Canaletto Ristorante Veneto

Great experience and amazing food. Our waiter, James, was so delightful! Always leave room for their dessert. Amazing!
It really is the full experience, having the guidance of a professional that made it special for me, thank you James.

Great food
Great bartender Craig, he’s funny and very polite.
Best Italian restaurant I’ve been in. You can’t leave without having a tiramisu.
They also have on most pasta gluten-​free, just ask which ones.

Successful Restaurant Week! I’ve had Canaletto previous to this experience, however this was by far the best. We were seated promptly and our waiter was absolutely amazing. His costumer service couldn’t have been better and he was personable. He not only handled the bar, but
made sure the customers seated near the bar were also being served. We started with complementary bread which is served with olive oil and vinegar. I had the Bruschetta Calda as my appetizer, the Casonzei Con Stracchino E Pereas my entrée, and Sgroppino for dessert! This three
course meal was only $ 20. I loved this meal and would absolutely go back!
(Incase you’re wondering what the menu looked like I have attached picture)

Canaletto is a bit of a tosser — really enjoyed certain aspects of this place while they could of done away with others.
This place was slow at 5PM and the crowd started coming in after 6PM. The complimentary bread they provide with oil and vinegar was a great starter to get your stomach working. However, it took over 30 minutes before out first course came…:
Caprese Calda: ³⁄₅ The mozzarella was tender and fresh. The tomato was also soft, juicy, and sweet. The two make a great pair. Only bummer was that there was only 2 on the plate and I could of used a crunchy element as the entire dish was just «soft» like soup in solid form.
Polenta con Goulash: ⁴⁄₅ Polenta was creamy and the meat was very tender. Polenta isn’t heavy as it typically is. Good solid dish and opening as an appetizer.
Risotto Sant’erasmo: ⁴⁄₅ Yum! Risotto was cooked perfectly and they were quite generous with the portion. The artichoke was tender and the shrimp was cooked nicely. The crab was shredded and placed in the middle — would of like it if it was left in chunks. Could have used a bit more seafood, but overall satisfying dish.
Salmone Alla Griglia: 2.5÷5 I liked the carrots more than the salmon… salmon was too dry and the sauce had too much lime for me and I love my limes. One bite and I was done.
Cannoli Siciliani: ¹⁄₅: This was so disappointing. The cannoli itself was thick, hard, and tasted old. The filling, granted was good, didn’t fill the entire cannoli as the middle was empty. mainly because the cannoli was too thick and there wasn’t any room in the middle for the crème.
Zabaione Alla Gritti: 3.5÷5 This was a good dessert — the cookies were amazing and the crème was good. I wish this was in a more deeper glass or was actually filled to the top rather than ¾ths the way and leaving a smudge at the top to only desire more.
Our server was great as well as the rest of the staff. Overall, decent meal… was just expecting more because of their reputation to deliver a fine dining experience.

Our first delving into Newport Beach Restaurant Week was a brunch date at Canaletto. The three course menu was only $ 20.00 per person and offered a number of options that were appealing to both of us.
We arrived at Cannaletto (
) right on time for our 11:30 am reservation and was shown to a table (
) out on their patio. There is a very nice bar area (
) and it is usually a good sign (
) when a restaurant has an open kitchen.
Our server Juan came by our table immediately after we were seated, dropped off menus and took our drink order. Laina ordered water with lemon and I went with lemonade. We had perused the pre-​fixe menu ahead of time, so when Juan returned, we were ready to order.
Laina started with the Insalata Canaletto (
) for her Pranzo course and Pennoni Al Ragu (
) for her Secondi course. I selected the Bruschetta (
) as my Pranzo course, Bigoli Alla Padovana (
) as my Secondi course and we both opted for the Cannoli Siciliani (
) as our Dolci course.
Note: This is not Buca di Beppo or Olive Garden, so don’t come here expecting family style portions, you will be disappointed!
Rohlinism: Small portions of quality food will fill you up just as fast as larger portions of lousy food.
We were served complimentary fresh out of the oven olive bread (
) with butter and olive oil (balsamic vinaigrette available upon request) while we waited for the first course. The complimentary basket usually comes with a rustic bread, but Laina said we should only waste carbs on the olive bread and she was spot on. The bread came to the table hot and fresh out of the oven. The olive oil was extra virgin and the butter was a higher quality than what most restaurants serve. The only complaint would be the butter wasn’t softened before it was delivered, but the hot bread helped with spreading the butter. The olive bread was some of the best complimentary bread I have been served.
The pranzos came out a short time later. Laina really enjoyed her salad and this is probably the first time in recent history she required no additional dressing which was directly credited to a well tossed salad. No one enjoys a poorly tossed salad! My bruschetta was equally pleasing and all the parts worked in perfect unison. Both dishes used simple ingredients to create complex flavors and that is what separates merely good dishes from great dishes. Fresh ground pepper was offered for a little additional seasoning for both appetizers.
A short time after we had finished our first courses, the secondi courses arrived and they smelled and looked marvelous. Laina’s ragu was thick and meaty and had a memorable combination of spices. The shredded aged ricotta was an interesting choice of cheese that slowly melted into the ragu. Laina thoroughly enjoyed her dish even if she was only able to eat about half the bowl. My bigoli was equally pleasing in the seasoning department and there was a good amount of their housemade sausage and mushrooms. Both of us were offered freshly shredded parmigiano reggiano to go with our pasta which made an excellent accompaniment.
The only disappointment came with the dolci course. I thought my wife was exaggerating how hard the shells were, but when I took a fork to one, it wouldn’t crack. I thought I was going to have to request a power tool to shatter the shell, but a little additional pressure at the cannoli shattered. My wife wasn’t a fan of the candied oranges either and I agreed it didn’t really add much to the dessert. We were fans of the rest of the ingredients and they worked well together.
The service was stellar throughout the meal. We were asked if we wanted the fireplace on (we did), even though we were the only people on the patio. Drinks were refilled without asking and there was a good rhythm to the service. Even the manager checked on us a few times during the service.
I would definite return in the future to sample more of the menu!

