Title: Venus Restaurant
Author: GCS

Update on Venus:
Review date:  April 2009
(first review appended below)

We returned to Venus, arriving a little later than we had before. The place was bustling and extremely noisy – those brick walls bounce a lot of sound even when the place is only half-full. 

The kitchen wasn’t quite as on point as on our first visit. The two starters, Carlos’ pea soup with cumin, and my spring garlic flan with crab salad, were both marvelous. But this time the pork chop was not only smaller, but very slightly overcooked. Today’s pork is so lean, it really has to be medium-rare to remain juicy. The flavor was good, but there was no sauce or gravy, so the dish came off rather plain, with a tasty chili-coriander-spiked long-grain rice, and sauteed Savoy cabbage. 

We got a side of roasted cauliflower, which was delicious. This time Carlos skipped dessert for a cappucino, and I had the panna cotta with chocolate nibs and ganache. It was rich and very good, although I actually prefer the lighter style of panna cotta done by Montclair Bistro. His cappucino was off-balance: adequate but not quite right. It tasted a bit burnt. My decaf coffee was as good as it was the first time we visited. It always makes a huge difference when freshly made, much more so than regular caffeinated coffee.

Inez got the same dish as before, the pulled pork sandwich. Our two starters, three entrees, one dessert, and three beverages, with tip was $130.

We were a little disappointed this time. But still, it was good, and Venus stays on our list of preferred restaurants.

Venus Restaurant
2327 Shattuck Ave @ Durant, Berkeley
http://www.venusrestaurant.net/
Review date: March 2009

You might remember we really enjoyed Pappo’s in Alameda (reviewed on 7/28/2008). Well, Venus is like Pappo’s (they even look similar inside and are about the same small size), only based in the bustling Shattuck Avenue business district. They are just down from La Note restaurant, so similarly, parking can be difficult at times.

It’s worth the trouble to make a reservation and visit Venus, however, because it’s slightly better than Pappo’s and even cheaper – possibly the best bargain bistro we’ve visited so far.

Their menu is limited, a good thing for a small place. We chose to share the mushroom and marscapone crostini with Meyer lemon. Three nice crostini were generously spread with the lemon-scented marscapone, then topped with roasted wild mushrooms – delicious!

Inez chose the pulled pork sandwich with melted gruyere and chipotle mayonnaise, served with a simple mixed green salad. She asked them not to toast the bread too much (she dislikes hard bread) and they did a nice job. The sandwich was well toasted with grill marks, but the bread was still soft inside so she could eat it easily. She really liked it, and finished it all despite the fact it was a good-sized sandwich.

I got the roasted lamb, which was a shoulder cut that was more stewed than roasted. Served with chopped fennel, tomato and bloomsdale spinach (an heirloom variety with classic savoyed [curly] leaves) over a square of griddled polenta that was still creamy inside, it would have been perfect except for the overdose of salt. As the other two entrees weren’t at all salty, this seemed just a miscalculation in the kitchen. I’ve run into this in many other restaurants, where between the salt and the wine, then the usual reduction of au jus, the salt starts to dominate. A bit disappointing, but a couple of slices of their very good bread helped. The polenta was marvelous and although full of flavor from some Gouda melted through it, wasn’t salty and also helped offset the fork-tender lamb.

Carlos got the winner of the evening, a grilled pork chop with cabbage and apples in a dijon-applecider sauce, with mashed German Butterball potatoes. The pork was wonderful, the sauce creamy, and the potatoes⎯! It isn’t often I get excited about potatoes, although I like them a lot. Carlos never gets excited about them all, preferring pasta to any other starch. But we both agreed these were unusually flavorful, with an earthy taste that really came through.

There are several side vegetable dishes, and next time I’d order a few. They’re a little skimpy on the veggies, like most bistros, and they had several nice offerings. There was a brussel sprout and apple dish, a roasted cauliflower, and an evening special of grilled asparagus, that we missed out on.

That did leave us room for dessert, though. Unlike Pappo’s, the dessert menu was so interesting we ordered three desserts, one more than we usually share.

Inez got the Scharffenberger chocolate mousse with whipped cream and fresh raspberry coulis. Airy, not too sweet and deeply chocolate, she finished it all happily. 

I got the coconut panna cotta with tropical fruits. I’m a sucker for panna cotta (neither Inez nor Carlos likes it, so I never get it except in restaurants). Coconut was a first-time flavoring for me and I really enjoyed it.

Carlos once again won the prize – a chocolate banana bread pudding, with chocolate ganache and caramel sauce. He doesn’t like caramel and asked for more of the chocolate and less of the caramel, which the restaurant was happy to do for him. This turned out to be a good decision anyway since he said it was just a bit sweet overall. However, since we both opted for coffee, this evened it out since Venus’ coffee is fairly strong and served in large glass mugs. Unlike a lot of restaurants, their decaf was almost espresso-strong, which I enjoyed.

His bread pudding almost looked like an éclair, with a thin chocolate meringue coating on top. It had wonderful banana  flavor, which makes you wonder why more pastry chefs don’t lighten up their chocolate offerings with bananas or orange, both of which are wonderful with dark chocolate.

The cost was extremely low for a huge meal. Venus’ servings are on the hearty side for a bistro. We watched another table in amazement where everyone had an entire starter and an entrée apiece; the soup bowl alone was a substantial meal in itself (a chunky vegetable and lentil mix)!

With tip; one starter, three entrees, three beverages, three desserts, came to $130.

A bargain, and we will definitely be back. Venus is one of the rare restaurants that is open 7 days a week, breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch.