La Dolce Vita
“Italian food is all about ingredients and it’s not fussy and it’s not fancy” - Wolfgang Puck
If you are not going to Italy to eat pasta and pizza and drink wine… is there even a point in going? As I talked about in my Venice Tourist Blog there are a lot of good reasons to visit Venice… but one of my favorites is THE FOOD! Food in Italy is amazing! When you imagine Italy you think of handmade pasta with simple sauces, thin-crust pizza with fresh mozzarella with a local glass of wine… at least that’s what I think of! So what did we do? We ate our way through this beautiful floating city. Here are some of the places we ate!
Price: $$$
Style: Cocktail bar and nightclub
This place was fantastic to grab a drink and a snack! The view was stunning and the atmosphere was wonderful and relaxing during the day. The bartender made us fabulous drinks and allowed us to relax with our little guy on the beautiful patio with no problems. There is no dinner or lunch served here but they do have nibbles if you want to have something to snack on with your beverage. Although we visited during the daytime, it seems like the evenings has great entertainment with live DJs, musicians and pool parties!
Overall: Would return & would recommend. The drinks are a little on the pricey side, but with that view… soooo worth it! A great place to grab some bubbles and enjoy a pre-dinner conversation.
My favorite “food experience” is definitely having champagne in St. Mark’s Square is a MUST! For more about that amazingly fun thing to do, check out my Bubbles & Baby Blog.
Price: $$$
Style: Mediterranean food made with local ingredients.
Little did we know that the restaurant located directly beneath our room would be the hidden gem on our trip! Our only regret is that we hadn’t visited sooner. This restaurant was incredible from top to bottom. Firstly, the atmosphere is amazing as you have this amazing view of Venice from the patio. The service is very “white-glove” with service that was comparable to what we have received at some Michelin-star restaurants (although a little less finessed, but they definitely tried their best!). You would think with the food and service of this caliber that we would have not felt comfortable having Linden with us, but they were more than okay with it. The only shocking part of this restaurant was how it wasn’t busier! Because we liked this restaurant so much, I have broken down some of my favorite bites from this incredible establishment!
Braised scallops with spin-dried celery, Modena reduced balsamic vinegar with a sea leaves bouquet and chorizo sausage. A fantastic starter. Very well balanced in texture and flavor. The scallops were large in size and cooked to perfection — something we don’t find frequently.
Potato gnocchi with Chianina beef strips, black truffle shavings, and fossa cheese. If you continue to read my blog and check out my Instagram, you will begin to notice that gnocchi is one of my (if not my) favorite food and a close second is truffles. So when I saw both truffles and gnocchi in one meal, it was a no-brainer that I had to order it. Here’s the issue, I love gnocchi so much and have tried so many gnocchi dishes in my life that I am EXTREMELY picky and not easily impressed when it comes to my favorite dish. In fact, I am quite easily disappointed when I get gnocchi that is prepared poorly, sauced incorrectly or just cooked incorrectly. So, a risk was taken. Did it pay off? I should also mention that I am “chasing the dragon” when it comes to gnocchi. I’ve had two beyond amazing gnocchi dishes in my life… coincidently these both happened in Italy. One at a small restaurant outside of Milan in 2005 (I can’t even recall the name of the restaurant, nor did I take any photos), and a second plate in a small mom and pop restaurant in Lake Garda in 2013. So, high expectations were had and I had prepared myself to be disappointed. The meal came out and looked very saucy with large shaved truffles. I dug in for my first bite, then my second, then my third… it was INCREDIBLE. I could easily say it was the best gnocchi meal I had ever had. I LOVED it. I LOVED it so much that between Kevin and I ended up ordering this meal a total of four times on our trip. Thinking of the meal now and looking at pictures… I’m debating on booking a flight to Venice tonight just to get another taste of this amazing dish.
Bronze extruded chitarrucci pasta sauteed with lobster and crustacean sauce. This meal was very good. Simply delicious with nothing too fancy. The dish lets the lobster shine through and includes a large portion size of lobster I might add. It is also quite filling.
White sea bass with Pantelleria capers, liquid escarole, fennel, and legumes. Kevin LOVED this dish and he can be pretty picky when it comes to fish. The skin was perfectly crispy and let the flavor of the fish shine.
I think we ended up trying every dessert on the menu but my favorite beyond a doubt was the peach dessert. The beauty of the dish was only outdone by the incredible flavor.
Overall: Would recommend, would return, did return! Worth a trip to Venice. Something to write home about. Something to drool about… trying to find a way to return as we speak.
Price: $$
Style: Venetian dishes with casual, local flare
Also located at the Hilton (directly across from Aromi—they actually share a patio), is the Bacaromi restaurant. More on the casual side, I felt very “at-home” in this restaurant. Nothing too flashy, just simple, well-made foods. The house-made bread was fresh and had a great diversity of flavors including a wonderful squid-ink bread. The charcuterie and cheese were also great with the meat to cut fresh on the deli slicer to order. The standout on the charcuterie platter was the spicy jelly it was served with… I wish I could have brought some home in bulk. The serving portion of this dish was very large, and we actually had some extra to bring back to our room (this is unheard of for us). I didn’t end up ordering a main dish as Linden was getting upset and I was playing rushing against time. Kevin had the roasted piglet with rosemary potatoes and vegetables. IT was good and tasted like something from home, a nice comfort meal. I ended up having to leave before dinner was done but was able to enjoy their recommended dessert in our room and it was wonderful!
