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October 25, 2018

Buon Appetito! A Review of Venetian Restaurants and Culinary Experiences

My preconceptions about Venetian cuisine as being similar to that in the rest of Italy have vanished since I arrived here four weeks ago at the end of September. Venetian cooking truly stands out as unique in contrast to the techniques I have sampled in regions in both Northern and Southern Italy. It especially differs from the rich pasta and pizza dishes of Sorrento and Naples.


Reinventing and adapting traditional Italian flavours to bring out the best from the local produce, Venetian menus place a strong focus on fish and seafood. The extraordinary freshness of clams (vongole), mussels (cozze), and scallops (scaloppine) is celebrated by respectable restaurants who design menus which place seafood at the forefront. Caught locally and usually procured from the famous fish market Mercato di Rialto, which opened on the Grand Canal as early as 1097, seafood and fish take centre stage in Venice. Handmade pasta and pizza act as secondary elements to balance the strong, salty flavours of fish such as anchovies (acciughe) and seasonal vegetables work in harmony to complete primi and secondi piatti.


However, due to the bustling tourist-filled nature of a few very well-known and romanticised sites in Venice, such as the Rialto bridge and Piazza San Marco, many visitors only venture as far as restaurants within these areas. They leave Venice with the assumption that the food served here is extremely expensive in comparison to it’s quality and yes, within the very popular confines of that specific area, tourists may be justified in that opinion. On the other hand, in my pursuit to escape the tourist traps and to try authentically Venetian cibo I have visited a range of restaurants and bakeries with my friends and also family, who came to visit me last week. These experiences have fortified my love for Venetian food.


A short distance away from the crowds, the largest district of Venice’s six sestieri and located towards the east, Castello is home to many traditional restaurants which serve delicious food at a is moderately price. As my accommodation for this term is also within Castello, I have gone out for dinner most to eateries within this vicinity. A firm favourite restaurant of mine has been Nevodi which is halfway up the vibrant Via Garibaldi. Visiting with my mum and brother for our evening meal was a wonderful experience because the menu offered a variety of exciting seafood dishes which we all enjoyed, including a mouthwatering risotto. The service and the wine list were both excellent however, my highlight was dessert: a heavenly combination of dark liquid chocolate and broken biscuits called salame di cioccolato.


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If you are looking to taste exquisite pasta dishes then I recommend either going to 6342 Alla Corte in Zona San Giovanni e Paolo or Spaghetteria 6342 A Le Tole Pizzeria. Both restaurants are situated in Castello and serve equally impressive fresh pasta for approximately between 10 to 16 euros. I particularly enjoyed the duck fettuccine at Spaghetteria 6342 and the quintessentially Venetian spaghetti neri con scaloppine at 6342 All Corte: which also offers outdoor seating in it’s beautiful courtyard. For dinner closer to the cultural hub and to try some delicious mussels, Trattoria Al Gazzettino (Sotoportego de Le Acque 1) in San Marco can be praised for it’s credibility and for being reasonably priced in comparison to the rest of options nearby.


Duck Fettuccine


Of course, that leaves perhaps the best for last. Open until 11:30pm and easily accessible from both the Rialto and St Mark’s Square, Gelato Fantasy on Calle Dei Fabbri (San Marco) offers amazing gelato in multiple yummy flavours such as pistachio, tiramisu and even so-called ‘Crema del Doge’. Overall, I urge visitors to Venice to explore the wide variety of outstanding and authentic foods which the locals are so proud to produce. Buon appetito!


Ice Cream



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