Hello!
My husband and I will celebrating our anniversary in Venice and would love any restaurant recommendations you have for a romantic dinner along the canal. I am not much of a seafood eater, which I know already puts me at a disadvantage, but ideally if the restaurant has decent options and a nice ambiance that would be great!
Thanks in advance for your help!
The Met, check it out here: http://www.hotelmetropole.com/, it's at the Hotel Metropole and is on the water across from the Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore. It's one of the only two Michelin starred restaurants in Venice (one star). The other is Osteria da Fiore, the link to the website doesn't work (google it), it's close to one of the smaller canals but I don't know if you can see the canal from the restaurant. Those are the only two Michelin, both Michelin one star, the top rated Michelin restaurants in Venice, there are no two and three star restaurants there. That is not to say you can't find a romantic location that doesn't have a star but you may pay a lot for a non-rated restaurant and hopefully you get value for your cost in terms of ambienve, view and location.
Eileen - I have not eaten there, but I would guess that the Met in the Metropole Hotel would have good food. It all depends on what you were wanting. I believe that it is in the hotel and not sitting directly on the lagoon. The Metropole sits along the lagoon on Riva degli Schiavoni but there is an lot a walkway between the hotel and the actual water. The place does look lovely however.
If you were thinking of sitting at a table at the edge of the Grand Canal and watching the world go by while you eat, you might want to take a look at the restaurant in the Westin Europa and Regina. It is on the canal and right across from Salute. Once again I haven't actually eaten there but the setting is nice.
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/westin/property/dining/index.html?propertyID=75
There is also a very small Osteria tucked in by the Academia bridge on the Academia side that has tables very close to the Grand Canal. They do mostly pizza for lunch but had a more normal dinner menu.
there are also several places in Dorsoduro on the Zattere that offer canal seating near the Guideca canal. We ate at the one in front of the Pensione Calcina that was a bit hit and miss. Some things were great but others were ok. But the view and ambiance were wonderful. Great view of the sunset.
You might want to take advantage of canal seating for lunch before it is dark and do dinner inside somewhere.
