The Floating Table
La Cusina Restaurant, Venice

I was looking for something special to do for our anniversary dinner. The problem is in tourist town, many things probably aren’t that special.

With a bit of research, I happened to find the “Floating Table” at the La Cusina restaurant at the Westin Europa Venice. While there were probably nicer restaurants out there, the ease and convenience of enjoying a drink and rolling downstairs can’t be beat. That’s not to mention the awesome view. I booked the table for 50€ cover through the hotel concierge and they were prompt in organizing the reservation as requested. A photo courtesy of their website.



We arrived at our 7 PM reservation time. The restaurant was just getting going and it was much quieter than compared to the breakfast hour. There were only three or four other tables being served throughout the course of the evening, making it a quiet experience. The scene was set with a beautiful sunset over the Grand Canal. It is surprisingly much quieter at night when most of the traffic dies down.





With the floating table being away from the restaurant, it got dark quite quickly. We had a nice candle lit dinner away from anyone else with some pretty neat Murano themed glassware. We saw the glassware on our walk and it was about 200€ a set.

In honor of our anniversary, the restaurant offered a glass a prosecco as a starter. We had a sea bass and carrot puree amuse bouche.





I had the starter of spaghetti di grano selezione “martelli” con pomorodirni freschi e ricotta affucmicate di Malaga (Selected spaghetti with fresh tomatoes and artisanal smoked ricotta from Malaga) My gosh – spectacular!! It was the freshest spaghetti and basil I’d ever had the opportunity to enjoy. I still dream of it to this date.



We enjoyed a bottle of Pio Cesare Nebiollo, which was terrific; well balanced and not over the top with tannins.



For the main, I had the Carre di angella in crosta di herbe montane, zuchine infornate e salae all amarone della valpolicca or herb crusted lamb culet, zuchinni and amarone della valpolicella sauce. It was perfectly cooked. Overall, it was a solid choice, although I enjoyed the pasta starter more.



We passed on the dolce serving and the restaurant brought us some petit fours to conclude.



My wife had the better views as the guest of honor. I kept flipping around to take photographs however. I don’t know how I couldn’t with views like that!



The Floating Table was a nice experience. It was quiet, serene and romantic. We’ll remember it for quite a while considering the setting that it was in; a super special evening for an anniversary. The fact that it was in Venice certainly didn’t hurt either… ^