brandie

Hi Obscure,

Thanks for your input. I will take Vini da Gigio off of the list.
Osteria Santa Marina looks really good and a beautiful venue. The problem is it is also closed on Sundays and I'm looking to book for Sunday.

i agree with you about tasting menus. They really won't work for me. I'll plan on ordering Ala Carte.

Saturday lunch will be either: Alle Testiere or Osteria Santa Marina or Antiche Carampane. (All are closed on Sundays).

I took Al Covo off of the list for Saturday because it is co-owned by a Texan and I deal with Texan's all day long at work. I love Texans but I needed some
criteria for selecting restaurants. I know it is a top restaurant in Venice.

Sunday lunch looking at:

Local
Veccio Fritolan
Bentigoddi

I'll take another look at the menus, the locations and the price points and welcome any feedbacK.

obscure2k

A little gem we discovered on our most recent trip is Da Carletto. I have been trying to find out whether they are open on Sundays, but have been unsuccessful. Perhaps, your concierge would know.
The food is fresh and the ambiance is so inviting. This is a tiny restaurant, only about 10 tables. A Venetian friend recommended Da Carletto and we returned about 3 times during a 10 day visit. It is very close to the Santa Maria Formosa Church. The hotel where we stay is nearby and when we got lost, the daughter of the owner came and led us to the restaurant, which was about a minute away. We made a wrong turn at the church. This is a true family-owned restaurant. Mom is in the kitchen and daughter is serving the tables. I recall having a perfectly simple grilled fish (likely, Branzino) and grilled vegetables. Chef/Mom makes an extraordinary Apple cake. The preparation of Spider Crab is outstanding. I believe I had it with pasta, but I would not be surprised if they modified the dish for you, without pasta.
One reliable Sunday restaurant, which does not get a lot of love from critics, is the legendary Harry's Bar. Harry's is a lot of fun on Sundays, particularly at lunch. It is filled with locals who have been going there forever on Sundays.
Our experiences at Harry's have been fine, and we know how to order so that we won't break the bank. They are very good about splitting orders and even letting you order a 1/2 portion. The Bellini's are outrageously expensive but a carafe of prosecco is reasonably priced. Service is excellent. Sunday is the day they prepare Osso Bucco and it is well worth trying. I rarely eat meat, but this Osso Bucco is phenomenal. Lunch is our preferred dining time at Harry's on Sunday. Gives us time to have a leisurely lunch and go for a good walk after. Reservations definitely needed on sundays. Request a table downstairs. It is where the locals dine, although Elton John prefers dining upstairs.

bmrisko

Very timely thread. We will be in Venice in late June (not really my preferred time to go, but that is just how it worked out). We will have our 1 yr old with us...any recommendations on good, family-friendly dining? Our little guy has a pretty developed palette and will eat just about anything we do. Obviously, we want to avoid the touristy areas and will probably do some local places for cicheto and ombra...any ideas for some reserved dinners? We're staying at the Gritti Palace, so somewhat accessible from there would be ideal.

obscure2k

I have found that restaurants in Venice tend to be quite family-friendly. The restaurants most frequently mentioned in this Dining In Venice thread will welcome your little one. I would only caution you about pushing the stroller up and down the steps of the bridges, so it is a good idea to stay on your side of the Rialto Bridge. Da Carletto will be welcoming and food is excellent. It will be about a 15 minute walk from the Gritti and will not involve many bridges to cross. Al Covo is another restaurant where I am certain you will be treated well.

bmrisko

Good to hear, thanks! Walking is no problem...we also have a carrier, so stroller won't always be necessary, although we are travelling w/ our Mountain Buggy Nano that is very compact.

brandie

I'm having the concierge at the hotel book Alle Testiere for lunch on Saturday and Da Carletto for lunch on Sunday. Da Carletto looks cozy and
a bit less "foody/trendy if that makes sense than some of the other restaurants I was considering. I'll report back mid July on how everything went.

brandie

I heard back from the concierge and we are schedule for 1:00 pm lunch on Saturday at Alle Testiere and 1:00 pm lunch for Da Carletto on Sunday! I'm very excited and will update when I return!

obscure2k

I'm happy to know that Da Carletto is open on Sunday! Thanks.

bmrisko

We dined at Da Carletto for lunch today and it was great. There was only one other group that came in after us, so we literally had the place to ourselves. Our 1 yr old was well received and the waiter did a great job interacting with him and gave us great attention The food was fresh and tasted fantastic. About 75 euro for 2 with a bottle of wine, still water, 2 entrees and an antipasto. After dining on mostly various chiccetti options throughout our stay, this was a nice change of pace and far enough away from the crowds to provide a bit of calm.

obscure2k

Appreciate the feedback. So happy that it worked out for you.

brandie

I'm on my return flight and wanted to give an update.

