An osteria in perfect balance between history and the future, chosen as a gastronomic haven by both locals and visitors in the Serenissima: Zanze XVI prioritizes quality ingredients and conviviality, embracing a welcoming atmosphere.
The Story
Zanze XVI is the result of a combination of talents and a passion for cooking that gave birth, in 2017, to a unique gastronomic experience in Venice. The journey faced its fair share of challenges - first, there was the “acqua alta” (flooding high tide) issue in 2019 (a dynamic not to be underestimated for those launching a place in this wonderful yet complex city), and then the pandemic that hit the entire industry from 2020 onwards - but with skill and experience, the team managed to overcome them remarkably.
In 2021, they received a boost from winning the TV show by chef Alessandro Borghese and earning a Michelin star (though it was lost the following year due to internal changes). The creators came back on track more ambitious than ever, with a young and skilled staff, riding what seems to be a positive wave for the Serenissima.
Heading the team is Nicola Dinato, who started his journey at a young age, exploring regional recipes and developing a passion that led him to graduate from the G. Maffioli Hotel Institute in Castelfranco. Nicola then had the opportunity to work in renowned Italian and international restaurants, perfecting his culinary skills and embracing different gastronomic traditions. After traveling the world, he decided to settle permanently in 2011 by opening his first restaurant, Feva in Castelfranco Veneto. His talent and dedication earned him recognition from the Michelin guide in 2014.
Next to him is Nicola Possagnolo, a young entrepreneur and digital strategist. As the founder of the company Noonic, specializing in digital strategies for the food industry, Possagnolo brought his "digital" experience to Zanze XVI, blending traditional skills with new technologies to create a comprehensive culinary experience. The heart of the kitchen beats thanks to the young Paduan Giovanni Rigoni, a talented chef passionate about his job. After working in renowned restaurants like Le Calandre and Vóce, expanding his experience with method, discipline and taste in the brigade of Zanze XVI. Handling the front-of-house with elegance is Elodie Dubuisson, the wife of Nicola Dinato, an authentic hospitality master. This team comes together to create a culinary environment that goes beyond the ordinary restaurant standards.
The restaurant
Nestled in the district of Santa Croce, just a short walk from Piazzale Roma and Santa Lucia railway station, Zanze XVI is a gastronomic haven that merges the charm of the past with the modernity of today. Once the historical walls of Trattoria Dalla Zanze, along Fondamenta dei Tolentini, now stands Zanze XVI, an elegant osteria that aims to bring the Venice of the past to contemporary people. With a welcoming atmosphere and top-notch gastronomy, the place serves as a gathering spot where the pleasure of food and sharing becomes one.
Nestled in the district of Santa Croce, just a short walk from Piazzale Roma and Santa Lucia railway station, Zanze XVI is a gastronomic haven that merges the charm of the past with the modernity of today. "Trattoria Delle Zanze'' used to represent a landmark for the city of Venice, a dependable place to enjoy great food. The current restaurant, was born with the aim of blending the typical hospitality and conviviality of the Venetian osteria ("bacaro") with a gastronomic offering of international standards. Despite its contemporary evolution, the historical soul of the place is still present, enhanced by renovating works that preserved the marble floors, original wooden ceilings, and even the ancient signage. The tableware also highlights unique local pieces, such as cutlery holders and glasses from Murano
The philosophy revolves around simplicity, conviviality, and quality ingredients. Chef Rigoni meticulously selects raw materials, favoring the best markets and local producers. The osteria offers two distinct tasting menus: "Taste of Venice" and "Anima." "Taste of Venice" presents contemporary interpretations of classic Venetian dishes with five courses that bring back the true and original tastes.
"Anima's menu", on the other hand, embodies the essence of Zanze XVI's cuisine, an unprecedented result born from the chef's creative energy and daily choice of the finest available products. This menu, available in five or seven courses, relies on fresh ingredients from small agricultural enterprises dedicated to preserving ancient varieties of seeds, vegetables, and legumes. The fish comes from the surrounding seas, while the meat comes directly from pastures where animals roam freely. To enrich the offering, they use flours from ancient cereals cultivated in synergistic gardens.
The result? Zanze XVI's cuisine is solid, creative, and mindful of its daily choices' impact. It marks a new era for Venetian osterias, a place where tradition blends with modernity, and where simplicity and conviviality are celebrated around a table filled with culinary treasures from the lagoon.
