We loved Vini da Gigio, also liked Antiche Carampane, and favorites from a while back are Al Covo, Alle Testiere, and Alla Madonna (not to be confused with Alla Maddelena mentioned above).
Here is a link to my blog posts where I wrote about the first two:
Thanks for sharing your blog post and recommendations! Its good to see that you are travelling again.
I think I wll make reservations on this visit of 5 days - made the first for Alle Testiere, which we have never visited. We have a lot to revisit and I am particularly looking forward to visiting the Lagoon islands with a view to birdwatching and a visit to Alla Maddalena as well as seeing Torcello again. I was last in Venice in 2015 on a lagoon-based Uniworld Cruise with my Mom, which included private visits to San Marco and the Accademia (good, not crowded) and an attempt to navigate with her through the passages to the Rialto Bridge (a painful ordeal, this was in season). For my husband its been several years longer.
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Finishing up our 5th and final day in Venice staying in lovely Cannareggio. One restaurant meal a day. All very, very good. These were all lunches achieved without a res, except at Alle Testiere which we booked ahead. All half carafes except for, again Alle Testiere, all white except at Alla Zucca.
First and last meals at Vini da Gigio, the seafood mixed appetizer, bigoli with duck ragu fora primo and aplatters of grilled eel laid over a veg sautĂŠed and fegato alla veneziana as secondi. Every element of the meal was fresh and full of flavor, a high level of cooking and service. The bread basket was particularly nice and their practice of including a wide assortment of wines by the half carafe, along with their very deep wine list was admirable. We went back today and had a very delicate sarde in saor, delicious spider crab sauced tagliolini, a very correct and fresh mixed frittura of seafood and vegetables and a very deeply flavored, wonderful actually, stewed seppie in its ink. Very nice hospitality, warmed up when they realized we were enjoying their cooking.
Over the years, vini da Gigio has become my favoriteâsomewhat due to the consistency of freshness and wine choices.
We will be back in Venice for 3 weeks in April and plan to try Alla Maddalena.
I will add to this thread.
Day three was the Accademia and Alle Testiere. Yes it is cramped and they take some risks in their innovation within the classic cuisine but the suberb quality of the hospitality and food make it a wonderful experience. They offer both a set of classic dishes and their own innovative treatments - we ordered a mix of these. As antipasti we had their vongole verace dish cooked with fresh ginger and a tepid squid and puntarelle salad with a slightly (I think) sesame paste tinged dressing and a sesame seed garnish. All the ingredients were impeccable and the dishes delicious but I could not get around the feeling I was eating a chinese seafood dish with the clams slightly overwhelmed by the ginger, my husband disagreed. Didnt keep me deom mopping up the sauce with their good bread! Likewise it took me a couple of forkfuls to get into the salad -but i adjusted, stopped analyzing and started really appreciating and enjoying it how the fishy, nutty sweet anf bitter flavors merged and complemented one another. Similarly our next dish, a fine plate of gnoccchi with tiny squidlike critters hit me with a very strong cinnamon fragrance at the start, which merged with the savory rich sea flavors of the sauce for a very enjoyable dish.Our traditional roasted fish platter for 2 was perfectly prepared with monkfish, sea bream sole , scampi and shrimp, the grilled green and red chicory which the kind server urged us to order (they have a significant vegetable choice) was delicious and my finishing panna cotta with strawberries was fresh and a perfect light close. At some point I stopped taking pix, the room was getting convivial and the very nice and reasonably priced Manzoni Bianco Veneto blend (riesling and pinot bianco) was taking hold but you get the idea. An experience not to miss.
The last meal of the set was at Alla Zucca, which proved they are still turning out delicious food in their rich, non-fishy vein. They offer a huge range of interesting veg apps , primi and contorni, using their wonderful local produce, mostly decidedly not vegan as many are enriched deliciously with butter, nuts and a range of cheeses. Their flesh offerings too are varied with our menu including guinea hen, duck, veal tongue and rabbit as well as more common meats. We ordered their classic zucca (Pumpkin) flan, served with smoked grated ricotta, pumpkin seeds and brown butter, missing the sage I remembered which would have balanced off the cinnamon touch a bit more., to start paired with a perfect plate of tagliolini with gorgonzola, cream and toasted pistachios. Our main coursed of rabbit perfectly roasted with aromatic herbs and Jimâs improbably tender and tasty veal tongue paired with braised chicory followed. It would have been plenty but then the contorni, a luscious dish of steamed and chopped broccoli/caulifower romana, blended with butter and melted cheese and topped with toasted almonds arrived along with a dish of potatoes and radicchio similarly enriched. It was too much! Next time I will go for the braised chicory or peperonata with eggplant for one of the choices! Meal was a good deal under 100⏠with a tasty house red. very civilized spot, and has been a difficult res for us in the past and we lucked into a spot because of a no show.
