Hours:

Sun closed

Mon 5-10pm

Tue 5-10pm

Wed 5-11pm

Thu 5-12am

Fri 5-12am

Sat 5-12am

Price:

$$$

Last updated 8.27.11

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

American Express, Cash, Visa, Discover, MasterCard

Bar & Pub Special Features:

Martinis

Restaurant Special Features:

Casual Date Spot, Local Favorite, Family-Friendly Dining, Romantic Dining, Special Occasion Dining, Private Rooms, Business Dining, Date Spot, Group Dining, Carry Out, Dine At The Bar, Private Parties, Bar Scene, Prix Fixe Menu

Cuisine:

New American, Italian

Smoking Permitted:

No

What People Are Saying About Venetian Moon

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

In Short – Suburbanites located north of the city in search of an upscale lounge head to Reading, where Venetian Moon's martini bar awaits. Stocked with more than 200 different vodkas, the bar churns out more than 40 different martinis, many of which are made using fresh fruit purees. The stylish dining area serves as a comfortable setting in which to enjoy upscale Italian fare (six-cheese ravioli, angel hair puttanesca).

Editor's Tips

The Extras:
Venetian Moon's full service martini bar displays more than 360 types of vodkas from all over the world and produces more than 70 different martinis.
ambiance
100.0% positive
  1. Hard to find great food, drinks, atmosphere, free parking and all in one place.
  2. All in all the dinner was 2 hours start to finish so service is not slow, but the food and ambience was only average.
  3. The atmosphere and service was great at this point.
  4. Perfect ambience and excellent Italian food
  5. The service, atmosphere and food are always fantastic.
  6. To be 5 star is a combination of quality of food, good service, and ambience.
  7. Great new atmosphere, Awesome food and drinks
  8. actually leave downtown boston to visit this great suburban location.
  9. It's such a fun, friendly place, super-conveniently located right on Rte.
  10. will recommend the Venetian Moon to everyone I know and hope they take my advice for a wonderful dining/atmosphere experience.
  11. The service isn't that great and the attitude of the employees does not justify the atmosphere, food or the crowd that hangs out there.
  12. The crowd is always lively and buzzing, the atmosphere is cool and hip, the staff has always been fun and friendlly, and the martinis and food are delicious.
  13. love the ambience.
  14. After a fun Friday night of eating delicious Italian food and drinking some flavorful martinis, I can honestly say it was the best experience my wife and I had in awhile.
  15. We were promptly seated at a cozy little table downstairs.
  16. think the restuarant was great: the staff was great, the food was excellent and the atmosphere was cutting edge.
  17. After reading the reviews and seeing the overall 9.6 rating my husband and I decided to have a romantic and wonderful dinner at Venetian Moon.
  18. Good food, v-good sangria, fun atmosphere for a group
  19. so the wait was extrememly long, but the new atmosphere is sooo cool.
  20. The Martini Bar is great, but I miss the old ambience!
  21. The food is great and the atmosphere is what I have been searching for.
  22. Great place to go and have a delicious, sophisticated drink in a comfortable atmosphere.
  23. It has a very friendly atmosphere and great service.
  24. Table for two can be romantic in this great area.
  25. The food is pretty good, if not a bit pricey, but all in all its a great place to go with friends or on a romantic date.
dessert
100.0% positive
  1. Amy our server was so pleasant and accomidating, (she made excellent recommendations from martinis, to tapas, to dessert) nothing to say but wonderful.
  2. After dinner, other friends arrived and Louis moved us to the private lounge area, where we continued to have drinks and my husband had a bunch of desserts brought out for everyone to share (and Louis and crew sang happy b-day to me in Italian!)
  3. Tortellini w/ a cream sauce and chicken limon, sooo delicious.
  4. My only complaint was that they were all out of chocolate cake (but, as a pretty picky person, if that's my only complaint, then that is saying a lot about how great this place is!)
drinks
