Ostaria da Simson

En voilà une authentique ostaria à Venise (la tâche n’est pas aisée dans cette ville très touristique) !
Aucun plat n’est proposé sauf des lasagnes à la bolognaise: ici on sert des cicheti (tapas vénitiennes).
Les cicheti sont toutes exposées dans un comptoir, très pratique pour faire son choix quand on né sait pas parler italien. Le gérant sait se débrouiller un peu en anglais, assez en tout cas pour que l’on comprenne à peu près de quoi sont composées toutes ces tapas.
Tout était très bon et fait avec des produits de bonne qualité ! Cependant les lasagnes à la bolognaise et les boulettes de viande étaient moins satisfaisantes, de qualité en-​deçà des cicheti. Le spritz est très bon et pas très cher (il me semble qu’il était à 2,50 euros le verre, voire 3 euros). Nous nous en sommes sortis à 42 euros en ayant goûter presque toutes les tapas, les boulettes de viande et les lasagnes (donc en n’ayant plus faim jusqu’au soir), ainsi que les 2 verres de spritz.
Le service est très sympathique. La salle est petite mais était rempli d’italiens quand on y était (début mai, période de l’année où Venise regorgeait déjà de touristes). Le cadre est magnifique: au bord d’un canal, dans une rue pas très passante, c’était à la fois beau et relaxant.
Si je retourne un jour à Venise, je n’hésiterais pas à revenir dans ce restaurant qui est loin de tous les attrape-​touristes de la ville. Petit plus pour nous Unilocaleurs: le gérant nous incite à écrire un avis sur Internet pour faire connaître son restaurant :) (vous pouvez donc prendre des photos sans crainte d’une petite remarque, c’est top !).

This place was in our guidebook so even though it wasn’t much to look at from the outside (two tables sharing one bench outside and a few tables inside) we took the plunge and went in. Boy are we glad we did. Our guidebook led us to believe there would be a bit more of a menu than there was but it didn’t matter. Three and a half hours, two bottles of wine (one white and one red), and two limoncello (compliments of the house later we left very full and very content. The owner was gregarious and helpful – providing some suggestions for each of our wine choices and taking the time to chat about the wines with us and how we liked them after they were opened. The food was more in the way of bar snacks – small sandwiches, stuffed rice balls, anchovies and onions, etc. But it was more than enough to keep us happy. The entire time we were there the place was patronized by a parade of locals but we didn’t see a single other tourist (I guess everyone was in St. Mark’s Square?) I would highly recommend those looking for good wine in a warm Venice atmosphere to head to Ostaria da Simson and enjoy the experience. Just remember this is a cash only place – not a big deal, though, because the food and wine is very well priced.

Tolles Essen. In diesem Fall Seppie con polenta. Etwas abseits und ruhig. Freundliche aufmerksame Bedienung. Absolut empfehlenswert. Direkt am Wasser.

This small and friendly restaurant is tucked away on a quiet canal behind the Campo Santo Maria Formosa. The menu is small with 3 – 4 pasta dishes and 4 – 5 main course offerings. However, they manage to pack a lot of variety into the choices. The restaurant is equally compact with only 16 seats. Fish is the specialty here and everything we tried with any connection to the sea was great.
We started with a fish antipasti packed with Venetian favorites like sardine in saor and cod with milk, and octopus. The seafood was fresh and the portion generous. Our primo was a pasta pesto with swordfish. The swordfish was smoked to perfection. The pesto was more subtly flavored than one finds elsewhere, although the basil and garlic did come through. The pasta was strozzapreti, which soaked up the sauce nicely so the dish did not have to drown in it to bring out the pesto flavor.
Our main course was a baked chicken breast with ham. While the cured ham was delicious, there was not much to the chicken. Plenty of butter and garlic in the sauce, but overall an unexciting dish.
The restaurant itself is a nice spot. The atmosphere is very casual and has a fun sense of humor. We were warmly welcomed and received very good service. A few locals came through for cicchetti while we were there. The 1 Euro service charge is less than most other Venetian restaurants. Note that they do not accept credit cards.
We had a nice evening and were glad we went.

Einfaches, aber großartiges Essen. Keine Kartenzahlung!