Solo Traveller Adventures: Eating Out in Venice, Italy

The general rule of thumb when eating out on vacation in Europe is - do not eat in places near the main tourist attractions. These places generally are geared towards convenience and sightseeing appeal, and not focused on quality or taste. I am sure or hope that there are exceptions to this rule, but safer to go off the beaten path when it comes to grabbing lunch or dinner. There was one night in Venice when I broke this golden rule because I was so hungry and it was so late that I sat myself down at one of these establishments, hoping that this would be one of those exceptions. It wasn't.  Eating that dinner that night made me remember a conversation with an American duo who claimed Venetian food was the worst - clearly they had eaten at one of these places.

I did not leave Venice with the same conclusion though. Asking locals for a recommendation is usually a good call so don't be afraid to go beyond your comfort zone as a visitor to a new city. Even before this very bad experience, I had already been lucky to have two amazing meals at Impronta Cafe, which is not a traditional, hole-in-the-wall type of place but a more modern cafe experience. The lunch, aperitif and dinner experiences at Impronta Cafe were all very good - great food, very well done and presented and great service.

Spinach and ricotta ravioli in pesto. This was beautiful. Grazie, Impronta Cafe.

Impronta Cafe's roast suckling pig with purple potato mash and apple puree. The pork was decadent.

The best meal I had in Venice was in one of these hidden gems off the beaten path - a place recommended by Damiano, my B&B host. One needed to make a reservation to dine at La Zucca - a small, intimate place not too far from the San Stae vaporetto stop. I completely loved this dining experience. If you are looking for that romantic Hollywood setting for dinner, then no - you will not find it here. There were no tourists, no romantic view of the Grand Canal - in fact it is located on a back street and the view was of graffiti on the opposite wall. But from the moment I sat down to the moment I bid the owners a good night, it was an amazing evening. Great food and service that was so warm that you almost felt like family. You want to feel that when you are away from home. I appreciated it. This was a great, great, great recommendation!

I had an outside table so I could people watch. Check out the graffiti wall view in front of me.

It was so fresh. So fresh. No description needed. But La Zucca's pesto was 'burst in your mouth' fresh.

Grilled pork cooked in marsala wine with baby onions at La Zucca. This was everything!

La Zucca dessert - panna cotta in chocolate sauce. Possibly the best panna cotta ever.

I also enjoyed a couple gelatos from Gelateria White - a very slick and contemporary gelato establishment, where the gelato was self-service and sold based on weight and mix of toppings from candies, to fruit. You basically create your gelato fantasy yourself and it is pretty good gelato as well. Great stop while walking the streets of Venice after hours.

And while I can surely not make a sweeping conclusion on who had the best aperol spritz in the land, I will recommend this aperitif to any visitor. Aperol, prosecco, sparkling water and an orange slice - so simple but so wow. It was my drink of choice for my entire stay in Italy (and even beyond) and the best ones I had at Da Sandro Bar. and Al Todaro. I did try the Hugo aperitif as well but while it may be all the rage, it did not do it for me like the tried and tested aperol spritz, but we still took a photo!

Hugo aperitif - champagne, elderflower syrup, lime juice, mint and a view of the Grand Canal.

While Venice may not be Bologna, Naples or Florence when it comes to the foodie excitement, if you do your research and due diligence, you can leave the city with super fond memories of a great dining experience.

But up next...we move on to my fave Italian city (so far) and my second visit to Florence. Love.

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Post-Wine Sale Dinner at Shesha Cafe and Lounge

With everything that has gone on this past week, not to mention the South-bound traffic being worse than usual,  it was a perfect Friday evening for some dinner and girl time, and Shesha Cafe and Lounge was picked to be the place for all this bonding and eating. I am glad we decided in the end to move outside despite the hookah love on the terrace, since it was a nice evening and well, we were a noisy bunch. But what else is new?

While I had been there for lunch, with a fantastic hummus victory being achieved then, I had not patronised the cafe at dinner time.

I am always impressed by the high standard of the customer service here, and special thanks to Duncan and Crystal for being such gems and for being completely outstanding. Of course, we were also well fed. What I did not see on the menu first time around was the meats section, quite possibly cause I was not eating meat that week and simply did not see it (possible, but not likely), but of course when I saw the magic words "pork loin", well, you know what came next. Really nicely cooked in I think a red wine sauce, and topped with grilled pineapple.

I was so hungry and this Pork Loin at Shesha Cafe and Lounge did the job and then some

My friend had the rack of lamb, and together we shared a side of the patatas bravas, which were very more-ish. Too more-ish because we almost did order more.

My friend was really impressed with the Rack of Lamb at Shesha Cafe and Lounge

May I also make yet another plug for their cream of pumpkin soup which is just amazing and which I took to go for Saturday lunchie time. I can be convinced to do anything when really good pumpkin soup is on offer.

I looked at their cocktail list longingly, but in the end, I had a glass of non-alcoholic wine with my meal as I am still on medication. However, there was nothing that prevented me from buying real wine, which is what I did pre-Shesha. Oh lucky me that Vintage Imports is just across the road and that their awesome annual sale was on. I did not even realise that their South branch had closed until I saw the sale ad and saw there was no South branch. Oh, my South people have let me down yet again. Anyway, it was a good afternoon for wine shopping and I got the last bottle of my favourite poison on the shelf at the time. Small yaay. And again, perfect perfect customer service and drinkie vibes. I am a happier woman this morning.

Note to self: park car on wine store's premises instead of across the street so you can buy more wine without worrying about the weight of wine purchases and breaking your precious cargo en route through the rain.

Love all the pretty colours. Thank you Vintage Imports for being awesome!

This is just one of my faves. Not sharing this!

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