96.14999771118164% positive
  1. big bar with music and live entertainment.
  2. Hard to find great food, drinks, atmosphere, free parking and all in one place.
  3. If you love to network, the martinis bar upstairs is a great place.
  4. loved the Venetian Moon before the bar was put in.
  5. About a month ago my friends and I were told to try this place because the food and drinks were great.
  6. The food is good, but the drinks are better.
  7. The place is great, they have a downstairs for dining or upstairs for app's and drinks.
  8. The food was great and the drinks were something to come back for.
  9. The amazing martini selection and high quality of the drinks made up for the slightly slow service.
  10. The clean all white dining area downstairs, with 3 screen faux fish tank opposite the bar w/ TVs is a great place to dine and grab a sneak peek at the latest sports.
  11. There is higher level floor with a beautiful bar.
  12. Basically bar seating, which is fine if that is what your prepared for, we like good bars, this is not one of those.
  13. at one point, one of them ordered a second glass and thought that it d/n taste as good as the first glass, so Louis happily had the drink re-made (perfectly!)
  14. The wait staff and bartenders are great, drinks are soo good, and the food is awsome!
  15. Do agree that drinks are great.
  16. After dinner, other friends arrived and Louis moved us to the private lounge area, where we continued to have drinks and my husband had a bunch of desserts brought out for everyone to share (and Louis and crew sang happy b-day to me in Italian!)
  17. Great place to go and have a delicious, sophisticated drink in a comfortable atmosphere.
  18. The food is awesome and the drinks are great too.
  19. It was great before the bar and even better now with the huge martini menu.
  20. Great new atmosphere, Awesome food and drinks
  21. The food was very good and I would advise ordering off of the tappas/bar menu.
  22. Venetian Moon Is the best restarant and bar in the north shore.
  23. This restaurant allowed us to talk while sipping fabulous drinks and eating a wide array of foods from the tapas menu.
  24. Even though these might be annoying for some people, if you go with a group of people that you enjoy spending time with you can get a greal meal (that tastes great the next day too) and excellent drinks.
  25. Incredible restaurant with great martini bar.
  26. The bar is really cool looking it has such a Boston feel without going into Boston.
food quality
82.55000114440918% positive
  1. As for the food, everyone loved their meals, including me.
  2. The food is great and the martini's are by far the best.
  3. Great place to go and have a delicious, sophisticated drink in a comfortable atmosphere.
  4. The food is so good you can never get a table
  5. NEVER had a bad meal or bad service.
  6. The food was superb,
  7. Tortellini w/ a cream sauce and chicken limon, sooo delicious.
  8. think the restuarant was great: the staff was great, the food was excellent and the atmosphere was cutting edge.
  9. Perfect ambience and excellent Italian food
  10. The service, atmosphere and food are always fantastic.
  11. Chicken was very moist and sauce had wonderful flavor and texture.
  12. the food was exellent and the martinis are absolutly incredible.
  13. The food was great and the drinks were something to come back for.
  14. the food is totally awesome.
  15. The food was very good and I would advise ordering off of the tappas/bar menu.
  16. The dishes were not unique or high end as the reviews might suggest, the martinis are average, despite the allure of a large martini menu.
  17. The clean all white dining area downstairs, with 3 screen faux fish tank opposite the bar w/ TVs is a great place to dine and grab a sneak peek at the latest sports.
  18. About a month ago my friends and I were told to try this place because the food and drinks were great.
  19. Good food, v-good sangria, fun atmosphere for a group
  20. All in all the dinner was 2 hours start to finish so service is not slow, but the food and ambience was only average.
  21. frequent the Moon all too often and have never had a bad meal or one that made me ill.
