Etienne Muscat
Google
This was not an easy call to make: the food itself is easily a 5-start experience, the waiting staff were numerous and attentive, and the turnaround fairly efficient. The planner itself is warm, and the added touch of glass sections on the floor with the canal streaming past underneath, a plus. The ambience is animated, with a hubbub that is also pleasant. The menu was somewhat limited, I felt, with a nice touch too indicate that (Covid times) everyone had their individual copy. The food: seconds (mains) were standard, and in Italy this is not disrespectful; my grilled calamari and my wife's Adriatic fish of the day were both perfectly cooked, and integrated very well with their sides. The first courses (pasta) were scrumptious. Creative, unusual (mine was aglio, olio, bottarga and raw squid), very well balanced. However, after the stress of identifying which meals were lactose-free and which did not contain raw ingredients, it felt unacceptable for there to be unadvertised chili peppers in the plates. Thankfully, my wife spotted hers before ruining her dining experience, and the addition to my plate (I enjoy the spicy stuff) furthered my enjoyment of my pasta dish. I think that like too many restaurants on Italy, this is not sufficiently sensitive to people's allergies or intolerances, and this is taken to another level by 'hidden' ingredients. The dessert? Excellent, naturally (mine was semifreddo but really there was nothing 'semi' about it; my wife's was panettone but there was no sauce/topping to go with it). Finally: the staff were particularly generous, knowingly charging us for 2 goblets of wine instead of the 4 we actually consumed. I'd love to come here again, no doubt about that.