Holy smokes you have to eat here. Menu is varied, but not too big. Scallop Ceviche was to die for.

Excellent food, service and ambiance. Nice cocktail selections, good wine selection.

Had an excellent lunch, especially as what I ordered did not sound that exciting. I got there early and decided to get the calamari. I had just assumed it was fried calamari, realized it wasn't after I ordered it and was resigned to getting a dish I would just work through, as I am not a huge calamari fan normally outside of fried. Turns out it was fantastic. The calamari was not at all chewy, usually my big complaint, and the tomato/red pepper sauce was incredible. I easily ate all the pieces and was dying to lick the plate it was so good. I decided to go healthy with the main and went with the Cobb salad, also excellent. All of the ingredients were fresh and the Green Goddess dressing excellent, did not overpower the salad but also made it flavorful and interesting. The menu is not huge but what I had was done perfectly.

Made reservations for dinner , since we know it can be super busy . We were seated promptly, given menus and water. The restaurant was partially full at 6:30. Our server read us the specials and offered other drinks besides water. The scallop special sounded divine ; blackened scallops over coconut curry butternut squash with brussels sprouts, finished with a balsamic drizzle topped with frisée greens. The orecchiette pasta with broccoli rabe pesto, fennel sausage, chili flake with shrimp on top. Were the two dinners that we ordered. While we waited we ordered bread and butter. It can be a loud restaurant, no acoustic panels to help the noise level. There are some neat pictures on the walls to look at while you wait for dinner. The bread was hot and crusty- delicious. Our dinners came out . The scallops looked amazing so did the pasta dish. The scallops were cooked perfectly, a nice sear on them , wonderful flavor and no gritty sand to be found. The coconut curry butternut squash had plenty of spice , but not overpowering . The brussels sprouts were tender but needed a touch of flavor , they were a little bland by themselves. The frisée was an interesting component to the dish . The orecchiette pasta was cooked nicely , the shrimp added a nice taste . It was not overly garlicky at all. It was two delicious dinners. The restaurant started to fill up and the servers were very busy. It took a while for the server to check back with us . A second glass of wine took a long time to get but it eventually arrived. It would have gotten 5 stars if the attentiveness was present by the waitstaff. All in all I would go back again.

Venable is consistently perfection! The atmosphere is wonderful, every dish is phenomenal, and the service is top level. You can't miss! Elle, Jake, and Michael are especially great servers! Jake remembered us (and our order!) from a couple of months prior, and makes every visit special! Just awesome!