Are you wondering if it is possible to stop for lunch on the very quiet island of Torcello? Of course it is! A place where nature, history and especially cuisine are intertwined.
Torcello, like any self-respecting lagoon island, has its wonderful little restaurants and tasty taverns where you can sample its typical dishes.
Among the main dishes of the typical cuisine of Torcello obviously there will be no lack of fish, the main actor of the gastronomy of these areas, but the choice is very wide!
Read on if you would like to know which restaurants are in Torcello and where to eat: you will surely have heard of the restaurant Locanda Cipriani, but it is not the only one on the island.
Book your lunch in Torcello and discover the flavors of the lagoon during a lunch of serenity and peace: taste and relaxation at once!
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Best restaurants in Torcello
Torcello’s famous Locanda Cipriani | ID 229124483 @ Markzhu | Dreamstime.com
If you are undecided about which choice to take, let me reassure you: whatever restaurant you should choose will be the best option!
Are you wondering how this is possible? Simple, the few establishments in Torcello are all popular with visitors and never leave their patrons disappointed.
Below, I will point out which are the best restaurants where you can taste typical Torcello cuisine:
- Locanda Cipriani: almost no need for introduction, perhaps among the most famous places in the entire lagoon! A very elegant 1930s inn also equipped with a terrace and garden: a luxury lunch to discover typical dishes just a stone’s throw from the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta.
- Osteria al Ponte del Diavolo: located at Fondamenta dei Borgognoni, 10, is an elegant restaurant with garden offering Mediterranean cuisine: great seafood specialties. Careful selection of fresh products to always offer the best and also offers the possibility to reserve 9 private berths, for an alternative lunch in a unique location.
- Restaurant at Attila’s Throne: an almost fairy-tale atmosphere with the wonderful manicured garden on one side and the water of the canal on the other. Fine and tasty dishes typical of Torcello that know how to captivate visitors in an enchanting location. This restaurant is also located in Fondamenta dei Borgognoni.
- Restaurant Villa ‘600: placed like the others in the main street, the name already says it all! You will be able to eat in a truly evocative place, that is, an old farmhouse from the 1600s: once a refuge for fishermen, today a restaurant that offers typical dishes and where you will experience lunch in a splendid family environment where you can feel at home.
- Taverna Tipica Veneziana: excellent value for money, the Taverna is a restaurant where the expense is slightly less than other places in Torcello. It also offers the possibility of ordering tasty aperitifs and, most importantly, remains open for dinner. Also located in Fondamenta dei Borgognoni, it knows how to win over all its patrons.
What to eat in Torcello: typical and seasonal dishes
The typical dishes of Torcello cuisine are almost all based on fish: of course, the recipes are born and perfected starting from what the territory offers.
Therefore, the lagoon, its canals and to some extent the agricultural context of the island show up in the dishes, and the result is a mix of flavors and recipes that are truly historic and identity-based.
If you choose to eat in Torcello, I highly recommend you try bigoli in salsa. A typical lagoon pasta: imagine spaghetti, but more porous and rough so as to capture the sauce with which they are served.
This homemade pasta is usually paired with an onion and anchovy based sauce, a strong mix of flavors with a very strong taste!
However, they are also often served with fish sauces or white meat sauce, sometimes duck, another popular recipe in the area.
Among the most famous dishes of the lagoon you will find risotto de Gò, a typical fish of these waters. It was once considered a dish of popular tradition, given the high number of specimens and therefore its low cost.
Today, however, it is a true prince of the cuisine of Torcello and beyond: a dish you should not give up!
Prefer to stay lighter and cut carbs? No problem! Torcello cuisine offers tasty second courses, again mostly fish-based.
For example, Baccalà mantecato is a real specialty typical of Venice and its islands-a recipe that has been part of this cuisine for more than 500 years now.
Want to taste something different and more unique? Then moeche might be for you!
Moeche are the green crabs that live in the lagoon, so called because they are harvested while they are molting and therefore, lacking a shell, turn out to be soft.
They are served floured and fried: capable of tantalizing the palate, you will not be disappointed!
But the seafood main courses do not end there: try a mixed frittura, which is a real must in the lagoon.
Finally, you could also try sarde in saòr, another dish with a strong flavor and a poor tradition: sardines and lots of onions cooked together and left to flavor for a few days after preparation.
Finally, taste some wines produced right in Torcello and in the lagoon: thanks to the rediscovery of a historic local grape, the Dorona, the production of “Venissa” has flourished.
In addition, there is an experimental vineyard in Torcello with vine varieties typical of the lagoon: a limited but excellent production, with important attention from the point of view of biodiversity.
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Lunch tips: schedule, reservation, best times
Mixed fried fish, lagoon specialties | ID 107722482 @ Javarman | Dreamstime.com
Some restaurants in Torcello offer only lunch options, since they are closed in the evening.
The only exception is Taverna Tipica Veneziana, which instead remains open in the evening, while Osteria al Ponte del Diavolo and Ristorante al Trono di Attila only allow dining on Fridays and Saturdays.
In addition to the delicious flavors of the lagoon, a meal in these areas means relaxation: a unique atmosphere, in contact with nature and appreciating a slow pace.
It will feel a bit like reconnecting with your roots, away from the traffic and chaos of the cities!
If you wish to eat in Torcello on the weekend, however, you may run into more tourists, so reservations are recommended.
Frequently asked questions
There are several very tasty dishes typical of Torcello, most of them fish-based. You can eat risotto de Gò, sarde in saòr, bigoli in salsa, moeche, baccalà mantecato, and fritto misto di pesce.
In Torcello you can appreciate a quiet time in contact with nature, without traffic, noise and light pollution and without large influxes of people. Visiting attractions include the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta, the Church of Santa Fosca, the Baptistery of St. John the Evangelist, the Provincial Museum, Attila’s Throne, and the Devil’s Bridge.
Torcello’s most famous attraction is undoubtedly the Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta: typically Byzantine architecture with the classic mosaics of this style.
VIPs usually choose the most renowned restaurants in Venice such as Il Ristorante Da Ivo, but also other haute cuisine establishments, such as Ristorante Glam at Palazzo Venart and Oro Restaurant at Belmond Hotel Cipriani, run by the very family that also owns Locanda Cipriani in Torcello.
Conclusions
Here we are at the end of our article in which I gave you a 360-degree account of Torcello cuisine!
We looked together at where to eat in Torcello and what the main restaurants are; you found out that most places only offer the possibility of lunch but they have a lot of choice!
You were, in fact, able to read what the typical cuisine of Torcello is and especially that you will not find only Locanda Cipriani.
Finally, I have answered the most frequently asked questions on the issue of food in the lagoon, but if you have other curiosities to satisfy, do not hesitate to write me your doubts.
What about you? Will you succumb to the charms of the famous Locanda or try some other restaurants? Let us know what you think!
Book the perfect tour of the lagoon for you: enchanting places, centuries of history and unique flavors. Just a click and you’ll soon find yourself with your legs under the table and tasty sarde in saòr before your eyes!
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