Great Restaurants in Venice

Skye had two recommendations for restaurants in Venice, and boy were they amazing!  Two very different food experiences, and both were fantastic.

Tratorria Da’a Marisa - At Dalla Marisa you let the chef (Marisa) control your experience.  There are no menus, so sit back and enjoy the ride. 

We tried to call to make a reservation but the person who answered the phone did not speak English, so we decided to chance it and just walk over.  It's a real family affair- Marisa cooks up a storm while you are waited on by one of her attractive children, either her daughter Vanda or son Stefano Bianchi. We were there on a fish night and it was scrumptious!  We started with stuffed mussels, a white fish salad, a fish tartare, a grilled octopus dish and polenta.  

This was followed by seafood lasagna with an Alfredo sauce, a fritto misto course and a mascarpone cream dessert served in a small bowl with biscuits.  The meal is several courses and by the last two, Vanda asked if we would like to share one portion instead of having our own.  That might have been the way to go for the entire meal.   A few days later, we picked up a fantastic local restaurant guidebook  (I will tell you about that tomorrow) that describes Marisa as “the most Venetian eatery in the city.”  It seats less than two dozen, most of which is outside along the canal. The food was traditional and delicious, the view was gorgeous and the atmosphere sublime.  You are missing a real find if you don’t eat here. 

652b, Fondamenta San Giobbe, Cannaregio 41-720211.  Closed Sunday, Monday and Wednesday evenings

Osteria L’Orto dei Mori – I think this might have been one of the best meals we had in Italy (and we had some amazing meals).  If the weather is nice you will definitely need a reservation to sit outside.  We didn’t have a reservation but arrived just as they opened and we were able to get a table inside.

Inside the décor is playful yet elegant.  Very cozy. It must be a fantastic room in chilly weather.  It was very cool!  

The food is a twist on traditional Italian dishes, and the presentation is like a work of art.  (The pictures of the food we will show don’t do the dishes justice, as the lighting was really dim).  Every course we had was phenomenal.  We started with tuna carpaccio, followed by spinach tagliatelle with cuttlefish & cuttlefish ink sauce (apparently a traditional dish of the region).  

All of the pastas are made fresh in-house.   Our last course was a beef filet with Bleu Cheese and polenta.  We had chocolate mousse with Kent cherries and rum sauce for dessert.  

The wine was superb  (a 2008 Planeta, one of our favorite Sicilian producers) and the service was outstanding.  The only words I can say to you are GO! GO! GO!!!!  This gets an A++ in my book.

(It is a little confusing on the maps, so you might be better off taking the water taxi to the closest stop if you don’t have google maps on your phone.)