Al Covo

By far, the best meal we had in Venice. Diane and Cesar are welcoming hosts and it’s easy to call ahead from the States and make reservations in English. She’s from Texas and the pastry chef.
We had the delicious fried zucchini flowers with bufala ricotta and mint, plus wonderful beef carpaccio for appetizers. We shared the pasta of the day — a great spaghetti al vongole. For mains, the fritto misto is hard to beat, but my husband’s lamb chops were the best we’d ever had anywhere. Dessert was an incredibly flavorful green apple sorbet with pistachios and an order of hazelnut gelato.
Be careful with directions — it’s right off the water on Calle de Pescatora, as it says on their website. Google maps wanted to take me much farther away from the water.

Es un restaurante elegante y agradable. Como amuse bouche nos trajeron unos caracolitos muy ricos. Las entradas, que compartimos entre varios, se caracterizaron por la calidad de sus productos, los quesos, los fiambres. Mi plato fue muy original, unos mini cangrejos fritos, tiernos y deliciosos! Las porciones son pequeñas y los precios altos. De todas maneras lo recomiendo, por su calidad, atención y ambiente.

Nice environment, great service but the food was not up to my expectation. Extremely small portions.

Excellent seafood, perfect service
Nice place for a romantic meal and for foodies seeking freshest seafood. I missed the raw appetizer that the neighboring table had but it looked fantastic. Otherwise excellent selection of fresh seafood and a strong wine list. Unobtrusive yet attentive service (i.e. perfect).
Great for a romantic meal. Couple of «blocks» from the lagoon not far from St Marco square.

This is a great place to experience fresh seafood prepared the way Venetians ate in the 1600’s. Chef Cesare Benelli and his wife Diane were present and are quite charming. We made a reservation from the USA and had no problems once we arrived. The menu & waiters were very inviting and easy to understand (English & Italian). I’m not sure if I liked the dinner or the desert better. Both were earth shattering!

Looking hard for something off the well worn tourist path, the water taxi driver suggested Al Covo because he heard we were from Texas. We were informed that the owner/​chef was a true born Venetian and his wife was from Texas, well when we heard that we just had to stop in and say Howdy. The restaurant was a beautiful old building dating back to the 1600’s down a narrow back street, inside was cozy and rustic, everything you would want and expect in atmosphere and full of locals. We were warmly greeted by a fellow Texan who gave us some amazing insider pointers to Venice and then we were treated to a wonderful price fix lunch for 44 euros apiece which included 2 courses off the menu and desert, not cheep but defiantly worth the experience.

Das Al Covo muss als Geheimtipp in dieser touristischen Hochburg bezeichnet werden, excellente Küche mit tollem Service! Ich empfand die Qualität des Paketes gar als zu günstig!

Enjoyed our Meal last night. sea bream with razor clams ws outstanding as was the sole. Try the black pasta appetizer. Service was leisurely and professional. Bill for three courses came to 155 euro incl. Modest bottle of wine. Would return without hesitation

Yet another incredible seafood restaurant, one of my top three in Venice.
The restaurant is buried at the eastern end of Venice near the Arsenale. It is a very cute though formally rustic place. The chef is Venetian and his wife is Texan which makes things much more fun. I am always looking to push the envelope with food and this restaurant satisfied that urge while at the same time providing excellent «normal» food for my wife and son.
As I mentioned in my review of Ristorante Osteria DA Fiore, I have never had fish so fresh as at these restaurants. What made Al Cove so special was how the chef handled the fish. I had a raw appetizer assortment which included raw soft shell craw-​fish, raw squid sliced into thin ribbons resembling pasta, and a few other truly interesting species of seafood I had not experienced before. All were delicious. My main course was a sort of Venetian reinterpretation of Pasta con Le Sade, the best I have had. My wife and son were not only impressed but truly satisfied with their meal.
Since my wife wants to live in Venice she had a great time talking with the wife of the chef about raising kids there, etc.

As a regular in Venice I m often frustrated by the mediocre cuisine that is served there … and this to outrageous prices (check harry’s bar that is a ridiculous rip-​off). There is one exception, the restaurant alcovo that offers superb food. It’s not cheap but what Cesare Benelli has to offer is way above any other restaurant in Venice. It comes to no surprise that this used to be a favorite of gastrocritic Veronelli.

Nach der Bewertung von Deauville haben wir während unseres Weihnachtsurlaubs in Venedig einen Tisch im Al Covo reserviert. Da es nicht unser erster Venedigbesuch war, waren wir die hohen Preise gewohnt, aber als wir die Karte des Al Covo gesehen haben, hat es uns die Sprache verschlagen!
Ich muss sagen, das war uns einfach eine Nummer zu teuer.
Ein Nudelgericht (Primo) sollte schon fast 20 Euro kosten und die Fleisch bzw. Fischgerichte (Secondi) waren bei um die 30 Euro angesiedelt.
Ich persönlich finde das auch für Venedig eine Nummer zu hochpreisig.

Irgendwie klar, dass im Freilichtmuseum Venedig so ziemlich jedes Restaurant von Touristen instantbesetzt ist. Ich frage mich halt nur: wo, um alles in der Welt, gehen eigentlich die Venezianer hin? In diesem heimeligen Restaurant in der Nähe des Arsenale habe ich stets Venezianer getroffen, meist ältere, soignierte Herrschaften, die einem verschwörerisch zulächeln wenn man solche Sachen bestellt wie Seespinne oder Gnocchi mit Mini-​Kraken und als Einzelgast eine Flasche Wein öffnen lässt. Gut, im Covo gibt es auch Touristen, das Restaurant steht im Zagat’s, einem amerikanischen Fressführer. Aber die Touris stören nicht. Man ist ja schließlch selbst einer.
Das erste Attribut, das mir bei der kulinarischen Leistung des Covo einfällt, ist kompromisslos. In keinem Moment vergisst man hier, dass Venedig am Wasser liegt, und das Meeresgetier ist hier so frisch wie in kaum einem anderen Restaurant der Stadt. Fischfilets gibt’s hier weniger, dafür das ganze Tier, außerdem solche Sachen wie oben erwähnte Seespinne, relativ naturbelassen und eher Mutprobe denn Genuss. Aber sonst! Die Nudeln mit superwürzigen, winzig kleinen Vongole, also Herzmuscheln, und Zucchiniblüten: irre. Die Meeresfrüchteplatte: ein Stilleben aus Muscheln, Fischen und Garnelen. Auch die Fleischfresser kommen hier auf ihre Kosten: auf Empfehlung des Chefs probierte ich den Culatello di Zibello, das ist ein luftgetrockenes Kernstück vom Schinken: hochintensiv, von leicht nussigem Aroma und schmelziger Konsistenz — dafür lasse ich jeden Parma– oder Serrano-​Kram stehen.
Auch wenn es frevelhaft scheint, in einem derartigen Fisch-​Paradies Fleisch zu bestellen: die Tagliata di Manzo lohnt, ein generös portioniertes Stück Rindfleisch, gegrillt und dann in daumendicke Scheiben aufgeschnitten: genial.
Die Wein-​Auswahl ist enorm und leider auch so richtig teuer. Aber Venedig ist nun mal kein Schnäppchen-​Paradies

VENEZIANO!
Restaurante típico: la mayoría de platos se basan en la pasta y pizzas, aunque hay bastante variedad. Siguiendo la tónica de la mayoría de restaurantes de Venecia, el precio es caro y la calidad es mejorable

Fresh
They have very fresh seafood. Pasta with scallops is excellent. Fresh sardine is also recommended. Listen to the owner for recommendation.