Conclusion, as always there are places I am sorry to miss, new and old. go at lunch if you can, easier to experience the special places then. Its still a special place to eat with its seafood specialties and remarkable market gardens. Try to get the special stuff. There are little soft shell green crabs coming in now. We missed them. They and the moscardini, tiny octopi , and schie, tiny grey shrimp, are special - get them if you can.
Reading with an appetite here, @JenKalb! Looks like you guys are having an amazing time, and I look forward to following along.
Here are some picss from our second meal at Vini da Gigio, the spider crab pasta, seppie, mixed fry and sarde in saor. All were very good the first two super.
Iâm full!
Hi all - Iâm a carryover from CH - Iâm just figuring out how to post here. This is from my trip last Aug-Sept to Venice 2022:
Oriental Bar & Bistrot (Hotel Metropole
Riva degli Schiavoni, 4149, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
While I am not a fan of hotel dining, for my first night after a long day of traveling, I was looking for something close to my hotel that had a possibility of small plates rather than a big meal. As a solo traveler, this sometimes limits opportunities. I had done some research prior to my trip, and since they had Vitello Tonnato on the menu, decided this would be my first night, first choice. The host was very pleasant in greeting me when I said I was solo and did not have a reservation, and the surprise was walking through the bar area to a pleasant outside garden seating. They were very busy, after all -it was Film Festival. I ordered two appetizers- grilled scallops and the tonnato. The scallops were tender and flavorful, and hit the spot. The tonnato was a dressed up version, but equally as delicious as the rustic dish in Cuneo years back that was my first sampling. Service was unrushed and caring- something you donât always get as a solo diner. I finished with an Amaro and cheese plate. Expensive
Ristorante Da Ivo
S. Marco, 1809, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy - RESERATIONS REQUIRED
I reached out to them several weeks prior to my trip and asked if they could seat a solo traveler. I mentioned that I would be open to sharing a table. I was rewarded with a 9PM seating for my 2nd night in Venice. Besides being noted for the place where George Clooney had his bachelorâs party dinner, it has received decent reviews. As a matter of fact, Lidia Bastianich (who was on my flight out of JFK) was dinning the same evening. I was seated promptly; the space is quite small but there were 4 or 5 parties of 4. I had to ask for the wine list and took my time looking it over with a glass of prosecco. I ordered a burrata appetizer, the truffled pasta. I felt a need to splurge on myself with a $175 bottle of Damilano 2016 Cannubi. While that got their attention, I was shocked that the wine wasnât decanted; they werenât that busy. The food was good and otherwise the service was fine. I did mention to the head waiter that after having been to the Damilano vineyard, I was surprised that my selection was not decanted, noting that I am sure the restaurant has only the best storage system, but it appeared to be a slight of service. An apology was offered. What was funny was that was every time I was at my hotelâs desk, someone was asking to get a reservation at Da Ivo - same thing at my friendâs hotel. It was impossible- nothing for weeks. So, would I return? Yes, for a special occasion with a friend. Very Expensive
http://www.ristorantedaivo.it/
OZIO Natural Wine Bar
Campo Santa Maria Formosa, 6130, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
OK - nothing special here, but if you are looking for a place to sit and have a spritz after visiting the Aqua Alta book store, this place has outside seating in an active small square with a public fountain to top off your water. Good service and good spritz!
After a few days on overcrowded Venice, my friend and I moved to quieter, far from the maddening crowd to an Air B&B on Murano. Smartest move ever!. We were very near the local co-op, and would run in, grab some wine, cheese, salami, and bread and sit on our roof top deck and relax until the stars came out.
Locanda Cipriani(Torcello) was closed for a private wedding, so we took refuge at nearby Osteria Al Ponte del Diavolo for a break from the sun. Their large, welcoming garden seating was perfect for a spritz.
