Old Venice is one of the best restaurants on the historic Oxford Square. The food is amazing -- everything on the menu is so good, you will have a very hard time trying to decide on just one thing. The bar (The Burgandy Room) is by far the best bar in Oxford. I recommend a Sex on the Square to drink while overlooking the Oxford Square on the BR's balcony.    [29 Jul 2001 23:25:46]

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Recommended Dishes: Everything is Excellent, but they are known for their pizzas. I recommend the Hog Wild or John Wayne.

     ­Anonymous   

Not the best
This is not the best place to eat, drink or be merry on the Square. The service here is the absolute worst in town. Last item I was there the waiter offered me bread from the table next to me as they were getting up to leave. The Burgundy is a fun place to hang out if you're underage and want to stand shoulder to shoulder and take in more second hand smoke than in any other bar in town.    [20 Sep 2001 12:54:41]

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Recommended Dishes: Lasagna is good

     ­mike   

OLD VENICE PIZZA COMPANY
My very favorite pizza...period, whether in Oxford, Starkville, or Jackson.

I like their salads, too.

And their lasagna? Well, I bet you most of you can't "eat the whole thing!"

And the employees are great!

   [22 Aug 2002 07:51:03]

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Recommended Dishes: Gumbo Pizza

     ­DAN, http://www.kingdomfoundation.org   r_t_dan_hanchey at hotmail dot com

I came to eat here while visiting a friend, the food was excellent but the service was terrible. After bringing us our food the next time we saw our waiter was when he brought us our bill, even then we had to flag him down for it. We had one refill of our drinks but that was because we flagged down a waitress. I'd go back just because the food was very good.    [26 Dec 2002 17:08:23]

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     ­Anonymous   

awsome
I love the food, it is amazing and you will love the burgundy room. Lawson the bartender is amazing. He loves to make great drinks. This place is one of a kind. Please do not miss this place when you visit Oxford.    [10 Feb 2003 05:16:02]

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Recommended Dishes: Pasta Maria

     ­Anonymous   

THE BEST PIZZA IN THE WORLD!!!!
This is simply one of the best restaurants I've ever been to, and I've been to a lot. The service is really great and so are the employees.

You gotta try the lasagna, it'll make you kiss the cute waitress.    [07 Mar 2003 13:51:43]

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Recommended Dishes: Lasagna

     ­Joey Ashford   

Not A Rave
Old Venice used to be THE place to go on the Square. Now it has become the same mediocre dining experience as everything else in the Town and Gown game.

The service is horrible and the alfredo sauce tastes like wallpaper paste.

Those that rave about the lasagna must love ricotta cheese because it overpowers the meat sauce as it oozes from the sides of the overcooked pasta.

I used to love this restaurant but the standards seemed to have slipped.    [28 Jun 2005 20:30:15]

Food:    Service: -   Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: NONE

     ­SR   

Old Venice is astounding
While I would agree that certain things about Old Venice have slipped over the last several years (they took my favorite menu item off of the menu) it's still a very nice, very fun place to eat.

The food is very good, despite what some seem to be saying in this forum.    [10 Apr 2006 16:00:26]

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Recommended Dishes: fettucini, lasagna

     ­jpcongle   

Best Restaurant on the Square at the best Price $$$ :)
Trausclaire, Pasta Maria, and Chicken Tuscany are my favorites. These dishes are all so great that I have a hard time deciding which to get. The best part about this place is the beautiful servers. They are so down to earth and not snobby like all the other restaurants. You have to try this place!!!    [14 Apr 2008 15:41:48]

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Recommended Dishes: trausclaire, chx tuscany pizza, pasta maria

     ­Hungry Hippo   

Unique pizzas on the square
Old Venice Pizza company was closed for renovations the last time I was in Oxford, so this review has present for a while in the back of my mind.

My dining companion and I finally got a taste of Old Venice on a Saturday evening. Surprisingly, the restaurant wasn't crowded and no one was waiting on a table.

The exterior is very French Quarteresque. The interior is upscale without being foo-foo, but cozy without being dumpy.

We were seated quickly. The hostess also brought a loaf of bread and some fresh cracked pepper and olive oil for dipping. The bread was as dark on the inside as out - kind of a muddy brown color. It tasted of fresh Italian herbs, but was a little chewy and not warm at all.

The menu at this location features more unusual pizza dishes than traditional options. There's an all veggie pizza, one with pulled pork and barbeque sauce and several with alfredo and grilled chicken. Pastas and salads of a more conventional nature are available.

We opted for an appetizer of crawfish rolls (2 for $8). Imagine an eggroll from your favorite Chinese place, but turned on its tail, er, crawfish tail. Plenty of tender chunks of tail meat with creamy cheeses and bacon for extra zing. And zing they did! Tangy, spicy sauce with the mild fresh crawfish meat in a fried wrapper? Awesome. The spicy Creole aioli served with the dish added to the fire without being overwhelming.

For entrées, we each got individual pizzas: I chose the Chicken Tuscany and my companion, who apparently was craving crawfish, chose the Daddy Crawdaddy ($12 each.)

The pizzas arrived fairly quickly. The Chicken Tuscany, with its large hunks of meat, copious red onions, red peppers and three cheeses with garlic cream was a winner. Drizzled over all that is olive oil and a sweet balsamic syrup, which gives the pizza a sweet undertone.

The Daddy Crawdaddy is simple: crawfish, of course, with red peppers and a cream sauce. It was delightfully good, but could've used more crawfish meat.

We each tried the hand-tossed crust, although thin is also available. The hand-tossed crust was tender, chewy and full of flavor. A small container of garlic butter would have been a nice accompaniment to the crusts, though.

The sweet tea was mediocre at best and the service, while friendly, was a little absent at times. Neither detracted enough from the experience to keep us from going back, though.

The individual service size pizzas were much larger than we anticipated, which was welcome. One can never have too much pizza, you know.

You can get pizza in just about any town in Mississippi, but you can't get pizza like Old Venice's. The unique and interesting combinations, with a tasty crust and fresh toppings make this a good place for a nice change of pace.    [19 Jul 2008 23:43:23]

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Recommended Dishes: Daddy Crawdaddy pizza, Crawfish Rolls

     ­Tom Servo, ChefMoz - MS editor