  22. After a fun Friday night of eating delicious Italian food and drinking some flavorful martinis, I can honestly say it was the best experience my wife and I had in awhile.
  23. The food is pretty good, if not a bit pricey, but all in all its a great place to go with friends or on a romantic date.
  24. waiting for over an hour for a reservation for 4 people, wanting to have my food wrapped to go and then having the waitress "forget" and throw it out only to not have it taken off our bill or even have the manager apologize for the waitress's mistake, wro
  25. had a wonderful dinning experience at the Venetian Moon, the food is great, the service is wonderful and the martinis are out of this world.
  26. The food is also good and a great place to dine with a large group of friends.
  27. My party enjoyed a few of their delicious martini's while we waited.
  28. am sure some dishes are tasty, but the ones we had tried were weighed down too much with oil and the alfredo dish such as chicken and brocc had 0 taste not worth waiting forever for or even 5 minutes.
  29. Even though these might be annoying for some people, if you go with a group of people that you enjoy spending time with you can get a greal meal (that tastes great the next day too) and excellent drinks.
  30. The service isn't that great and the attitude of the employees does not justify the atmosphere, food or the crowd that hangs out there.
  31. Also, water was refilled constantly and I noticed food was flying out of the kitchen at a really fast pace.
  32. The food is always great, I have never had such a good linguini with clam sauce in my life.
  33. The food is great and the atmosphere is what I have been searching for.
  34. (I can be v-picky and we've been to the V-moon now 5-6 times;had one bad meal but otherwise have enjoyed it!)
  35. Most of their entrees are served with or over an amazing homemade pasta.
  36. Great food, great service!
  37. Their food is great, service is slow due to overwhelming clientele.
  38. Good food, but not good enough for me to wait 2 1/2 hours for dinner.
  39. The food is fantastic too!
  40. food was great.
  41. Great new atmosphere, Awesome food and drinks
  42. The pomegranate sangria and the pink berry sangria were both dangerously delicious, as was the godiva-raspeberry martini.
  43. best food and martinis everrrrrrrrrrr
  44. The waitstaff do not rush you out of there, therefore, you can have great food and great conversation at the same time.
  45. Hard to find great food, drinks, atmosphere, free parking and all in one place.
  46. Our meals, which we had to reorder, were delicious also.
  47. Parmignon cheese is not fresh and given to you in a classic pizzeria shaker.
  48. This was the worst meal I have had in a long time.
  49. To be 5 star is a combination of quality of food, good service, and ambience.
  50. The crowd is always lively and buzzing, the atmosphere is cool and hip, the staff has always been fun and friendlly, and the martinis and food are delicious.
  51. It looked like a basement with a fresh coat of paint.
  52. young Italian buss-boy around 16 years old I want to say, came right away with water and fresh delicious bread.
  53. the food was outstanding.
  54. Working in the medical field, I am pretty positive that it takes at least 24 hours to get sick over bad food, so if you are sick right after, maybe it was too many martinis that did it.
  55. Horrible food
  56. Good food if you don't mind BAD service and waiting hours to eat!
  57. The wait staff and bartenders are great, drinks are soo good, and the food is awsome!
  58. Another couple, who's been there once before about a year ago and didn't like the food, completely changed their mind after last night's meal!
  59. The food is awesome and the drinks are great too.
  60. The service was terrible and the food was average.
  61. We got the appetizer and the salads which were all delicious.
  62. We were recommended a nice Chianti to compliment our meal, a fantastic appetizer (gnocchi with garlic and oil) and all 4 of our meals were great.
  63. We had the warm tomato and mozzarella salad appetizer, and the chicken limone and fusilli ultimo.
  64. The food is good, but the drinks are better.
menu variety
69.22999858856201% positive
  1. It was great before the bar and even better now with the huge martini menu.
  2. waiting for over an hour for a reservation for 4 people, wanting to have my food wrapped to go and then having the waitress "forget" and throw it out only to not have it taken off our bill or even have the manager apologize for the waitress's mistake, wro
  3. The food was very good and I would advise ordering off of the tappas/bar menu.
  4. The amazing martini selection and high quality of the drinks made up for the slightly slow service.
  5. The font used on the menu is a small script and with the poor lighting we could hardly read the menu.
  6. We asked to speak with the manager due to our extensive wait and the poor table.
  7. The dishes were not unique or high end as the reviews might suggest, the martinis are average, despite the allure of a large martini menu.
  8. They have an extensive menu of over 70 different martinis and each one I have tried has been expertly made.
  9. This restaurant allowed us to talk while sipping fabulous drinks and eating a wide array of foods from the tapas menu.
  10. The Martini Menu is extensive as is the menu selection.
  11. The martinis were good and there was a large selection of them too.
  12. assumed the menu would be more interesting and more inventive.
  13. Drink menu is extensive and vodka choices extremely impressive.
overall
100.0% positive
  1. It was the best place ive been to in a long time.
  2. absolutetly love the fact that such a great place is so close by or me.
  3. The clean all white dining area downstairs, with 3 screen faux fish tank opposite the bar w/ TVs is a great place to dine and grab a sneak peek at the latest sports.
  4. Hard to find great food, drinks, atmosphere, free parking and all in one place.
  5. As my headline states, it's a great restaurant for the city feel, yet I'm close to home!
  6. what a great place!
  7. My only complaint was that they were all out of chocolate cake (but, as a pretty picky person, if that's my only complaint, then that is saying a lot about how great this place is!)
  8. If you love to network, the martinis bar upstairs is a great place.
  9. The food is pretty good, if not a bit pricey, but all in all its a great place to go with friends or on a romantic date.
  10. This is the best place
  11. The food is also good and a great place to dine with a large group of friends.
  12. this is the best place ever.
  13. This is a great place for couples that want to meet with their friends and a have a great night.
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. The food was great and the drinks were something to come back for.
  2. will definitely come back, thank you for a great experience.
service
76.50000095367432% positive
  1. Our servers were helpful with questions we had about their martini's, etc.
  2. All in all the dinner was 2 hours start to finish so service is not slow, but the food and ambience was only average.
  3. Even though these might be annoying for some people, if you go with a group of people that you enjoy spending time with you can get a greal meal (that tastes great the next day too) and excellent drinks.
  4. Their food is great, service is slow due to overwhelming clientele.
  5. Good food if you don't mind BAD service and waiting hours to eat!
  6. The service is great.
  7. We asked to speak with the manager due to our extensive wait and the poor table.
  8. the staff is great.
  9. Our waitress was fantastic.
  10. We are a little confused why so many people like it?
  11. Thank you to our great waitress for putting up with the old men!
  12. waiting for over an hour for a reservation for 4 people, wanting to have my food wrapped to go and then having the waitress "forget" and throw it out only to not have it taken off our bill or even have the manager apologize for the waitress's mistake, wro
  13. The wait staff and bartenders are great, drinks are soo good, and the food is awsome!
  14. have been a few times now the service is the best and so many different outstanding martini's to choose from
  15. It has a very friendly atmosphere and great service.
  16. Our waiter was very attentive even as he had other tables.
