Venice Lunch Suggestions For Specific Locations?

[Amy]

Hello all, we will be returning to Venice (third visit) in May for nine days. I have a ton of online restaurant suggestions bookmarked, but I'd love to hear of your favorite places near the following locations, suitable for good lunches. It is the first week of the Biennale, so things will likely be crowded and the more popular or well known places already booked, so some fresh suggestions would be especially welcomed. Lunch is usually our main meal, with a light dinner in the apartment. We love seafood, and while periodically willing to spring for excellent quality, aren't looking for consistently deep splurges.

Monday--Between the Arsenale and San Zaccaria (going to the Biennale in the morning, then meeting up near S. Zaccaria for a late afternoon walking tour with Context)

Sunday-- Between Cannaregio and San Marco (have 3 pm visit at the Torre dell'Orologio, that'll work off some calories!)

Giudecca (going to go to some of the smaller museums (Tre Oci, Stanze de Vetro, and some of the Biennale installations at Giudecca and San Giorgio)

Thank you!

 

[Amy]

Any experience here with CoVino, the enoteca owned by Al Covo? It is open Mondays, and the photos of the food I've seen and most reviews look great. I believe it's a 3-course fixed price, but a la carte options are available at lunch if you want a lighter meal.

 

[jan]

We ate dinner at CoVino, I think in 2015. I loved the total experience--tiny place, showy staff, open kitchen. The food was good but not great. some dishes were better than others.
Here's the cut and paste from my blog:

We ate: octopus salad, a decidedly un-Venetian baked pasta dish (which was maybe the best dish of the night–it had pecorino, becamel and ragu); Ken had sausage which he didn’t love because it had a bit of cloves in it. I had some kind of “slow food” chicken which was good but I didn’t love the thick sauce with it. Desserts were: tiramisu (I thought would be a lot more creative but was quite traditional) and Ken had “Fugazza” which turned out to be like Pennetone with a sauce.
The wine pairings were wonderful! Ken especially loved the organic prosecco and we also shared a scrumptious moscato d’Asti with the dessert.

On Giudecca we ate once at Figlie dell Stelle (2012 from my blog I remember it feeling very romantic sitting right on the water looking back at beautiful Venice. The food is Pugliese, not really Venetian.

It was a wonderful lunch. We started with a really nice, home made bread basket which included my favorites: taralli then ordered an app– a fava bean puree with sauteed greens and crostini. We shared a primo of spaghetti with mussels in a very light tomato sauce and the pasta was made of farro flour. It was so much better than any whole grain pasta I’ve tried at home! The frittura mista was next. It had lots of shrimp and squid and little fish as well as vegetables. Gotta love fried food! We shared everything but couldn’t finish the frittura. Bill was 60.50.

 

[Ann]

On Sunday, I'd go to Anice Stellato or Vini da Gigio, both in Cannaregio. Our favorite on Giudecca is Ai Cacciatori (closed Mondays). And please don't miss Antiche Carampane, perhaps our favorite during the 14 weeks we've spent in Venice so far. Where is your apartment located, Amy?

 

[jan]

I really love Vini da Gigio. If I have one night in Venice I would probably eat there.

 

[Matt D]

Jan - I'm posting a link at the bottom of this post to my recent Slow Travel Tours blog "An Insider's Guide to The Venice Biennale." You may find it helpful. Most important thing for you to know is that the standard ticket will not allow re-entry once you have left a site. Giardini and Arsenale are enormous! I don't believe it's possible to even breeze through both main sites in one morning, even if you don't stop to look at anything. I'd recommend at least breaking your visit up into two days. The food available on both sites is mostly quite decent bar food and it is not overpriced. There are pleasant outdoor areas to sit.
In Canarregio I recommend Ai Promesi Sposi and Trattoria Storica (a good workingman's lunch dirt cheap) - both very near SS. Apostoli.
Near Ospedale in Castello I recommend Taverna La Corte. There may have been some changes since we were there last, but we had a couple of really good meals there on our last visit. http://slowtraveltours.com/blog/page/3/

 

[Amy]

Thank you Jan, Ann and Matt!
Matt, we've been to Biennale before and plan to visit over several days. We've liked El Refolo for a late lunch, but they're closed Mondays. Thanks for the link! With so much to take in, I get overloaded if there more than 3 hours at a time.

 

[Matt D]

Hi Amy - Sorry, I didn't realize you'd been to the Biennale before! Barb and I do the two main sites and international pavilions in two days, but we feel "arted-out" for days after. You're doing it the right way.