Osteria Al Museo
P.za Baldassarre Galuppi, 113/115, 30142 Venezia VE, Italy- RESERVATIONS REQUIRED (Even for lunch)
We opted for lunch on Burano at Osteria Al Museo. I had previously eaten at the Bourdain recommended Trattoria da Romano, and my friend had been to Da Primo. We were not disappointed by our choice. I started with Gazpacho that was one of the best I had ever had. It was light and refreshing with a consistency more like a consume than the thicker, chunkier style, and it was full of flavor. My friend started with the beef carpaccio, and we split to Go risotto. Everything was wonderful. The setting is on a small square with outside seating. You can tell this is a place locals return to by the friendliness of the staff.
Moderate-Expensive (worth every penny!)
I will be returning to Venice in a few days and look forward to reporting on any new experiences. After a few days in Venice, I will head to Sicily for a week travelling with my friend (who has been living there for the past three years), then on to Genoa. Stay tuned!
Welcome and thanks for the detailed post! Looking forward to hearing more about your upcoming trip - we love both Sicily and Genoa. Hopefully it will still be pretty cool and untouristy (when we were in Palermo in May a few years back, some locals were still wearing puffy jackets - to me it was time for short sleeves!!
Il Ridotto yessss!
So miss CH boards
Da Ivo is not fine dining.
Their service and attitude is best described as casually prompt. Anything else would be inaccurate.
For the same vibe and better food, I prefer Da Marisa.
Just came back from Venice
Ai Mercanti - outstanding dinner there, highlights were: crispy egg with potato foam and anchovy, asparagus and dried egg yolk, croaker fish, and especially fish risotto with caviar. It felt younger, more vibrant and less touristy than many in Venice. Simone was recommending fantastic wines to pair with our food. These wines ( Tanca Nica Soki Soki and Ograde Skork) were definitely not the wines I usually drink but we enjoyed discovering them tremendously. Great service.
Osteria Santa Marina - wonderful dinner there - scallop carpaccio with shaved foie gras, squid, cod fish were great, as was turbot. Wonderful and warm service.
Al Covo - This was out second time there. I know it is a popular restaurant but I cared for it even less than last time. It does have a very pleasant atmosphere. Seafood platter had nice shellfish and mollusks and probably was the best thing we ate there. Sautted mussels were underseasoned, daily pasta, sole, and cuttle fish stew were ok but forgettable. Service was uneven, were were constantly missing forks, spoons, wine, or something else that has disappeared between the courses and never got replaced.
Il Ridotto - gem of a restaurant. Gianni (the father) was cooking as Nicolo (the son) was out sick. We had seafood tasting menu (for a group of 5 we were required, next time I would love to try some a la carte dishes) Everything was outstanding, except that octopus was terrible. Chewy, fishy, undercooked, underseasoned. Only one of five of us ate it. When they cleared our mostly full plates, they noticed that we did not eat it. Unprompted they replaced the course with the most delcious seafood âlasagnaâ. Great wine selections, excellent service, and my particular appreciation for the use of Sophienwald wine glasses for every wine we ordered.
I so much regret not going there instead of Al Covo!
Definitely will next time!
Also lunch combo of chechetti at Al Timor and gelato at Bacaro del Gelato was wonderful!
This is a pretty fabulous place. VERY tiny.
This is the spot we have dined at most {that is still open}. Really lovely, high-quality ingredients. Fabulous wine list. Welcoming service. We ate there twice in one trip and on our second meal, we were treated like family. The first like long-lost friends.
We returned earlier this month from 3 weeks in Venice. We ate a lot of prepared food from Bisiol on Strada Nova and I did a fair amount of cooking but we did enjoy some very good restaurant meals. All of these comments are cut and paste from my blog: keepyourfeetingthestreet.com and in no particular order:
#1 (Burano, not Venice) Gatto Nero. We started with an array of super fresh and simply prepared seafood: scallops, each in its shell, razor clams, little vongole veraci/clams, raw scampi and my favorite, moeche, which are small soft shell crabs, fried in a very light batter. Every single bite was perfect and so Venetian. The famous dish of Burano is the risotto di Gò (tiny fish from the mud of the lagoon) which is very complex to prepare. I had never had it before and it proved to be wonderfulâthe al dente rice, full of sea flavor without being fishy. This was followed by a house mae tagliolini with shrimp and asparagus. The presentation was gorgeous and the dish was top notch. So full by then, but somehow I found a wonderful small grilled sepia on my plate and ate it.
