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

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!