The Met restaurant

The Met restaurant, Venice

The Metropole hotel is a short walk from the famous St.Marks square, where - as it happened - Sting was performing as a part of the Venice Jazz Festival on the night we had dinner in the Met restaurant. The atmosphere in the square was amazing.

The Met restaurant is the only two Michelin starred restaurant in Venice. It is situated on the ground floor of the hotel. The dining room itself is decorated with Venetian antiques, which together with the cream and gold decor and modern fireplace, created a very elegant setting for the diners.

We were soon presented with the famous water menu at the table, showing what minerals are in the water, as well as their pH levels. I think it is pretentious and over the top but it didn't bother me, it was a fun talking point. We chose the Dolomia spring water, which tasted exactly the same as the tap water from our flat in South London :)

Moving on to the proper menu - each dish on the menu has a year written next to it, to tell you when it was originally created. The menu we chose was called 'Since 1992'.

I always have the problem of stuffing myself with bread before the meal even starts, especially when the bread is so nice. The squid ink one was the best by far, it was slightly salted, warm and soft. The amuse bouche was a very enjoyable tomato and basil consommé.

Sea bream with tomato, mint, lemon-grass and coconut (2002) - I particularly enjoyed the coconut broth, it was light yet creamy.

Adriatic scallops injected with their own coral, Jerusalem artichoke puree, Sevruga caviar and violet crunchy nougat (2007) - Perfectly cooked scallops. Caramelised on the outside, the coral inside gave an extra punch to the flavour. Didn't understand the violet sugar-work, it didn't go with anything on the plate.

Mille-feuille of goose foie gras, smoked and grilled with basil, pear and "Corallo" coffee sprinkling (2006) - One of my favourites of the night. The combination of pear and coffee syrup worked really well together.

Soup with squid dumplings and ginger, with veal sweetbreads and tuna botargo (2009) - I had never eaten sweetbreads cooked this way. I thought it would be soggy but it turned out to be tender and mild, didn't overpower the other delicate ingredients in the soup.

Cuttlefish "fettuccine" (1996) - The signature dish. The cuttlefish was lightly cooked before being cut into long, 2cm wide strips. They were then tossed with egg, bacon and cheese sauce, and piled on top of a sheet of fish stock jelly. Head chef Corrado Fasolato has managed to recreate the familiar flavours with a new ingredient, and beautiful presentation.

Wood flavoured loin of venison (2000) - I went 'hmmm~' when the waitress opened the steamer. The smell of the meat and herbs had instantly increased my appetite! The venison was very tender, given it has such a rich flavour, the wood flavour still came through nicely.

Grilled boned pigeon with smoked eel, lychees and chocolate shavings (2009) - I loved the pigeon, lychees and the smoked eel, but I didn't know what to do with the chocolate shavings. They were thin and bland, and not really necessary.

Rum and tabacco (1998) - It was an interesting dish but unfortunately the execution was bad. There was far too much tabacco - every mouthful you would get a bitter taste and numbness at the back of your throat. It was quite interesting at the beginning, but after a while it was just bitter, as the tabacco taste does stick around for a while.

The menu was certainly full of surprises, even though I was not so sure about a couple of the dishes. The Met restaurant is definitely worth trying if you want the fine dining experience in Venice, especially if you are open to original combinations of flavours. We will certainly remember our dinner for a long time to come.

The Met Restaurant