Fiaschetteria Toscana restaurant in Venice is located a short walk from the Rialto Bridge (with Piazza San Marco at your back, the restaurant will be on your left). A non-descript restaurant from the outside, this Venice restaurant is actually the type of place you would walk by day after day without ever noticing it. We made it a point to find this Venetian eatery since my partner and I were told about this restaurant by the concierge. Even then, we walked past it two different times before we could actually find it.

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Started as a Tuscan wine outlet a hundred years ago, Fiaschetteria Toscana serves traditional Venetian cuisine. This restaurant has a bright and elegant décor and is decorated with Venetian glass lamps, amusing prints and painted plates. A refrigerator case in the front displays the day’s fish. Frequented by tourists, this restaurant has two floors, with a formal dining room upstairs and a crowded and cozy one downstairs. During the summer, it is possible to dine out in an area in front of the restaurant.

Fiaschetteria Toscana has a new menu each day. Our menu had a big selection of appetizers – about 15, ranging from raw scampi, oyster, sea bass and tuna tartar to shrimps seasoned with polenta and raw ham from Cormons sliced by hand to white asparagus parmesan style. The first course consisted of items like pasta and bean soup, spaghetti with local clams, baked lasagna with spring’s wild herbs and black tagliolini with lobster sauce. The menu offers all kinds of fish, such as sea turbot, sea bass, John Dory, sea eel and cuttlefish to name a few. Meat dishes included calf liver Venetian style, rack of lamb and stewed duck with polenta. Also available were a variety of outstanding deserts to choose from. The “rovesciata di mele al caramello”, their signature dessert was featured on the front page of the American magazine “Bon Appetit” in January 2006.

The price of the first course ranged from 15 Euro to 19 Euro. The fish was pricier at 7-10 Euro for 100 grams and the meat dishes ranged from 14 to 28 Euro. All in all, this Venice restaurant is definitely not a cheap one (but the prices do include cover and service) as some of the reviews on Trip Advisor Venice point out. The restaurant did not have a great wine list as there were only two white wines and three red by the glass. This is certainly not a big selection for a traditional Italian restaurant. My partner and I were here for a late lunch. We arrived about 15 minutes before their 2:30 kitchen closing time since we had trouble finding the restaurant in the first place.

We quickly ordered pasta, black tagliolini with lobster service for me and tagliolini with scallops and thin cut vegetables for my partner. The portions were on the small side (especially for 16 and 18 Euro), but the taste was exceptional. Both dishes were full of flavor and excellent. The only problem was that the portions were small, we were hungry and the kitchen had closed. Knowing the kitchen had already closed we asked if it would be possible to order something else. However, we got a surprisingly negative response. I find it a bit strange with today’s economics that a restaurant is turning away orders, but that is their prerogative.

Our lunch finally consisted of two pastas, one glass of wine, one bottle of water and one coffee and the bill came to 54 Euro. It was definitely way too expensive for what we got. Service was attentive and efficient, but they did not go that extra mile by keeping the kitchen up a little longer.

Overall, this Venice restaurant had a relaxed and comfortable ambience and a fine menu. The only downside is that it was pricey. I am surprised that this restaurant has managed to get a good rating on Trip Advisor Venice with its small portions and small selection of wines. Our rating for this Venice restaurant, based mainly on the cost versus quantity is Between Bombastic and Not.

What I liked: The awesome food

What I didn’t like: The small portions and the high cost

Rating: Between Bombastic and Not

Address and Telephone Number:
Fiaschetteria Toscana
5719 San Giovanni Crisostomo,
Cannaregio,
Venice, 30121
Phone: +39 041 528 5281
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