Q – Love the site but really wish you would include more unbiased recommendations for restaurants. I am not sure that some of the “critics” are willing to pay for fine dining on vacation.
We will be in Venice in July. We’re working with a fine agent but she does not seem to have any interest in recommending an excellent restaurant in the city. Can you point us in the right direction for a non-tourist restaurant that might result in a truly memorable meal? Also wondering best way to book it. Do we just go online?
A – Venice is a tough food city because it is so easy for the owners/chefs to simply cater to tourists and fill their seats each night. But there are several excellent restaurants, some of them new, that cater to locals as well as the sizeable number of Italians from “the provinces.”
The current best restaurant in Venice is Osteria Alle Testiere on Calle Del Mondo Novo. There are only nice tables and two seatings each night. Chef Bruno Gavagnin’s fresh local fare has impressed food critics worldwide – at least those that can score a table.
The best way to get a reservation at a top-level restaurant is to have your agent use her On-Site Italy office, the same ones doing your trip operations, to secure the reservation. Local offices in Italy that work with the major consortiums have local contacts that can get you otherwise impossible reservations. Do note that, as a rule, most gourmet restaurants in Europe have little interest in increasing their number of American diners.
Let us recommended several other top tables in Venice. We swear by each of these:
La Zucca
Da Ivo
Da Fiore
All Arco