Overall: Was it something to rant and rave about? No. Was it good? Yes. If this was located down the street from us at home, we would probably visit monthly.
Price: $$
Style: Italian restaurant and bar
We chose this location specifically because of the view. The patio sits right on the Grand Canal and is one of those “you’ve got to see it believe it views”. The location is casual yet romantic and the service was exceptional. We had Linden with us and he was getting quite fussy and they had no problem with us walking in and out of the restaurant to calm him down and holding our table for us while I went to nurse him. I ordered an Aperol Spritz (a must-have in Venice), and it was the best one I’ve ever had. We shared a gorgonzola and prosciutto pizza to share and honestly… I’ve been craving it ever since!
Overall: A definite lunch stop on your way back from The Academia. A perfect place for romantics and families alike. I can only daydream about enjoying a slice and a spritz on that patio now. Oh Venice, how I miss you!
Price: $$$
Style: Italian Bistro
We popped by this restaurant for a quick bite and glass of wine when walking back from “getting lost” in Venice. This restaurant had a beautiful patio on one of Venice’s alleyways and had an even more beautiful interior. The inside is definitely Insta-Worthy, but I was busy keeping Linden occupied and was unable to take any photos. We decided to order the daily dish which was a freshly made pasta with shaved truffles. Simple and light, it was a great dish, although not the most filling, and personally, I could have used a little more flavor in the sauce. It seemed to be missing something. Although the presentation of the meals was lovely, and the wine choice was divine… the service left a lot to be desired. I had ordered a glass of lemonade which was never brought to me and we had to ask for bread with oil and vinegar and again the oil and vinegar was never brought to us. We definitely did not feel welcome, and maybe it was because they didn’t want a baby at their restaurant (although he was very quiet and we chose to sit outside as to not bother anyone in case he did start making noise).
Overall: Great location, good food, and beautiful presentation. If there is one thing I hate… it is bad service… and therefore I would not recommend nor return.
Price: $$$
Style: Italian Restaurant
When exploring the island of Giudecca, we walked past this beautiful restaurant on the water with a beautiful garden. We immediately decided we wanted to eat here, so the next day we popped by to go for dinner. When we walked through the door we were ignored for a good ten minutes. Eventually when we were greeted (I use that term loosely), we were told that the restaurant was full and there were reservations so unfortunately, we could not dine there that evening (although the restaurant was not full). We concluded that they did not want us dining at this location with our baby so we left. we decided we would try to visit the next day during lunch service and maybe they would be more accepting of us. When we arrived at lunchtime, we again were ignored for another ten minutes before us asking the server if we could have lunch. They reluctantly brought us to our seats and left us with menus. The thing is, if Linden had started to cry or make noise I would have left the restaurant immediately and brought him outside… but maybe they didn’t know that. We ordered the squid-ink pasta and the seafood linguine. Both were exceptional. They were simple, yet delicious and incredibly fresh.
Overall: The view and local feel of the restaurant was great. The food was fantastic, but they did not treat us very well (and Linden was quiet the entire time). Other patrons even mentioned how quiet and calm he was and were smiling at him and waving. I have a hard time giving my hard-earned money to a business who does not appreciate my patronage, and therefore I would not visit again.
Price: $$
Style: Cafe/Grocery Store/Local Restaurant
The first time we visited Majer, I popped in to grab a sandwich on our way back from a long walk. From the minute we walked in the door, we were treated with exceptional customer service. I ended up ordering a sandwich (with prosciutto sliced fresh to order) and quite possibly the best cheesecake I’ve ever eaten! This experience made us feel like we should try eating here for dinner one night. So a few nights later off we went to try this cafe for dinner. To our surprise, they had a fantastic dinner menu complete with steaks and burgers and an extensive wine list. To our surprise, the burgers here were FANTASTIC! We were blown away by the delicious burger at Majer and found ourselves craving it often. In the evening the service was even better than during the day (something we didn’t think was possible).
Overall: A gorgeous water view, a juicy homemade burger and a local glass of wine… what’s not to love. Would recommend, would return, should return.
Price: $$
Style: Italian Restaurant
I’m not going to dignify this restaurant with photos or even any positives. I’ll just say two things about this establishment.
I had ordered the gnocchi for my main course. When our meals had arrived I was given something completely different. I assumed it was a mistake so I asked the server and he told that the gnocchi was sold out so he gave me something different. No apology or no offer of a different meal, just what I was given.
When was saw our bill they had double charged our beverages and it did not seem like a mistake, it seemed very much that they had meant to do so.
Overall: Would absolutely not return. Bad service is one thing, bad food is another, being ripped off is completely different.
So that’s some of the most memorable eats we had in Venice. There were also great cafes, stores, and bars that we went to in Guidecca and in the main city of Venice. I can’t wait to visit Venice again and eat my way through this amazing city.