We dined for lunch at Alle Testiere on Saturday and lunch at Da Carletto on Sunday. Lunch was our main meal for the day. Given the heat I was glad that we made our main meal a leisurely lunch. By midday we were ready to sit down and get a break.

At Alle Testiere I had squid with black ink and grilled polenta and my boyfriend had cod with grilled polenta. The black ink squid was truly an outstanding dish. I also had a scallop dish as a starter.

My boyfriend and I both liked Da Carletto. It featured all around good dining. Our bill came to around 90 euros. I had 3 dishes, my boyfriend had 2 dishes, we had two very large bottles of water and I had a glass of prosecco. I had a shrimp and zuchini starter, seabass with sliced potato, and grilled vegetables at Da Carletto. I can see how Da Carletto would be a good place to take kids. They also brought us some free lemoncello.

I had our concierge make reservations in advance at both places. Alle Testiere was about 80 percent full at lunch with reservations (I saw his chart) and they had a few walk ins. We were the only reservations at Da Carletto but two other tables came in. I'd never used a concierge before to make reservations but at both places we got the best seat in the house. Both restaurants worked with me on gluten free.

We randomly walked by Da Ignacio. The menu had a lot of choices and the dining room was a lot larger than most in Venice.

We also walked by Harry's. I was thinking it was on St Marks Square but it is actually on the water.

It was hot (and I live in Florida). I'd encourage women traveling to Venice in July and August to pack cotton or linen sundresses or linen outfits. Bring the coolest clothing you own.

I took the boyfriend down to St Marks square at 8:00 pm in the evening and the crowds were not too bad at that time.
We avoided St Marks square during the day and also avoided Rialto bridge during the day to stay clear of the crush of people.

On the tourist menus I noticed the following as I walked around: fake gelato running between 2 and 6 euro a serving, slice of pizza between 3 and 8 euro a slice, plate of pasta with oil on it running 10 euro and included bread. I saw a lot of tourists sitting outside with a giant plate of pasta that had maybe olive oil on it
and nothing else and a plate of bread and these were 10 euro. It looked sad. Better meals can be had in Venice at the same price point.

Accademia Bridge is under construction. This is frustrating as the temporary bridge has really tall plywood sides so you cannot see the canal when you cross the temporary bridge.

Ca Pisani Hotel still has a great breakfast and they brought in gluten free breads for me!

A lot of the AirBnB folks with reservations seemed to have problems finding their units. We encountered a number of couples dripping with sweat, pulling luggage and really struggling to find their AirBnB units.

Thanks to everyone for the help.

obscure2k

brandie, thanks so much for your Venetian update. Happy to hear that the restaurants we recommended worked out so well. Your comments about dressing for Venice in the summertime were also valuable, The only time I have visited Venice in June was to attend a wedding. Fortunately, the church was cool. The summer heat and humidity were nearly unbearable. I recall walking past a shop, saw a long, loose linen dress and changed in the shop. So, indeed linen is a great option in the summer. Next time consider going to Venice in November, around Thanksgiving, Weather is cool but not often rainy, city isn't crowded and everything is just lower key. Also, hotels are less expensive as that is "off season"
Welcome home!

WiscAZ

Perche

Remember you'll get lost a lot in Venice. If money is not an object, the easiest really good restaurants to get to near you are Al Covo, and Il Ridotto. Al Covo is a 10-15 minute walk straight Piazza San Marco, keep walking along the water until you get to a street called Via de la Pesceria, and make a left. It's right there. Il Risotto is a 5-6 minute walk. Go through the Piazza staying towards the left and just follow the crowds and keep walking straight till you run into a canal and have to go over a bridge. Just keep following the crowds and going straight ill you get to Campo Sani Fillipo e Giacomo. It's right there, just look around. Venice doesn't have good gelato. The best of the bad is a place called Alaska, but it's a long way, not too far from the train station. You'll need to take a vaporetto. Several pastry places have macaroons. I Tre Mercanti is five minute walk, through Piazza San Marco. It will be a little tricky to find, but if you keep asking directions, you eventually will. Simplest for macaroons if money is no object is Cafe Florian, right in Piazza San Marco. You might want to think about why you want a French desert in Italy, although Italian chefs invented them, they are not a Venetian dessert.

obscure2k

A Covo is a short and pleasant walk, excellent food. The restaurant is not open on Sunday. No authentic gelato in Venice. .
Osteria Santa Marina is another restaurant I would recommend. It is in Castello, a few minutes walk and definitely not a tourist trap. Food is excellent. On a lovely square.. Macarons are not a typical pastry in Venice.