JEAN PHILIP DE TENDER

Venice is not, by default, a tourist trap regarding food. Italy is a country where you eat well. You get a tasty meal in most circumstances, whatever location or price class you pick. And Italian cuisine sticks to its roots.

Filip and I visited Venice on multiple occasions and got to know the city well. When it comes to dining, we plan and book in advance. A convenient tool is the Michelin app. Contrary to what you may think, this is not only about Michelin stars; their editorial staff knows where the best addresses are, independent of the stars and the money.

These are some restaurants we recommend.

San Giorgio Café

When you go to the Venice Art Biennale, you will most likely go to the Fondation Pinault at the Punta Dogane. This year’s exhibition was centred around Pierre Huyghe, which didn’t touch me.  So, we went to see “Helmut Newton: Legacy” at Le Stanze della Fotografia just around the corner. The best part of the day was discovering the San Giorgio Café, a fancy bar and restaurant. The staff is amicable and proud to work here. Both the food and the recommended wines were excellent.

Hostaria da Franz

If you expect to sit on a terrace, don’t come here. Hostaria da Franz doesn’t have one! Sometimes, the best a summer evening can bring is hiding in a climatised place. We dined here for the first time with Frederika and Ignace some years ago and enjoyed it. We came back. It’s a family business. The son moved back from London to Venice during the pandemic, a decision he still fully embraces. As a wine lover, he gives excellent suggestions on what to pick from an extensive wine list. He also knows how to mix the cocktails.

Terrazza Danieli

Although we have often been to Venice, we have never slept or dined at Hotel Danieli. Why didn’t we discover the Terrazza Danieli earlier? It has the best and most romantic view of the lagoon. It’s not cheap, but you get value for money and the price for the vue is included. I tend to be “old fashioned” and want to finish my aperitif before they bring the first course. And I expect the wine to be served before that dish is presented. In most restaurants, there is a rush to serve fast. We had to complain at the start of the dinner, but they adapted the pace. When speaking with the maître about it, he said that a lot of cultures expect fast dining. Not us!

Ai Mercanti

Excellent food and a chatty staff that is what you will get from Ai Mercanti. We arrived for the 9PM second shift just before they went on holiday. But that helped the staff talk. This is a family-owned restaurant, and they all were happily departing from one another after serving the last meal. That meal was excellent and we tried more than one brown grappa before closing.

Il Ridotto

Our last visit’s top discovery was Il Ridotto—there is no terrace here either. For whatever reason, the chef started speaking in French to us. We didn’t take the tasting menu but went à la carte. Both the starter and main were excellent.