The Venetian Hideaway

I would agree with Steven K’s comments — don’t be in a rush if you eat here !
All food cooked to order and the food is served like Italian tapas — each dish comes when its ready. Smallish kitchen !
Staff and owner very friendly and helpful.
Two experiences at downstairs part, first visit was excellent but we booked and went early in the evening — 3 fish platter was brill’.
Second visit — went later in the evening and was a lot busier therefore had to wait longer for food.
Would go again but we’ll keep it early thanks!

It’s really hard to find proper Italian food outside of Italy but this place is outstanding. Located in Ramsbottom village, the Venetian Hideaway is housed in a stone building– the upstairs is a more formal dining area while the ‘hideaway’ downstairs is more trattoria style. It even has a wine cellar with a private round table.
I took my Mum here for dinner, we ate downstairs, which I think has a cosier atmosphere and better music. We started off with an Aperol Spritz in their little bar area, which was lively with quite a few people having a casual evening glass of wine. The owner then seated us at our table and explained the ‘house rules’- he is very funny and likes to crack a joke or two. When he took our coats he joked about putting them on eBay etc.
Basically this is the Italian tradition of Chichetti– small tapas style plates ideal for sharing between a group. They come in any order as and when they are ready, so there’s no ‘main meal’ as such. It’s all made with either fresh local produce or products like oil, balsamic etc from Italy. He tells you to treat the restaurant like a family home and to let him know if you don’t like anything. If you say you don’t like the food, he can swap it for something else but if you don’t then he can’t do anything about it and you’ll just have to pay for it.
We ordered; the honey glazed ribs and chicken skewers from the specials menu, the tagliatelle bolognese, the burratta with prosciutto and the classic bruschetta. All of it was incredible– very authentic, simple, delicious. For the two of us those 5 plates were plenty of food but he does say to order 3 – 5 plates per person. You could always order a few then order more though.
All in all the bill, with 5 tapas dishes, 2 Aperol Spritz and 2 glasses of Baileys came to just over £60. Not the cheapest of meals but tapas never is. Definitely worth it for the quality of the food and the ambience.
This is a great replacement for Ramsons and a brilliant addition to the Ramsbottom dining scene. Without a doubt I’ll be back, couldn’t have enjoyed it more.

This is a wonderful replacement of ramsons, it has a wonderful ambiance, with very friendly staff. We have just had a superb meal which was outstanding, we definitely recommend this place. a must for you to try. Don’t take our word for it go and see for yourselves, you won’t be disappointed. We will definitely go back.

A fantastic restuarant which offers traditional Italian food and wine carefully researched and selected by the owne Chris. Do not go expecting a quick meal of pasta or pizza — this is a whole evening experience. Worhy of a trip just to see the wallpaper! There is a downstairs hideway which serves as a enoteca (wine bar) and local (trattoria) everyday eaterie, however I have not been to sample these yet. The menu is reguarly updated to reflect the seasons. I normally have the four course menu. Just don’t make the mistake of asking for your vegetable course with your meat course as Chris likes to ensure his food is served in the traditional italian manner! An extensive wine menu is available and wine is available to be purchased.

Is it possible to live life without regrets? I don’t know, but I do know that I hugely regret not having eaten here for several years now (we have two young children and have neither the time nor the money to eat out as often as we used to). Ramson’s is, quite simply, a fantastic restaurant. The food is absolutely top notch and (when we went there) was pricey, but was still good value considering what you ate. (I understand prices may have increased a bit more than inflation since we last went though). The customer service was good (on one occasion a companion couldn’t decide on a dessert and so was served a little taster of everything on the menu!), the ambience just right — all in all a wonderful place for a special evening. No surprise that the Which? Good Food Guide recommended it so highly. For me, you either eat at Ramson’s from time to time — or you regret it.

Two restaurants in one: a basement ‘enoteca’ (Italian Wine Bar) is tiny and very intimate and the upstairs restaurant where their fine dining menu is served. I haven’t tried the wine bar, so I’ll stick to reviewing the main restaurant.
Prices range from £17.50 for one course at lunch times, through £49 for 4 courses for weekend dinner and topping out at £64 for 10 course Saturday dinner menu. The main restaurant has recently won the Which Good Food Guide restaurant of the year award, so must be pretty good, but on the one occasion I went there we were sorely disappointed.
Four of us went, two couples, and one member of the party has a Gluten allergy. Because of this I rang ahead and specifically asked if this would be a problem, and was assured it wouldn’t be. When I actually booked the table, I mention the allergy again, and was once again told it would be fine. On the evening in question however it was a huge problem. There were so many mistakes, that we eventually got one of the meals for free.
At the moment I think I will leave it at this. It should be a really good 4 or 5* restaurant, but in my experience it definitely wasn’t, managing 2* at best. I will compromise and give it 3*, but hope that your experience is better than mine