Venice: In Search of a Great Meal

What’s with the food in Venice?  Why is it that a Conde Nast article about dining in Venice starts out, effectively, “It’s a lot easier to find bad food in Venice than good?” Why is it that my requests to fellow food writers about their favorite restaurants in Venice brought zero responses? How can one city in a country renowned for its cuisine offer such lackluster fare?

 

 Shortly after I arrived in this watery wonderland two days ago, I set out to scout the dining scene. In three hours of brisk walking (and menu checking) I found only two places where I’d considering dining. (Results were based on my earlier research of food magazines and newspaper articles, the creativity of the menu on display, and the smells emanating from the establishment.)

 

What I did find plenty of was plebian eateries advertising “Tourist Menus” – a catch-all term for spaghetti with marinara sauce followed by roast chicken.  The most jarring example of this phenomenon was a place not far from Saint Mark’s Square called Conca D’Oro, where a sandwich board in front proclaimed a Combo Plate of  “fajitas + fries + coffee.” Downright scary. (I should also add that I've visited Venice twice before and never found an exciting dining experience on those occasions either, though snacks at the Cipriani Bar were very good.)

 

For dinner the first night, we chose La Piscina on the Zattere, a spectacular promenade along the sea just a stone’s throw from the Accademia area.  I figured, heck, if the food isn’t going to be great, you might as well go for a great setting. And, indeed, La Piscina is that.

 

Dinner consisted of an arugula salad that was rather “weedy” (my term for too many tough stems) and two fairly average pasta dishes that became better than average when combined. My mother’s fusilli with cherry tomatoes, garlic and chili flakes was overly spiced; my lasagna with gorgonzola and zucchini was overly rich and rather bland. Together, though, they managed to be a satisfying dinner.

 

Last night we found more of the same at Ristorante al Giglio. Presentable food  -- though the dishes featuring the scampi and scallops that are specialties of Venice contained only microscopic pieces of each. But nothing to sigh over. (I did make a lovely wine discovery, though. More about that in a later post.)

 

Located in a large, airy campo (square) near the famed La Fenice Teatro, Giglio’s large outdoor seating area provides plenty of ambiance. It was particularly captivating on a moonlit night with temperatures in the low ‘70s.

One more night to go. I have recommendations from our hotel's front desk for a place where the Mayor of Venice eats; and from an Orient-Express publication for the eatery favored by the current Italian President. In short, I'm desperate. If anyone out there has a good suggestion, fire it off to me.

 

 

Comments

[Scott Joseph]

Maureen,
How I wish I had been asked! I have a favorite restaurant in Venice, Fiascheterria Toscana, whose specialty is friturra della serenissima, delicately breaded and fried seafood, most of it local, of course. I was introduced to the restaurant by Victor and Marcella Hazan, whom I interviewed just before they left Venice and their apartment in a converted palazzo for a modern high-rise in Longboat Key, FL. I hadn't expected to join them for lunch, but when I tried to say good-bye, Marcella said, "But we told Julia we couldn't have lunch with her today because we were having lunch with you." Ms. Child was in town, too, it seems. That was nearly 10 years ago, and I can still taste the freshness of the seafood.

[Lisa Wilson-Wirth]

Sorry you had a hard time finding good food in Venice, because there are some fabulous local spots, not far from La Piscina where you dined. Dorsoduro has a number of gems at which I'm a regular, on my many business trips with stops in Venice. (La Piscina is btw, owned by La Calcina, which is an extraordinary B&B and personal favorite.) Next time you need a map, marked up with favorites... give us a shout and we'd be happy to help!