Venuti Cucina Italiana - Governors Bay

Been a while since I’ve done a review, mainly out of laziness with work being so demanding! But, dined at Venuti recently and feel compelled to leave a review.<br/ <br/ We arrived early, like just before they opened, early. Inside is simple but classy, a narrow room of tables in the middle and wall seating along the right wall. It is not a huge place but does not feel really small either. Despite being first, the place very quickly got busy.<br/ <br/ There were only 3 wait/bar staff on and despite how busy it got, they seemed to cope well with the number of people. Of course being first we were some of the first to dine, so our meals arrived quickly and without much of an intermission between bites.<br/ <br/ We had breads and dips and for my main I had the spaghetti carbonara.<br/ <br/ The breads and dips was simple enough, 6 pieces of bread with 2 dips. One basil and pesto, which was yum and the other olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The only gripe about that dip was that there was so much olive oil that it was hard to get any vinegar on my bread whilst dipping.<br/ <br/ The spaghetti carbonara came out with a generous amount of Parmesan sliced on top. Flavour wise this was my favourite carbonara in a very long time and very much how I like my pasta. Cooked to perfection, generous helping of bacon pieces and not absolutely swimming in fat or sauce.<br/ <br/ Fantastic meal all up.<br/ <br/ The only other thing that could have helped attain a fifth star is that staff didn’t do a lot of checking on patrons to see if they needed anything else or whether their meals were going ok. This is not only a chance to ensure customer satisfaction but a good way to up-sell, encouraging more drinks and food.<br/ <br/ Will definitely be back though.

What an absolute find, looking for somewhere to dine and we turned the corner and found this treasure. The total experience was 1st class. In an area short on fine dining the staff went out of their way to accommodate as many diners as possible without making you feel rushed or cramped. The staff were excellent from their presentation, knowledge of the menu wines to directions around the city. The food was excellent.

This is second time our group of 6 have dined at Venuti and we have no complaints. The food; entrees, mains deserts are well presented and delicious. The service is attentive, friendly. The staff are knowledgeable and polite. The décor appropriate. There is an extensive wine menu and the food menu with an Italian flair has something to suit everyone. Value for money. All winners here! We will be back again soon

Very nice service and food. Fresh and tasty. Good portion as well. Didn't make a booking as only traveled to town on the day and did a quick search on the Map for nearby restaurant. The staff managed to arrange a table for three. Otherwise we wouldn't have the chance to enjoy the great Italian cuisine in Christchurch.

Lovely staff and atmosphere. Went there for a 30th birthday dinner, there were 6 of us, drinks, dinner and dessert was absolutely delicious. Would definitely go back again and would recommend. They have a good range of food. I got tiramisu for dessert, was as lovely as it looks.