There was coffee, cookies and a wonderful dessert wine after all that.
#2 La Prosciutteria is an Italian franchise with about 10 shops in Northern Italy. The decor is cleverly comfortable and informal. They had porchetta in the window and thatâs what drew us in. We each started with a Spritz (Aperol for Ken, Select for me) and Ken ordered a porchetta sandwich, and I ordered a board of meat and cheeses which looked great, but the quality of the meats just wasnât there.
#3 Vini da Gigio (always a favorite) Lunch was so good! We started with sharing moeche, scallops and a bowl of mixed clams and mussels. The clams were the stand-out to meâso sweet and bigger than the usual clams with spaghetti. Kenâs favorite was the moeche, crispy and soft in the center. We also shared two pasta dishesâone with smoked fish and another with duck ragu (no tomatoes) which were both great. One secondo was enough for the three of usâlittle grilled cuttlefish. We drank, first a very good wine-like prosecco and then a white trebbiano which was great with the fish dishes. We finished with dessert wines and cookies.
#4 Vecia Cavana-- We were the first ones at the old school restaurant. The waiters wore black jackets, white shirts and black ties and seemed very officious and at the same time made us feel very comfortable. They offered a complimentary cocktail to start, but it was really sweet so I ordered a glass of prosecco. We shared an appetizer of mussels and clams in a great tomato brothâthey were just OK. Then Ken had spaghetti alla Busaraâwith shrimp and slightly spicy tomato sauce. I had the Fritura which I have been wanting for a week. You could tell that the vegetables had been precooked and the oil didnât taste great. The fish was plentiful and fresh though. This place is so old fashioned, excellent service and not the most modern food.
Continuation:
#5-- Trattoria da Bepi Antico (this gets a lot of good reviews on Trip Advisorâand is open on Mondays) Lunch was fineâwe had so much to talk aboutâbut the service was the worst weâve ever had in Venice. The food was good, the wine was OK. We all shared everything which makes it fun. We had a spider crab salad for an appetizer, served in the crab shell with tender valeriana lettuce and olive oil. Then we shared one pasta dishâpappardelle with mushrooms, a frittura, and a baked branzino with artichokes, and some spinach. The branzino was the most interestingâthe artichokes were well cooked shaved and all over the top.
#6âAi Promessi Sposi is a restaurant we go to every trip. We met Nan there for a great dinner. I wish I had a photo of my antipasto di pesce! It included lots of differently cooked sardines as well as baccala mantecato and some other sea treats from the cicchetti bar. Then I had the âartichoke flanâ which was delicious. Ken enjoyed his fritto misto. We somehow drank 2 bottles of wine and were offered after dinner drinks at the bar.
#7-- AllâAmarone: Dinner was really great! Even though it is a wine bar and they have tons of cicchetti, we felt like real food. We shared really good spaghetti with clams, a veal and mushroom stew, and a nice salad. After the bubbly, we ordered two different Amarone wines, one form 2016 and one from 2017. The guy came and helped us taste the differences. They were really both fabulous, a little oaky, but so rich with fruit and complexity of flavor. Ken had a vino dolce too.
#8âVino Vero: As we walked back, we passed Vino Vero and there was an open table. We had a super cicchetti lunch there. Prosciutto with ricotta, seabass, bitter greens and creamy cheese, baccala mantecato, eggplant puree with a really great cow cheese and pistachios, and spicy salami with ricotta and a slice of pepper. They were all really delicious. We each had a glass of wine with themâmine was a sparkling Vermentino which I had never heard of before but it worked great with the cicchetti.
#8âPuppa Bar-- We started going to the Puppa Bar in 2015 and have since made it our semi regular coffee stop in the mornings. The owner is very kind and welcoming to us after all these years of repeated visits. It has gained enormous popularity for cheap eats. We had dinner there and it was just mediocreâitâs just not for a sophisticated eater at all. But you can get a plate of spaghetti with seafood for really cheapâI think it was 15 euro.
Hope this helps someone who is planning a trip to lovely Venice.
This is super helpful - thanks for sharing!