  17. The service isn't that great and the attitude of the employees does not justify the atmosphere, food or the crowd that hangs out there.
  18. think the restuarant was great: the staff was great, the food was excellent and the atmosphere was cutting edge.
  19. was very impressed by the hostess and waitstaff who were very attentive.
  20. All wait staff was polite, friendly and helpful.
  21. Our waitress was rude, harsh, and ill-mannered.
  22. The amazing martini selection and high quality of the drinks made up for the slightly slow service.
  23. Great food, great service!
  24. Amy our server was so pleasant and accomidating, (she made excellent recommendations from martinis, to tapas, to dessert) nothing to say but wonderful.
  25. had a wonderful dinning experience at the Venetian Moon, the food is great, the service is wonderful and the martinis are out of this world.
  26. My girlfriend and I have really come to like this place and the people that work there.
  27. To be 5 star is a combination of quality of food, good service, and ambience.
  28. Maybe other people went on a busy night and service could be slow but 18 of us had a great time and look forward to going back in the near future.
  29. At first I was skeptical about sitting at the very small tables underneath the three televisions but our wonderful waitress made it worth while, as she was very friendly.
  30. The service, atmosphere and food are always fantastic.
  31. the bartender recommended this grat vodka.
  32. The service was terrible and the food was average.
  33. NEVER had a bad meal or bad service.
  34. It's such a fun, friendly place, super-conveniently located right on Rte.
  35. Our waitress was rude and smelled like cigarettes.
  36. The service was awful!
  37. The atmosphere and service was great at this point.
  38. The only negative thing is one of the hostesses is not friendly AT ALL!
  39. The crowd is always lively and buzzing, the atmosphere is cool and hip, the staff has always been fun and friendlly, and the martinis and food are delicious.
value
88.88999938964844% positive
  1. At first I was skeptical about sitting at the very small tables underneath the three televisions but our wonderful waitress made it worth while, as she was very friendly.
  2. was able to make 3 meals out of my last dinner there, so it ended up being a great value!
  3. am sure some dishes are tasty, but the ones we had tried were weighed down too much with oil and the alfredo dish such as chicken and brocc had 0 taste not worth waiting forever for or even 5 minutes.
  4. stay out of overpriced boston.
  5. think the prices are reasonable.
  6. The tapas portions were a great suggestion for the indecisive.
  7. The food is pretty good, if not a bit pricey, but all in all its a great place to go with friends or on a romantic date.
  8. Our salads were great and large portions.
  9. It was great before the bar and even better now with the huge martini menu.
wait time
53.33000183105469% positive
  1. am sure some dishes are tasty, but the ones we had tried were weighed down too much with oil and the alfredo dish such as chicken and brocc had 0 taste not worth waiting forever for or even 5 minutes.
  2. waiting for over an hour for a reservation for 4 people, wanting to have my food wrapped to go and then having the waitress "forget" and throw it out only to not have it taken off our bill or even have the manager apologize for the waitress's mistake, wro
  3. The amazing martini selection and high quality of the drinks made up for the slightly slow service.
  4. It was the best place ive been to in a long time.
  5. Maybe other people went on a busy night and service could be slow but 18 of us had a great time and look forward to going back in the near future.
  6. so the wait was extrememly long, but the new atmosphere is sooo cool.
  7. All in all the dinner was 2 hours start to finish so service is not slow, but the food and ambience was only average.
  8. Makes me hesitant to recommend a place that has been a long time favorite :- (
  9. This was the worst meal I have had in a long time.
  10. Their food is great, service is slow due to overwhelming clientele.
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

