Ostaria Boccadoro (Venice)

October 2011

Campiello Widmann, Cannaregio 5405a, 30121 Venice, Italy
Tel: +39 41 521 1021
www.boccadorovenezia.it

Ostaria Boccadoro is a restaurant in a relatively quiet part of touristy Venice, just east of the Rialto in a square called Campiello Widmann which even the concierge at our hotel didn't recognise. A 15 minute walk from our hotel by San Zaccaria, through the same road which took us to Trattoria da Remigio and past a few small canals through some quiet alleyways (some barely wide enough for one person to walk through), we came to a rather deserted square (perhaps it was empty because it was drizzling slightly) on which the restaurant was located.

We were welcomed very warmly by the chef himself, Chef Luciano Orlandi and his staff (curiously, both his staff were Italian-speaking of Chinese origin) and given a cozy corner table next to the window. The restaurant was nicely adorned with artworks on the wall and interesting glassware (this was Venice after all, famous for its Murano glass).

It had a rather impressive wine list from which we picked up a 2001 Guado al Tasso from Antinori for a very good price. Needless to say, it was an excellent wine. Chef Luciano was hovering around us a lot (there weren't many guests that day) and he was really friendly and chatty.



We asked him for recommendations and decided to choose whatever he felt was fresh for the day. For our  starters, we had three different types of seafood dishes. There was a variety of raw, smoked and cooked seafood such as shrimp, clams, fish, crabmeat and scallops. The seafood was very fresh (as it needed to be if served raw) and prepared very well.

I particularly liked the fish carpaccio doused in olive oil on a bed of greens and sprinkled with pomegranate.

For the entrees, we had the seafood gnocchi and the squid ink tagliatelle. The gnocchi was particularly good and the tagliatelle was also very nicely cooked.

Desserts also did not disappoint. Though the panna cotta was rather ordinary, the chocolate mousse was out of this world.

Final Thoughts: We had a very good lunch here, and the food, wine and service were excellent. It wasn't crowded like most Venetian restaurants typically are with tourists, and compared to the previous night's meal at Trattoria da Remigio, was a much more enjoyable dining experience.