Really?.. best food in Venice?

I've not eaten there but on our trip to Venice back in '15 we ate at Vineria All'Amarone. We enjoyed it so much I marked it on my map and when we went back to Venice in Sept this year we ate there on 2 of our 5 nights. It's not super fancy, but the portions are nice and it isn't crazy expensive. If you like wine (we don't) they do 'flights' of wine (tastings). We didn't reserve. They are actually up quite high on the TA rankings. (#33). We didn't know about the reviews, just stumbled upon it and enjoyed.

We had two excellent dinners at Osteria Al Cantinon.

Alle Testiere is definitely not an "over-rated tourist trap." It is small and hard to find, well away from the heavily trafficked Rialto and San Marco areas, down an unassuming small calle near Campo Santa Maria Formosa. It is quite expensive: a minimum of €55 per person for two courses, plus wine and water.

We were unable to get reservations there during our month-long stay in Venice, so we have not eaten there. However, my sister was able to get lunch reservations by booking a month in advance, and she said it was excellent. They have a fairly limited menu, depending on what is fresh that day, and it is all seafood.

I couldn’t get reservations, but all indications are that it’s excellent and not a tourist trap.

My favorite was Enoteca CoVino. It’s tiny - maybe 6 tables, and kind of buried in the backstreets. The menu is small - just what the kitchen can do best that particular time. Everything was excellent, and it’s more modern than much of Venice.

Thank you, Mira and Nicole, for recommending those two wine bars. They both look great! We wil have to give one or both a try when we are in Venice next March.

Someone recently told me....that the best restaurant in Venice is....

GK, the issue here is that one person's "best" can be another's "meh." Personal tastes are a BIG factor when recommending restaurants. Recent changes in wait and/or kitchen staff can also affect previously positive reviews. I'd collect a few suggestions but understand that other travelers' experiences may not translate to the same stellar experience (or not) for you.

Personally I'd also adjust expectations so that a so-so meal, should that happen, didn't color your overall impression of a city?

I hope you can get a reservation for the highly rated Osteria Alle Testierre and that you enjoy it. You sound very skeptical. Venice is not a renowned foodie town like Bologna.

I've been waiting for Roberto to chime in with the old Italian saying about Venice: "Si paga troppo ma si mangia male." Loosely translated to "You pay too much but the food is lousy."

I could not say that it is the “Best” restaurant in Venice now, but on a four day trip in the fall of 2005, “Alle Testiere” was certainly the best restaurant we experienced. It took five weeks in those days to get a reservation. At the time, there was only seating for 20 with some shared tables. The four course dinner with wines was nearly €200 for two people, and I felt lucky to pay that princely sum. As we sat down, I told Bruno to just feed us what they thought was the best of the day, and after that, the food and wine just kept coming. The two us were served different items, so we were able to enjoy more tastes. Our journal notes show that the pickled “moeche” (tiny soft-shelled crabs) and grilled razor clams were the highlight of the antipasti course. The Primi consisted of pumpkin ravioli with spider crab sauce and gnocchi with mantis shrimp. The Secondi was a grilled seafood blowout of monkfish, bream, baby flounders, mantis and red shrimp, and squid with its ink. We had many memorable meals on our three week “We Came to Eat: Part II” Italy trip, but Alla Testiere was nearly the best. The top spot was “Locanda del Pilone” outside of Madonna di Como near Alba. The weekend of the Truffle Festival. But, that’s for another post.