05/13/12

Service

by johndev84

Normally, I am not inclined to write reviews online because I feel that they are unauthentic but I just had to just express my extreme liking for this restaurant. My friends and I ate dinner here on Saturday night and everything went much better than expected. Some of our other friends did not particularly care for this place but we decided to try it out on our own. The four of us sat downstairs in the dining area and we were immediately greeted with waters and bread. After mistaking our busy boy for our server, we asked for some recommendations but he actually knew the menu up and down and provided us with excellent choices. Our server, Seth, was very cordial and helpful and was always quick in delivering both food and drinks. Another thing that stuck out to me was how both the bus boy and Seth exchanged our silverware after both our appetizers and our salads. It was a very nice touch. Keep up the great service Venetian Moon!

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

10/21/10

Favorite place

by breo

Totally disagree with momof two.Love this place.Been going there for years.Always an enjoyable experiance.You have to be nice to get nice in return!!

1 Star Rating: Poor

10/04/10

Ventetian moon can not seat large parties (waited over 2 1/2

by mom of two

I went to Venetian moon on 9/25 with several friends expecting a great night out. I was very disapointed to say the least. They do not take reservations- even for large parties. (They should either say they wont be able to seat them or start to make reservations so they can be better prepare when we do come) We were quoted 1 1/2 hour wait - We said no problem.

The lounge was nice when we began our wait at 7:00 pm. We had a few apps and drinks while we waited. We waited so long we didn't know if we should order more aspps because as more of our group arrived they were starved. We assumed we'd be sittng by 8:30- so we didn't order more food just the over priced drinks. No such luck sitting soon.

By 9:00pm we asked how much longer.- The hostess co-owner gave us the run around. She said that the 1 large table they planed for us was done eating, even paid there bill but they did not leave. Hmm? OK how much longer do we wait? We got the same story for the next 30 minutes.

At 9:45 (That's 2 hrs and 45 minutes after we arrived) we still were told they didn't know when we could sit for dinner. Not one drink or dish of apps were sent over to us as a nice gesture- sorry for the wait not once was spoken. Hmm what's wrong here???.

What had once been an accomidating loung became the place to hide guests who had no where to sit. . After that long wait any square basement room with no windows and simple decore becomes drab.

They had CSI on TV again not a upbeat atmosphere with blood and guts on TV while waiting over 2 1/2 hours. We were so disapointed with the lack of Customer service we left with never eating a meal.

All 10 of us vowing never to return and to tell everyone we knew how poorly they handles the situation.

My husband and both own our own buisnesses. We spoke about POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. They could have sent over a round of drinks or a few apps, or certainly after this amount of time asked us to return again and they would have a table all ready and waiting so we could see what good service there would be like. Not one comp item and a $200.00 bar bill.

The hostess/ co-owner actually was yelling at us and it became strangly heated. PROFESIONALISM AT IT'S WORST... She said she's been doing it her way for 10 years and she's not going to change. Therefore, I don't believe this review will have her rethink her service ways but hopefully you will rethink going with a large party on a Fun Friday night.

Venetian moon was a failure for our part of 10. :( :(

4 Star Rating: Recommended

03/21/10

taste of city life in the suburbs

by BarbB09

Great place for a drink and dinner. Love the martinis..and the atmosphere downstairs is very chic. The food is pretty good, if not a bit pricey, but all in all its a great place to go with friends or on a romantic date.

  • Pros: atmosphere
  • Cons: bit pricey
4 Star Rating: Recommended

01/08/10

Delicious homemade pasta

by lsarao

I've been to Venetian Moon several times and every time I leave wondering why I don't come here more often! It's such a fun, friendly place, super-conveniently located right on Rte. 28 in Reading. It's North End quality good, without having to go into the City!

They have an extensive menu of over 70 different martinis and each one I have tried has been expertly made. Most recently we had the raspberry martini and esspresso black martini. Both were super yummy.

They offer both tapas portions for about $10 a plate (which is actually about the size of one normal portion) and also full-size entrees, which are enormous, for about $18-$22 a plate. I was able to make 3 meals out of my last dinner there, so it ended up being a great value!

Most of their entrees are served with or over an amazing homemade pasta. They even offer a whole wheat past option, which is fantastic as well. If you're looking for something a bit different, I highly recommend the Octopus and Scallop Fra Diavolo. It is a bowl of hot and spicy perfection!

The Details on Venetian Moon

Place Categories:

  • great italian food
  • great place
  • great service
  • great drinks
  • great fun atmosphere
  • great wait staff
  • great martini bar
  • rude waitress
  • never bad meal
  • mediocre food
  • outstanding venetian moon
  • never bad diningatmosphere experience
  • incredible restaurant
  • nice bartenders
  • fantastic mozzarella salad appetizer
  • helpful server
  • not unique dishes
  • great attitude
  • good dining experience
  • great flavor
  • large portions
  • outstanding baked haddock
  • good martinis
  • extensive martini menu
  • extremely impressive drink menu
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