Eating outside on the first night in Venezia, Grigoris patio area was a welcoming place. We were late for our reservations but the staff handled us quickly and seated us. The crowd was a mixed group but generally young people and a few young families. It seemed very much a neighborhood place. One thing nice about the table we immediately noticed was the bag of assorted bread. It was a great idea and gave us something to start the meal before we ordered. Then began some excellent food. The breads--focaccia with and without melitzanosalata was excellent. Adding a bit of olive oil to the plain focaccia added a delightful combination of good bread and oil. With the focaccia, we got some twenty month Monte Feltro raw ham. Delightful with the hearty bread. Next up came two pasta dishes, pumpkin gnocchi with bacon and ricotta cheese and bucatini with sun dried tomatoes and sardines. I couldn't believe there was no dough with gnocchi they were so light. The bucatini had a good counterpoint of flavors with the sardines and sun dried tomatoes. Then the pizzas. We ordered four--one for each person so we could share the flavors. None disappointed and they were excellent. The pizzas perfectly cooked and the flavors quite good. We didn't leave a slice go by. Dessert time came and we got three items--gelato with berries, pannetone with pistachios, and a pan brioche. Again, great food. A few things detracted. Their use of burning wood pieces as a mosquito repellant didn't work and the smoke at times blew directly to us and was irritating. There were times when we couldn't get one of our servers. They were busy and the servers were moving quickly but they seemed to ignore we were there for awhile. Paying the bill was done incorrectly. We had asked that the bill be split among four credit cards. In the end, the charged one card for the total amount. We paid our companion for the error and was on our way having had a wonderful first meal in Venezia. read more

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My introduction to the food of Venice! Known as one of the most touristy cities IN THE WORLD, it's easy to get caught in a tourist trap for dining, particularly in the many Islands of the touristic center of Venice. However, I didn't start there, and instead went deep into the other direction into where the locals live and ended up at Grigoris. I'm still trying to find out how I found out about this place, but I'm pretty sure it was from the travel channel, likely on Andrew Zimmern's "Delicious Destinations." Maybe I did, maybe I didn't, but nonetheless, this destination was pretty delicious. Firstly, it's truly a happening restaurant, but you wouldn't expect that on your way there. As you're taking the bus to it (note: it's about 30 minutes outside of the center), you'll be riding through suburban Venice, where it's all local residences and businesses. It looks NOTHING like the Venice you and I imagine, more just like a regular, modest town that could've been placed anywhere. I actually quote enjoyed being amongst here, because it was my first night in the city, and I needed a bit of calm before the storm of sightseeing. Then, as you finally approach restaurant, you feel, hear and see the energy, of people walking to it or in the outside courtyard seating. It's a really big place, especially for Venetian standards, where many of the restaurants can be small with only a few tables. Here, you had the choice of indoor or outdoor dining, both equally as large, with a total of maybe 50 tables! The food took a long time to choose, as it came from an extensive menu, one for pizza (over 20 options) and one for regular entrees. Even more overwhelming was the wine menu, which made me realize that I was definitely in Italy! I had the waiter choose a wine for us based on our tastes, and it definitely didn't disappoint in taste or quality! Also, their beer menu was just as great! TON of choices, worldwide and local. I'm such a craft beer enthusiast back home, it's cool seeing how that scene is just as prevalent in foreign countries. I was really pleased with the overall experience here, from atmosphere, to food, to drinks and definitely service. I'd recommend anyone take a visit, especially to do something outside of normal Venice. You won't regret it! read more

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Established in the town of Mestre in 2008 as a look at the past, present and future of Neapolitan Pizza by taking a seasonal Slow-Food approach but not adhering to antiquated rules of "authenticity," Pizzeria Grigoris represents one of the new breed of Italian Pizza Makers and judging from a packed house of nearly 150 for two consecutive turns on Saturday night it seems locals have embraced the idea quite readily. Located just a few miles from the train-stop to Venice, where the residential landscape is only occasionally punctuated by a business and far from the tourist scene, Pizzeria Grigoris stands out immediately on approach by way of the well-lit patio and a small gathering of patrons in the doorway, though none of it compares to the first glance of activity on the inside with pizzas being fired every 90 seconds from a wood burning oven manned by two-pizzaiolos plus two men continuously hand forming dough from aging boxes in tight quarters while waiters and waitresses dodge to-and-fro with hot plates. Arriving at 20h08 for a reservation window that theoretically extends from 19h30 opening until 21h30 for turn two, it was only after creative parking in a small lot that entry was made into the surprisingly ample building, the hand-written registry sending us immediately to a small table at the corner of the patio where we were literally brought face to face with shrubbery, the smell of burning incense notable from nearby but doing a limited amount to keep several small gnats at bay. In all ways the definition of lively, both the colors and the atmosphere vibrant as several large parties celebrated with wine and local beers, service was not only English-fluent but decidedly affable in an quasi-"Hipster" manner, the basket of dried breads proving a tempting place to start munching as the menus were perused, everything either made in-house or from the very best local ingredients including an ancient Sourdough starter and 100% Wheat Stone Milled Flour. Tucked away to the side, but generally looked after quite well despite the bustle of the room, it was perhaps twenty minutes after seating that a round of antipasti was presented and with encouragement from the waiter that we would not be rushed through our meal it was with great glee that four hands reached for Ham, Bread and hot Eggplant spread, the 20 Month Monte Feltro a particularly refined taste shaved so thin that it was translucent while the Melitzanosalata may indeed have leaned a bit Greek in such a setting, though at the same time delivering smoky sweetness that was no worse for it. Undoubtedly a place where one could go all-in without even ordering a Pizza, the soft Breads all delivered hot from the oven and seducing even with just a splash of oil, two Pastas were eventually selected from a list of five options, the handmade Bucatin left wth just the right amount of chew beneath sliced Sardines and Sundried Tomatoes slicked in Olive Oil while the plump Pumpkin Dumplings immediately set a high standard by being at the same time awash with flavor and almost as light as air. Onward to the raison d'etre, four pies arriving true-to-word ten-minutes after the order was placed, it almost seems unfair to "rank" what Pizzeria Grigoris is doing in the context of only having eaten Pizza in North America to this moment, each pie a virtuoso performance in terms of composition as the spicy Calabrian Peppers found balance in Organic Papaccellas much as the brine of Salt Cod was offset by Sundried Tomatoes and Slivered Almonds. Holding true that a Pizza is only as good as it's crust, each base crackling to the teeth with fermentation and flame yielding a good stretch imbued with smoke and slight sours, it was with only a cooled slice of Carbonara left that was returned to the kitchen when the table was all quite sated, a trio of Gelato-based desserts forgivingly light and all quite delicious, the Brioche Sandwich most impressive featuring a smooth center made that day from locally grown Pistachios. read more

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