Anima Bella

Was there Oct. ’13
Taking a break from the San Marco crowd we wandered down a few streets and stumbled on to this place. Five tables, all empty made me a little reluctant. No menu but the lady told us all the plates avail. I had the lasagne with meat… the best I’ve ever had, nice and cheesy and plenty of meat and sauce. The tortellini was also excellent. We talked with the lady and found out it was her birthday from the gondoliers singing her happy birthday and presenting her with flowers. Great service better food and nice homey atmosphere. Can’t beat it.

We stopped in here late and had some things recommended to us. We orders the seafood risotto and a small bottle of wine. The food had good flavor however there was very little seafood only a few small bits, and a very small portion of food.
Overall we walked away very unsatisfied.

Don’t come to this restaurant, the pasta is their signature dish and their only dish. We ordered the seafood, cuttlefish and meat sauce pasta. Either the sauce too salty or too much oil, the pasta isn’t homemade and don’t even cook thoroughly.

Sorting through the various prior comments is a challenge. Having eaten there for the first time just today, I have to say that 1) the prices of everything except those few items not on the printed menu are clearly marked, and 2) it is not the cheapest place around, but 3) the food is really outstanding.
There are certainly cheaper places in Venice, and even cheaper places within a very short walk of Anima Bella, but nothing is over the top in terms of price, and, given the quality of the food, hard to argue that it is overpriced. We had both the seafood spaghetti and the pasta fungi, and both were absolutely as good as they can get, with the seafood spaghetti beating anything else I had had in the prior days in Venice.
The place was nearly full when we arrived, and we got a shoehorned table. Not ideal, and not terribly comfortable, but when the food came, it didn’t matter at all. And as the place gradually emptied out, we were able to linger and speak with the staff. Very friendly people, and absolutely none of the cloying fawning mentioned by others.

While walking around the gorgeous city of Venice we stumbled upon this little eatery. We were ready for lunch so we popped in and were warmly welcomed by the owner. He and his wife run the place as well as cook the food, wait on the tables, everything. I love small self run business like such so I was excited to give it a try. This place is adorable. Small (seats maybe 20), cozy, and sits right along a beautiful Venice canal. We got a small booth table along the windows so we had a great view of the canal. I couldn’t be happier. Well until the food came. Well made authentic Italian cuisine. It was good stuff! After we finished the owner practically walked us out and thank us again. Such a lovely meal with lovely people. We continued our walk around Venice with nice full bellies. I highly recommend checking this place out.

We came here at an off-​hour for lunch, and we were the only patrons. It’s a small establishment, so it was nice having it all to ourselves. The food was excellent. I had the sea food risotto, which was the best risotto I’ve ever had. The homemade tiramisu we had for dessert was incredible.
It was definitely not a tourist trap, and the prices were labelled clearly on the menu, so don’t worry about what some of the other reviewers have said. This was a good restaurant, with great food, and in a cozy little spot off the main track. All in all, it was a good experience.

This was our second visit to Venezia. Anima Bella was recommended by the hotel where we stayed during our first visit. We enjoyed it so much we made it our first dinner during our second visit.
The owner and his wife prepare the dishes and each one (we’ve had) was simply sensational. Tonight’s special was black inked cuttle fish (Venice specialty) over spaghetti. My wife had the seafood over spaghetti.
There are 5 tables in the restaurant so it’s cozy and definitely worth the visit.

Très charmant petit restaurant italien avec seulement cinq tables. Il n’existe pas de carte. Chaque jours on vous annonce oralement ce qui est cuisiné. Les pâtes et la lasagne della casa étaient très bons, mais mangez la tiramisu plutôt ailleurs.

Wow! Fabulous! Fresh pasta in the specials. Went two nights and had four fresh pasta dishes in all. The salad prior to each dinner was cold, fresh and crisp, with just the right accent in the oil and vinegar dressing. The fresh italian bread was served warm, and had just the right combination of crunchy crust and chewy steamy inside. The cheese tortolloni was to die for, and the spinach ravioli delectable. We had two lasagnas. The lasagna with bolognese sauce was perfect, and the pesto lasagna was superior. This place has just five or six tables, yet it wasn’t difficult to get in at 7 on a weekday in late March. Great service as well. We met the owner one night, and our waitress was the same each night. She’s been there 15 years. She was friendly and fun. I couldn’t recommend this place more highly. Go, you will love it!

We saw how cute this place looked when walking around and decided to come back for dinner. We were seated right away around 7:30 without a reservation. The place is tiny (about 4 tables) but has a charming ambience and feels cozy.
The owner asked us if we were Italian and we noticed she did this with other diners as well. I got the sense we were getting the tourist treatment especially when the menu was conveyed verbally (without prices). She was pleasant but not particularly genuine, and we felt rushed to order since there was no menu to peruse.
My husband ordered the pesto lasagna and I had the spaghetti della casa. I had wanted to try the mushroom risotto but it was only available for 2. We were both very happy with the food and the portions. The lasagna was bathed in melted mozzarella and tons of pesto sauce (almost like a thick soup). My spaghetti was a garlicky arrabiatta sauce with chunks of tomato and generous amount of parmesan cheese.
For the two pasta dishes and a bottle of water, we were surprised to pay 50+ euros. Despite the high price and feeling a bit that we’d been had, we enjoyed the meal and would likely go back on the strength of the food.
Visited September 2011

Tourist trap. I fell into it. Then again, the whole town is a tourist trap.
We ate a hole in the wall and spoke with the first friendly person in Italy, the hostess/​waitress/​cook (she does it all!). This is because we came on Christmas. This woman was the only one person (wo)manning this four-​table restaurant. It was very small and charming, further from the square, right by a canal.
We told the woman, who was fairly fluent in English, that we needed to leave by 2 p.m., which left her 30 minutes to get us fed. I wasn’t sure how well this would fly, with the whole supposed chillaxin’ culture of Italians. I must be generalizing because she nodded and told us it was not a problem. *fist pump*
She stood expectantly for our beverage order after we ordered entrees. There is no tap water served in Italy, so we both ordered water for € 3.50. Yarghhh. I should’ve had coffee or tea, which was the same price.
The squid ink pasta was a bit salty but good; a squeeze of the provided lemon cut into the saltiness. The risotto scampi was just ok. The shrimp had been cut along the back but not deveined. I had to devein it. De-​pooped it is more accurate because that is not a vein. What poo has been seen cannot be unseen. Out you go!
Some guy dashed in and asked, angrily in accented English (can’t place it), «Call the police! How do I call the police??»
The woman was taken aback and suggested where he could find the police. He told her that he needed the police to help him; his tone added «NOW». She looked helpless and told him she was only one woman, what could she do? I empathized with her because she was manning this place on her own. The guy told her, he wasn’t asking her to do anything, just how to call the police. He was sort of argumentative. My impression was that he was pissed more than worried over an emergency.
This turned out to be the case when he gave up, went back outside and argued with a gondolier. He probably got ripped off by hopping onto a gondola from the independent gondoliers offering rides from the canals. The official gondolas depart from a large dock at the pier and later steer into the canals, whereas the shady gondoliers lingered around canals for suckers. Like this guy.
We finished our quick lunch and got the check («il conto, per favore» — thank you Italian phrase book app). Apparently there is a cover charge (€ 2.50 per person). I did notice some places advertising no cover charge so I wasn’t entirely shocked by the concept. There was also a 15% service charge built-​in. You don’t want to dwell on these things on vacation, so just beware.
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