restaurant.
However, I stopped in on a quiet Sunday and was told 5 minutes. After 20 minutes of waiting, I tried to speak to the (I assume) Maitre D’ and was ignored not once but twice. I am a world traveler for the past 15 years who knows the difference between busy and rude. This was plain rude. Open table in sight the entire time, by the way. I cannot recommend this restaurant in good conscience.

Amazing selection of Cicchetti with a wide variety from seafood, crostini and charcuterie. In warmer weather, it would make a lovely outdoor dining /​drink experience with the view of the Grand Canal.

What an amazing find in the middle of a touristy section of Venice near Rialto bridge. Our family of four dined here for Christmas dinner at the recommendation of our concierge. We were specifically looking for a place with local Venetian food, and not too touristy. Bancogiro is it! There were many locals enjoying drinks and conversation outside the bar area. We were pleased also to find that the menu was a la carte, and not prix fixe for the holiday.
We began our meal with a selection of cheeses and jams, the duck smoked ham salad with green apple, walnut, and horseradish, and a bowl of potato and porcini soup with seared scallops. The cheeses were good, nothing spectacular, but definitely not bad. Very typical plate for this region. The soup was fantastic! Everyone tried it and loved it, not a drop was remaining. The salad had mixed reviews. Our son and daughter loved the meat on it, but did not care too much for the salad. I loved the salad but did not like the meat at all. My husband did not try it.
For our main courses, we had one order of black noodles with busara of folpetti (baby octopus in spicy red sauce), two orders of filet of beef with dried tomatoes, and one order of duck with chestnut stuffing (not listed on the online menu, but it appears to be a regular item according to the menu in the restaurant). The duck was simply incredible! Perfectly cooked and full of flavor, not dry or gamey at all, and the chestnut stuffing was a perfect complement! The two orders of filet were ordered medium rare and came out precisely cooked to that temperature. Great cuts of beef. The black noodles with octopus was a good meal, but not nearly as flavorful or enjoyable as the others.
For dessert, we shared an order of tiramisu. It was a perfect way to end our meal. We have sampled many tiramisu on our trip to Italy, but this was by far the best. The mascarpone was creamy and mixed perfectly with the soaked almond biscuit, topped with a healthy dusting of cocoa powder. Simply amazing!
The wait staff was extremely attentive, spoke perfect English which was nice for those of us with broken Italian, and did not rush us to leave even though it was a very busy Christmas day. Would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a local venue with fantastic food! Not cheap, but not terribly expensive considering the food and service. Our bill totaled 180 Euro for 4 people.

Osteria Bancogiro was a highlight of our trip to Venice. Not only was the view spectacular, the whole meal experience was a delight. We had a chilled Meroi Sauvignon to start off and then proceeded with an incredible tuna and cod experience. The tiramisu rendition for dessert was outstanding. This is a place for any foodie to treasure!

Sat outside looking at Canale Grande, had venetian food sampler, fresh, delicious and very authentic. Enjoyed it all and highly recommend.

This was the second restaurant we tried of the five along the canal. The first we liked best, Naranzaria. This one was the most popular and we had to wait for a table. All night, the head waiter seemed to rush us (the only time in the entire 10 days that we felt moved along).

Amazing restaurant in a sea of touristy places near Rialto. Bacogiro is situated along with a handful of restaurants facing the grand canal so make sure to grab a seat right in front of the correct storefront. The location is quite nice because it isn’t thronged with tourists because it’s the less popular side of the Rialto bridge.
Fresh pasta, excellent second courses, and a good wine selection. Everything we ate here was expertly prepared. We had the gnocchi and ginger pasta (ridiculously good) to start. The Venetian-​style cod is also a wonderful, as was the veal cheek.
We didn’t have dessert because we were so full afterwards.
The service at this restaurant was excellent as well, with attentive waiters that are accommodating to one’s best broken Italian (they speak English well).
All in all, with two pastas, two second courses, and a bottle of wine we spent about € 100, so this is not a cheap spot, but I found it to be well worth the money. One of the best meals we ate in Venice without question.

This place has a cool modern Venezian feel. Have a drink in the bar downstairs as you wait for your table in the barrel vaulted upstairs dining room. The wine by the glass selection is good and starts at 2.5 Euro. We got a great recommendation for an Amarone with dinner from the host who later brought by a sip of the other wine we might have chosen, that confirmed his advice. They were out of tuna carpaccio, so my my daughters skipped the appetizer and my son and I split the cheese plate to start — 5 out of 6 were great examples of hard and soft Italian cheeses — the 6^th was good by not special. For main courses we had lamb chops, beef filet and branzino baked in a pouch with potato and herbs. Plates licked clean. The tiramisu, (more pudding like than cookies) was the best I have ever tasted. My daughters enjoyed the chocolate biscotti. After several days of solid old world style dining this was like a younger sexy model with substance.

C’est l’un des etablissements branche du rialto. Le décor est sobre et authentique, le personnel a l’ecoute et efficace. Par contre la cuisine se veut novatrice mais n’est qu’audacieuse, et ce, avec quelques rates: Steak de thon cru, carbonara au saumon sans gout puisque ptratiquement sans saumon… Mais assiette de fromages parfaite. A revoir.

Die Küche bietet eine interessante Mischung einheimischer Spezialitäten, anscheinend mit französischen Einflüssen. Die bestellten Snacks waren klein aber recht günstig. Eine ideale Beilage zum Schatten, wie der kleine Schluck Wein liebvoll genannt wird, den man in Venedig zur Mittagszeit geniesst. Das innere Gewölbe und die Terasse laden zum verweilen ein, wir hatten allerdings die Muse unseren «Schatten» in der Mittagssonne direkt am angrenzenden Steg mit Blick auf den Canale Grande zu geniessen.