Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
food sauce) or a feast of delicately flavoured
rombo
(turbot) simmered in white wine. Ser-
vice can be brusque when the restaurant is busy.
TRATTORIA CORTE SCONTA €€€
MODERN VENETIAN
MAP
GOOGLE MAP
( 041 522 70 24; Calle del Pestrin 3886; meals €50-65; 12.30-2.30pm & 7-9.30pm Tue-Sat, closed Jan & Aug;
; Arsenale)
Well-informed visitors and celebrating locals seek out this vine-covered
corte sconta
(hidden courtyard) for its trademark seafood antipasti and imaginative house-
made pasta. Inventive flavour pairings transform the classics: clams zing with the hot,
citrus-like taste of ginger; prawn and courgette linguine is recast with an earthy dash of
saffron; and the roast eel loops like the Brenta River in a drizzle of balsamic reduction.
The evolving wine list now features a notable selection of organic and biodynamic
wines.
AL COVO €€€
MAP
VENETIAN
GOOGLE MAP
( 041 522 38 12;
www.ristorantealcovo.com
;
Campiello della Pescaria 3968; meals €55-80; 12.45-2pm &
7.30-10pm Fri-Tue; ; Arsenale)
For years Diane Rankin and Cesare Benelli have dedicated
themselves to the preservation of heritage products and lagoon recipes, which has placed
them firmly on the gourmet map. Only the freshest seasonal fish gets the Covo treatment,
accompanied by artichokes, aubergines,
cipollini
onions and mushrooms from the lagoon
larders of Sant'Erasmus, Vignole, Treporti and Cavallino. Meat, too, is carefully sourced
and much of it is Slow Food accredited, too.
Prices are offset by reasonably priced, limited-production wine.
OSTERIA DI SANTA MARINA €€€
MAP
MODERN VENETIAN
GOOGLE MAP
( 041 528 52 39;
www.osteriadisantamarina.com
; Campo Santa Marina 5911; meals €55-80; 12.30-2.30pm &
7.30-9.30pm Tue-Sat; ; Rialto)
Don't be fooled by the casual piazza seating: this restaurant
is saving up all the drama for your plate. Each course of the €75 tasting menu brings two
bites of reinvented local fare - a prawn in a nest of shaved red pepper, artichoke and soft-
shelled crab with squash
saòr
marinade - while homemade pastas marry surprising fla-
vours such as the shrimp and chestnut ravioli.
Bookings are essential and in busy periods you're required to reconfirm - otherwise
you'll likely face the cold shoulder of the wait staff.
