La Colombina - Venice

Really wonderful place that we couldn't believe was not packed on a Friday night in July. Food, service and ambiance all get five stars from me. From the reservation process to paying the bill, La Columbina knows how to operate a high end restaurant. The restaurant is in an alley off of Strada Nuevo in Cannaregio and has a spacious little courtyard to itself for Al fresco dining without the hot sun in the summertime. Staff was well dressed, service oriented and all spoke English well. I believe the owner came out to help with our order as I had let her know that we had food allergies in our party when making the reservation weeks prior. The kitchen did more than make us confident they could handle it, they made custom dishes for my son (including a special loaf of bread that was free of his allergens dairy and nuts). They even allowed the rest of us to order the tasting menu at our table (when they usually only allow tasting menus for the whole table). I have found Venetian restaurants to be accommodating to food allergies, but this was above and beyond. We had the Mare (seafood) menu. The food was simply outstanding. Every dish was prepared and presented with care from the amuse bouche (chilled tomato soup) to the tiramisu for dessert. The scallop au gratin, squid ink risotto, gnocchi with crab sauce, and seabass wrapped in zucchini were all delicious. I want to have that gnocchi again already! They elevated traditional Venetian specialties without going over the top. I will say that the portions were a little large for a five course menu. All the dishes appeared to be full sized, which made it a LOT to finish all of them. That's a first world problem though! They offer wine pairings at very fair prices including Coravin stored premium wines by the glass. I wanted a very local wine and purchased a bottle instead of doing pairings. La Columbina happened to be a five minute walk from my accommodations, but it's worth a visit no matter where you are staying in Venice (or even as a reason to go). I still cannot believe how fair the pricing was for the tasting menu (66€ for five courses that would have been close to 95€ a la carte). For an experience this good, you owe it to yourself to visit this restaurant. I visited another highly recommended and widely publicized restaurant in Venice east of St Mark's Square. This place was significantly better. They certainly deserve their long standing Michelin recognition. I cannot recommend this place enough!

Enoteca La Columbina was recommended to us from the hotel on our first night in Venice. Was a bit skeptical as usual on a hotel rec, but was pleasantly surprised by how great of an experience we had at La Columbina. It is a quaint little spot with only a few tables. We were very lucky enough to get a reservation here on the same day. It is a Michelin star restaurant and the service and quality of the food definitely shows this. Service was attentive and pleasant the whole evening, despite some obvious language barriers from us on our first day of the trip. They start off the meal with a welcome hot vegetable soup drink that was delicious and a basket with breads. I am not a huge wine person but you drink wine in Italy so I asked the waitress what her recommendation was and it did not disappoint, a very flavorful and mellow red that paired great with my meal. We ordered the Piatto Unico del Doge Doge's Single Course. Was not entirely sure what to expect but wow. A HUGE bowl of mussels clams, topped with 4 prawns on top. The broth and seasoning was so delicious. About 1/2 way through the course they brought a large platter of spaghetti and put it in the bowl, soaking up some of the broth and adding a whole other layer to the dish. Wow. So good and an unforgettable night. We will absolutely be back next time we are in Venice.

So good we are here twice and this is unusual for us when Venice has so many good restaurants! . From the beaten track on a quiet small back road, these places deserve to be booked. Fortunately, it wasn't for us! The first time we had the seafood tasting, the second time the meat. Both extremely generous, clever, interesting and very tasty. And the service is excellent. The best we have experienced. Adriana could not be more helpful and the waiter was perfect. Good wine recommendations both times different wines that were great for very different meals. Very recommended

Excellent dinner! Nice experience. The food was really fantastic, and the service absolutely first rate, quiet and amazingly efficient. The restaurant has Michelin Rosette and they are very well deserved. We had the meat tasting as my sister had the fish a few days before. Photos show the antipasti, the chicken and ham cake, the ravioli of the artichokes and the show boiled lamb shafts bring together carved. Amazing food, would recommend everyone who travels to Venice.

Uma grande experiência, tudo maravilhoso do serviço de comida. A seleção de vinho proposta pela casa foi muito bom gosto. A senhora é uma graça de pessoa. Serviço: Dine em tipo de carne: Preço por pessoa: €40–50