Delizioso Venice

I am finally home! If you read my last post, you will know that I was busy flying from one place to another for pretty much the whole of August. Thanks to Hurricane Irene, we even got two extra days in NYC. I will post our adventure in NYC soon! Lobster rolls, steak and margaritas – don’t miss it!

We were planning a trip for our first wedding anniversary, and what could be more romantic than celebrating in Venice? We had never been to Venice before, and we'd heard that it was like a theme park, extremely touristy with overpriced food, so we were a bit worried. But after extensive research, we were able to find some lovely local restaurants for our very special weekend.

Cicchetti are snacks, normally served in wine bars in Venice. You can find different combinations such as meat and cheese, anchovy with pickled onion, or slices of sausage, all lined up on the bar counter, waiting to be eaten :)

All’Arco is a little bar run by a father and son. They are incredibly friendly. We had four cicchetti to share, plus two glasses of recommended local white wine. I actually wanted to order more, but as it was only 11am, I had to save some space for later…

Cicchetti clockwise from bottom left: anchovy, prosciutto with cheese and courgette, cured beef with cheese and tomatoes, deep fried white fish. All freshly made on the day in the back kitchen. I particularly enjoyed the cured beef, meaty and tender. It also went very well with the wine, which was off-dry.

All’Arco - Calle dell’Arco 436 San Polo

The second cicchetti bar we visited is near Ponte de l'Academia. Not easy to find but it is definitely worth visiting. It is also a wine bar/shop which is very popular among the locals. It is situated next to the canal, a perfect spot for enjoying the snacks outside with a glass or two!

Cicchetti clockwise from bottom left: 2 x prawns with paprika and onion chutney, anchovy and pickled onion, smoked salmon and cheese, chorizo, salsa verde with cheese, pumpkin with ricotta and parmesan, cured fish with balsamic vinegar. I am a big meat eater but I have to say the pumpkin one was the best, ricotta cheese together with freshly mashed pumpkin, so light yet bursting with favour.

Al Bottegon - Fondamenta Nani

For dinner we moved on to a more ‘standard’ restaurant called Al Nono. We sat outside in their lovely back garden. Not the best service but the food was much better than those touristy restaurants around the central station.

We had assorted cold meat to start, followed by an asparagus and ham pizza, and my all time favourite spaghetti vongole. Juicy fresh clams cooked in a light garlic sauce, just so good and simple. We also managed to squeeze in a dessert each – lemon tart and tiramisu. The tiramisu was quite eggy, tasting like something between custard and whipped cream. It certainly tasted different, but in a good way.

Al Nono - Santa Croce 2337, Calle della Regina

To top our trip to Venice, we had a celebration meal at The Met restaurant. It is the only 2 Michelin starred restaurant in Venice. Each dish on the menu has a year written next to it, to tell you when it was originally created. The signature dish from the head chef Corrado Fasolato is the cuttlefish “fettuccine carbonara". I had never tried anything like this before. If you want to know more about it, you can find out more in The Met restaurant post.

The Met restaurant

After Venice, we went to Lake Garda before coming home. We stayed in a lake-side town called Lazise, at the south east corner of the lake. It is a beautiful historic town, also a popular family holiday destination for the Italians. Without much information about the restaurants in the area, we booked the most recommended one on the TripAdvisor website, and We were not disappointed.

We arrived at half past 7 in the evening, the restaurant was still pretty empty at that time. We were presented an English menu, and we ordered a crab and a vongole pasta to start, and a veal chop and a steak for main. The restaurant was completely full after 8pm, mainly with locals. We soon realised the locals did not need a menu, the staff told them what the catch of the day was, and gave a few recommendations according to the customers’ taste. All done verbally. After a while, we saw some dishes that were not on the menu flying out of the kitchen, we must try harder next time!

Although we didn’t manage to get the special, our standard dishes were very good indeed. The seafood was very fresh, and the meat was cooked on an open wood fire, perfectly charred. We were so determined to try the specials, we actually tried to make a reservation for lunch on the next day. Unfortunately the whole week was already fully booked! If you happen to visit Lazise, remember to book a table there!
Alla Grotta

We had a romantic and delicious 1st anniversary. May all the upcoming ones will be as good as this - if not better!