Ciao! We lunched in Fashion Island, an upscale open-​air, shopping mall with many restaurants in Newport Beach, CA. Tourists around the world and locals flock here to shop and eat, enjoy the sun and fresh ocean air. Of many great choices available, we know Canaletto has a great reputation catering to foodies – hey now, we are from Portland, OR., and we are spoiled with great chef-​owned restaurants serving up local, farm fresh, culinary real food! So let’s go Canaletto!
You can choose dining outdoors or indoors – all convivial settings for a meet-​up or privacy with your partner. Sit at the bar or in a dining room in view of a glass enclosed kitchen which is as long as the dining area – sparkling clean – all equipment – chef and staff – every move synchronized to make sure the meals are plated and presented to delight on sight – and ready to dig in. We came, we saw and we ate! Good show Canaletto. But can you show me something that make my eyes pop, my jaw drop and wake up my hungry taste buds?
Ok! The server rolled out warm bread made in the kitchen with a plate of EVOO and balsamic mixed up. Yum yum!
For a starter, the Caprese Calad (Grilled tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil, kalamata olives, basil-​infused extra-​virgin olive oil) looked great in my pics and tasted even greater bite by bite.
Next thing you know, the server popped in right on time when we were ready for the Insulate Di Pere (arugula, radicchio, frisee, Belgian endive, grilled pears, grapes, blue cheese, toasted pecans, pomegranate dressing) – wow, what a combination of tastes and textures to bite and delight! Going good Canaletto!
Chef Tony smiled through the kitchen glass enclosure. The octopus mixed green salad the chef tossed up was out-​of-​this-​world! Well, out-​of-​the-​ocean! We’ve never tasted anything like it! More octopus, than salad, cut in bite size pieces made each bite perfect. The octopus was slow cooked an hour and a half then finished on the grill, a delicious crunch outside and so very tender and scrumptious inside. Incredibly good! Over the top octopus — Canaletto!
We are full. No room for dessert as usual. Wait a minute! We shared the Soffiato Al Cioccolato (Almond and hazelnut chocolate cake; served warm with caramel sea salt gelato). Not too sweet. It was so good. Glad we had to make room for it! Perfect to share and finish a perfect lunch experience – watching the chef’s staff cook-​it-​up, the servers gliding in and out of the kitchen keeping my table clean and ready for the next dish. We’ll be back to dish-​it-​up here again too!
Stick a fork in me! This time I’m done! No, wait, we savored the ambience a few moments longer over a hot cappuccino. Way to go Canaletto! Way to go! Chow!

Stellar service on the night that I went… I wish I remembered the server name (if I had to guess it might be Chellina?) but she was so pleasant that it was refreshing. To take on the task of serving for a table of 15+ is no easy feat.
We were actually dining here because moments before this, my friend just accepted a marriage proposal (congrats guys!). The groom to be coordinated a surprise dinner with her closest friends immediately following the proposal (she said YES!). When we told our server this, she was just as giddy as the rest of us were. She’s definitely the most memorable aspect of CRV!
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