Venable Rotisserie Bistro

I used to go Venable pretty often and liked the food. Tonight I had fried chicken and roasted brussels sprouts. The chicken was tender, but it was completely bland. Totally forgettable - I’m surprised the kitchen put this out. The brussels sprouts were also seriously under seasoned. I don’t think I’ll be going back.

service is great but food is not worth the money. most things lack proper seasoning and flavor and the proportions are way off. if you're paying a little more than average for a meal, the food should be above average as well.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 4

Brunch was pleasant but not anything to write home about. Waiter was obviously hungover from the night before. Seemed to be another overpriced option in the area. The name is a nice touch though.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 3

Went here for my partner’s mother’s birthday and had an absolutely incredible meal. We had the shrimp crab cakes (day’s special appetizer), butternut squash soup (soup of the day) and for my entree I had the fried chicken with the mashed potatoes. The shrimp cakes and soup were both 9/10, the chicken was 10/10, and the potatoes were 11/10.

The only reason this is 4 stars instead of 5 is that my partner ordered a cocktail and when the waitress asked what type of whiskey he wanted, he said whatever the bar recommends… and they used a whiskey that doubled the price of the drink. Even though he said he deferred to the bar, someone (anyone, I’m not blaming the waitress, her service was otherwise impeccable) should’ve come back to our table and asked if a price increase was okay.

Would definitely go back and just make sure that situation doesn’t happen again.

Dietary restrictions: The menu has both the usual options (Vegetarian, Gluten Free, Vegan) as well as “Available” options (Vegetarian Available, Vegan Available, etc). Really appreciated that they had such a wide variety.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

The restaurant itself was fantastic—great food, excellent service, and a wonderful dining experience. But the parking situation is absolutely outrageous and ruined the entire night. We parked in the restaurant’s lot, which was about 50% full, and while one person went in to check us in, the rest of us briefly walked across the street to check out menus at other restaurants for future date nights.

We had no idea there was a sign (hard to see at night) saying you can’t leave the property or you’ll get towed. After spending hundreds of dollars on dinner, we came back to find my truck gone. When we spoke to the restaurant, they told us this happens all the time. Even with our receipt proving we were paying customers, the towing company refused to cooperate. They were incredibly rude and demanded $270 to release the car, despite the restaurant calling on our behalf.

We later found out the towing company isn’t even under contract—they get paid per car towed. They literally sit and watch cameras 24/7, just waiting to catch someone, even innocent customers like us, stepping off the property for a moment. It’s a predatory, evil practice, and while I feel bad for the restaurant because it’s not their fault but the landlord’s, I’ll never return. No meal is worth dealing with a system this unfair and exploitative.

As a college student working part-time just to make rent, this $270 hit hard. It’s gross that the landlord of a $20M+ property enforces such a predatory policy.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We had dinner with friends. We enjoyed the food although we thought the portions were on the smaller side. Prices were fair although a little high. The waitstaff and drinks were good. Read a bit about parking in the area

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

Fabulous quality. Well layered flavors. We will return. And return.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 4

Service: 4

Park at your own risk.

Ordered NE clam chowder.. really tasty and rich. Shrimp and grits were a disappointment.. no seasoning, so bland. Brunch chicken, eggs, biscuit with gravy was very good. The chicken moist, tender, crispy but again no seasoning so it was bland to eat. Atmosphere great, service phenomenal!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 3

Service: 5

Three of us recently had dinner at Venable and it was really delicious! We were all in the mood for seafood and there were three choices on the menu, so we each had one. We all shared a bit of our entrées with one another and all of the fish was prepared very tastefully and was perfectly done. In addition, the mashed potatoes were to die for! Multiple kudos to our waitress, Rebecca, who was attentive, friendly, and so helpful. We’ll be back.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Mashed Potatoes

Cozy, comfortable brunch place.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

We experienced subpar food and remarkably poor service, the worst we've had at any restaurant. The server only took drink orders from 5 of our party of 16, and I had to repeatedly flag her down to place my order. After 30 minutes, our drinks still hadn't arrived. When our entrees finally arrived, the servers didn't bother to check in on us, likely due to the automatic 20% gratuity. Additionally, our request for low-sodium preparation for my mother's entree was ignored, as it came with compound butter and heavily salted fries.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 1

I really like the food here. They are real pros. Not cheap, but the food is worth it, IMO. The only problem is the noise level. Really off the charts -- and the place wasn't even full. Can't imagine what it would be like with a crowd. They really need to do something to try to reduce the noise level. If you can sit outside, do it! We probably won't be back. There are plenty of other good places with less noise.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 5

Service: 5

I really like the food here. They are real pros. Not cheap, but the food is worth it, IMO. The only problem is the noise level. Really off the charts -- and the place wasn't even full. Can't imagine what it would be like with a crowd. They really need to do something to try to reduce the noise level. If you can sit outside, do it! We probably won't be back. There are plenty of other good places with less noise.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 5

Service: 5

Staff were great but the food was disappointing. The steak was way overcooked and seemed to have been boiled before being finished on a griddle. The rest of the food was just OK and certainly not worth the high prices.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 5