The dishes
Let's explore Anima's menu, a surprising journey of 7 creative dishes between land and sea. It starts with a true Venetian style amuse-bouche, as the welcoming and witty Alberto Brunello explains, "For the carnival of cicchetti, each one chooses their mask." Accompanied by A. Loncle Tradition Premiere Cru Champagne, they tantalize the palate with a whirlwind of colors, textures, and temperatures skillfully mixed.
The first entrée, an appetizer consisting of cod and beans, immediately communicates the restaurant's identity. The Venetian tradition - primarily seafood dishes - seasonality, and freshness of ingredients form a winning combination. It includes delicate and tender cod tripe accompanied by fresh beans and a borlotti miso cream, fermented chili paste, celery leaves, and sweet & sour onions. The combination leaves the mouth clean and ready for a fried "maritozzo," made with a special flour of five ancient grains and bean flour, filled with whipped cod for an explosive fusion of flavors. Next is a dish that could be called "Memories."
Chef Rigoni's "asparagi e ovi" ("asparagus and eggs") brings back the comfort food of home, drawn from childhood memories. Presenting it with a contemporary twist, with koji-marinated asparagus, cooked in butter and sage, accompanied by asparagus kimchi, persimmon vinegar, golden samphire (also known as sea asparagus), timut pepper, sumac, bottarga, and anchovy garum, completed with and hollandaise sauce (to recall the egg but with a different consistency). Accompanied by a Rapé Viognier 2022 from Bolgheri. The journey takes off with a delicate and light grouper, steam-cooked coated in kombu seaweed with octopus glaze, sakeka-su, grouper eye emulsion, fish carcass and smoked eel sauce, gobbetti mushroom dip, fresh spring onion, lime juice, and beef garum, Moroccan shikawasa.
It is served with a roasted pea pod cream, kefir, lime, fresh peas, and parsley oil. A symphony of flavors accompanied by "Animale Celeste," a Marche Sauvignon 2022 from Santa Barbara. The dish also plays with perceptions, being served at three temperatures: from hot to lukewarm and finally cold, allowing each component to find its completion in the other. Continuing with the well curated pairing by Cristian Mialich is a 2020 Riesling from Alto Adige by Laimburg, contrasting with the spiced saffron risotto, tekka, yogurt, paprika oil, and Madagascar wild pepper. A bitter touch intentionally evokes licorice notes with a mix of root powder, achieving a harmonious balance of flavors with every spoonful.
Next comes the boldest and most characterful dish of the entire course: ravioli filled with sweetbreads, hazelnut and tamarind sauce, inactive yeast, achiote, whole grain mustard, wild hops, and beef stock. Indeed defined as "the punishment dish," it finds its balance with a Cabernet D’Anjou from Domaine Du Champ-Bord, macerated for four months with a late harvest. The sweet wine embraces a surprising acidity, creating a perfectly orchestrated harmony of flavors.
Following is a "cubic composition" of lamb, marinated with kefir and papaya. It is a succulent second course, cooked in the kamado, accompanied by sunflower and fermented plum cream, zaatar with pollen and capers, roasted puntarelle and sweet & sour’s fiolaro broccoli. It is served with a salad of puntarelle leaves with chicken liver garum, fermented manioc, flax gomasio, sunflower, and oats. A cream of wild garlic and black garlic sauce complete the dish. It arrives at the table with a vegetable cheese made from sunflower and oats, fermented fir honey, and toasted rye bread, in reference to the animal's diet throughout its existence. The lamb ribs in "tecia" are served separately. Each element associated with the lamb is found in the dish, or rather, on the table. A sort of tribute to its life cycle, accompanied by a red Etna wine from Tenuta di Fessina.
To cleanse the palate, the pre-dessert "Melingata" is served: apple crumble, green apple sorbet with elderflower syrup, turmeric and sake apple cream, baked medlar puree with rice vinegar, and an apple juice’s meringue. The culinary adventure ends with a reference to “merenda” (light snack), remaining in line with the theme of memory-inspired cuisine. A magical moment for a child that feels like home. And like any respectable snack, it must include something savory, something sweet, and something liquid, all together. Thus, in the first case, there is a cocoa sponge cake with olive oil, accompanied by creamy white pepper, timut, and clove pepper, sesame foiatin, hazelnut and rum cream, along with chicory powder and sandy hazelnuts; for the sweet component, hazelnut and coffee ice cream, coffee and tonka bean reduction, and buckwheat gavotte; for the liquid part, a pineapple wine (low in alcohol). obviously, one should eat and sip alternately among the three offerings. A small pastry with three different dry biscuits is also essential, completing the circle of memories.
Address
Zanze XVI
Santa Croce, 231, 30135 Venezia VE
Tel: 041 715394
