Taverna Venexia

Mira Porte

I have always believed that you meet people or events happen for a reason. Therefore, with that in mind, it was no surprise when we arrived at the bus stop in Mira Porte, which was in front of Taverna Venexia. It was nighttime and even though we had excellent directions from our landlord, everything looked different in the dark from his description. We were unsure of where to go so we went into the restaurant to ask if they would call our landlord to pick us up. They were kind enough to agree to do so and while we waited, we enjoyed a glass of wine. We spoke to one of the owners, Andrea and from our short conversation decided to have dinner there later. It turned out to be one of our better ideas.

The following evening we left our cottage and headed towards the restaurant. We arrived too early and so decided to have a drink across the street at Bar Agrodolce, a happy hour bar. We heard the most fantastic singer but more on that in the next post.

When walking into the restaurant you will see a unique bar to the right. To the left is the dining area with sofas around a fireplace and tables and chairs. I would say the style was casual elegance.

They always give a free appetizer at the beginning of the meal. We started our meal with crostini with salt cod. Then we decided to have another appetizer. I chose tomino piemontese wrapped in thin slices of zucchini with pumpkin crème and crunchy pumpkin flowers. Heavenly does not begin to describe the taste. My friend had the shrimp and parmesan sauce. Excellent as well. We could hardly wait for the main course. I had the ravilone with meatless Roquefort sauce. To say this meal was divine is an understatement. My mouth is watering with the memory!

The restaurant opened September 1, 2013. The restaurant is owned and operated by one family who are investing their time and talents. Nicola, the chef has cooked for the likes of Paris Hilton.

Palmiro – father

Nicola – son and chef.

Andrea – son and maitre’d

Antonella – wife of Umberto who also is a maitre’d

Umberto – son-in-law and 2^nd cook

Marina – mother and chef’s help

Some of the family members do this without pay.

Above the restaurant are 8 rooms, 7 with balconies that they rent out. If we had known, we might have stayed there. Imagine having a first class restaurant a few feet from your room. Heavenly.

I normally do not spend a whole post on one restaurant but this one certainly deserves it. If you are anywhere in the Mira Porte or Venice area, the restaurant is only about 20 minutes away from Venice and it is well worth the trip.