My husband found L'Osteria di Santa Marina from a Youtube Influencer. He and I compared notes, and…read morethis was one of the restaurants I found off the Michelin Guide. Since it was very close to our hotel, I took a chance to call the restaurant and placed a last minute reservation. I said that we could come to the restaurant in the next 10 minutes, and they were able to accommodate my request.
My husband and I checked in around 8:10am and were seated right away in a very busy dining space. The restaurant had an antique-like charm to it, but the energy was loud and vibrant.
I felt that our dinner at L'Osteria di Santa Marina was one of the most memorable meals we had on our trip. Everything was delicious. My only complaint was that service was a bit slow compared to other restaurants we went to. Our dinner lasted for 2 hours without doing the prix fixe menu.
Our dinner consisted of the following:
- Amuses-bouches of gazpacho, potato arancina, and a squid ink boat cracker with some type of fish on it. The gazpacho was a great palate cleanser between the cracker and arancina.
- Scallop carpaccio, goose liver fat flakes and sweet wine jelly. The scallop was so fresh. Loved the contrasting flavors of the foie gras and sweet jelly.
- Combination of creamed cod, creamed potatoes/ candied tomato with prawns, fermented leek and soft pumpkin. Cod has been my go-to in Venice for dinner. I've loved all the preparations I've had of it, but this creamed cod version with the potatoes reminded me of a dish I was obsessed with from a restaurant in Chicago called Avec. Underneath the cod bowl was a second plate where the candied tomatoes, leek, and pumpkin. What a hugely different taste but in a good way. It almost reminded me of a curry, which was a flavor I haven't had my entire trip, so I was pleasantly surprised.
- Tortelli, cacio e pepe, prawns and lime. This was the best tortelli I've ever had. Each bite was a literal burst of delicate cheese and pepper flavor. The acidity from the lime helped cut through the richness of the dish.
- Lemon Linguine with Shrimp Busera. My husband ordered this pasta, and he claimed it as the best pasta he's had our entire trip. Mind you, we're in our 3rd week in Italy at this point and have been to top notch osterias and trattorias from Florence, Sicily, and Rome.
- Fried scampi and calamari with salicornia. At this point, I was stuffed and regretted why I even ordered a third dish. But I still enjoyed picking at this dish. I thought it was a standard, no frills calamari, shrimp, and anchovies with a light batter. While it didn't come with a sauce, the salicornia were nicely salty and flavorful.
- Turbot fillet, asparagus and carbonara foam. My husband ordered this for his main, and it was so good. Don't think I've had turbot before, which was a tender, buttery fish.
- Mignardises of cookies. They came out with 3 kinds of cookies, but I only had space for 1. I tried a spongey almond one that had the texture of a ricciarelli without the powdered sugar.
