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Recommended Reviews - La Zucca
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This restaurant is off the beaten path in Venice and worth discovering! I looked on a few foodie blogs and it kept popping up for great veggie leaning food and service. We couldn't agree more! Had drinks, lasagne and three vegetable sides and it was perfect! The lasagne was spinach, walnuts and ricotta so delicious! The carrots melted in our mouths, the potatoes were great as was the stuffed mushrooms. Make a reservation and enjoy a delicious meal!
La Zucca was an experience! Usually the line and wait is out the door, and some have explained that getting a reservation can be tough. We got lucky being in Venice on the offseason so we walked right in. It was a nice suprise to be able to enjoy La Zuccca without planning ahead. It is a former Michelin star and it acts like one. The aroma when you walk in slaps you in the face, you know right off the bat it's going to be a good meal. They are famous for their infusion with pumpkin into their dishes. Well worth the trip and a must go to restaurant in Venice.
We ate here for dinner tonight. We ordered 3 dishes to share and all 3 were amazing! We had the curry chicken, lamb stew, and the vegetarian plate made up of several of their vegetarian side dishes. We also had 2 desserts--the brownies with whipped cream and dark chocolate pudding with mango sauce. I wouldn't rate the desserts as highly as the main dishes. I liked the brownies best of the 2. The brownies were a little dry and crumbly, however they still tasted good. The chocolate pudding with the mango sauce clashed a little in flavors. We were sitting in the front of the restaurant and noticed about 5 people who tried to get a table without a reservation. Unfortunately all were turned away because they were fully booked. We will definitely return here on a future visit to Venice!
In a word, bleah. I first visited La Zucca about 20 years ago. It was a charming restaurant in a great location with a very warm ambience and a menu that departed from the usual Veneto standards. Service was friendly and accommodating (it should be noted that I am near-fluent in Italian--the many English-speakers around us were struggling). All of these aspects are unchanged. The issue with this visit was the food. I started with the pumpkin flan, a signature dish on their menu. Pretty enough, and an enormous serving, but remarkably stodgy. I ended up giving half to my partner to eat. He'd chosen pasta with puttanesca sauce, billed as spicy but not even remotely so (but at least the serving was small enough). His second course of pork filet with ginger and bok choy was acceptable if unexciting. So little ginger (which he loves) that he didn't describe it as containing any at all until I'd prompted him. The real issue was my next course: duck breast. Served so overcooked (and, oddly, with the skin side down) that it both looked and tasted like a shoe. I've eaten (and prepared) duck breast many, many times, including at Michelin-starred restaurants, and this was unquestionably the worst ever. Had it not been for the orange garnish, I would have questioned it even being the correct dish. I considered sending it back to the kitchen, but one is eating on the clock here: a 7:30 reservation means that you will be handed your hat and shown the door no later than 9:30. So I ate it. And indeed, despite having unsuccessfully tried to flag down a waiter for our bill at 9:25, we were presented with the bill at 9:32 with the entirely unnecessary explanation that they needed to turn the table. Not only will I not return, I will actively discourage others from dining here. Almost all their business is well-heeled, educated tourists who are being deceived by surface appeal and glowing reviews.
It was a delightful and intimate little restaurant that I enjoyed the ambiance of big time - the dining room had a very historic and discreet feeling to it like as if I was dining at someone's house. That, along with the wait time and Michelin stickers placed proudly on the door had me extremely excited to try their food - it's Italy! Everything is good, right? So this must be next level in my mind. Unfortunately, and simply put, it did not live up to the hype for me. Although this was the only restaurant I had in Venice, I have had way better food in the mainland. We had three dishes and although everything tasted okay, each one did not hit the mark when it came to flavors. It was overall a rather bland meal.
We stumbled on the restaurant after trying to find 3 others that were recommended to us, yet were closed. This is an absolute gem of a fine! Everything was cooked to perfection and the favors were second to none. The best meal we ate in Italy on our 2 week vacation... including our time in Rome and Florence! Be sure to make a reservation! We were lucky enough to get the last share table... and that was on a Tuesday during last October! Perfetto!
If we paid to come to Italy just for this restaurant, it would definitely have been worth it. This is the best restaurant we ate at in Venice by far and the best we had in Italy for sure. First off, we were seated outdoors right next to a small canal. The vibes were uber romantic. They change menus based on what vegetables are in season. There are a lot of plant based dishes which was a big plus for us. Everything is very freshly made. To start off, we we served some bread and breadsticks. We ordered the pumpkin flan which is a MUST. We ordered a sort of potato gratin - also delicious. The pastas were amazing. My husband ordered the chicory lasagna and I ordered this ziti with eggplant. They were so good. We also had this delicious plate of veggies. For a plant based meal, this place had me going in for more bites. I never would have thought. Nothing even comes close to this in the US. The pumpkin pie is the best for dessert. The raspberry mousse was just okay. Overall, this place is a MUST if you're in Venice. I cannot wait to be back!
Great vegetarian options although it's not labeled as a vegetarian restaurant as they have meat dishes. We started with the burrata which was sooo creamy and mild-- I loved it. It's paired with mixed vegetables that is marinated with olives. Although I don't like pickled olives, together they pair very well and balance each other. I had the zucchini lasagna which was so creamy and light. Pasta was chewy and delicious. Overall the lasagna was very light and easy to eat. The pumpkin flan was very interesting, I personally didn't love it as I didn't like the purée texture. However, it's lightly seasoned and would taste good for pumpkin lovers. We finished with the lamb with Cous cous. Overall dish was very mild and loved the the yogurt sauce combined with the light cous cous. They were also very patient with my food allergies and the waitress helped suggest which dishes would be best with my allergies and taste preferences. Everyone there was very kind and sweet and it was a great experience. read more
11 years ago
Pumpkin flan alone is worth 5 stars. I was hesitant because I couldn't picture it as a savory dish but the flavor is delicious. The service here really is amazing and reminded me of fine dining in big cities without big city prices. I wish I could go back and try more dishes but everything we tried so far was great! read more
Absolutely delicious! I had their nightly special, which was some spicy sausage with beans, and it was a blast of flavor. My wife had some white pasta (can't remember the name) and the side mushrooms, and she quite enjoyed her meal as well. The desserts were delicious -- we had the lemon cake and the chocolate mousse... yum, yum, YUM! The wine selection was great, too. So why am I not giving this place 5 starts? Well, the restaurant allowed (maybe encouraged) a very rude, pushy flower salesperson to walk through the restaurant during dinner. When he approached us, we politely declined in Italian, and then he started placing flowers in front of my wife, who was trying to push his hands away from her meal. The flower guy just WOULD. NOT. LEAVE. So finally, I asked him how much he wanted to the 3 flowers he had placed in front of my wife, and he responded, "whatever you think it's worth." I gave him literally all the change in my pocket, and he scoffed and said, "that's it?! You just keep one then." And he grabbed two of his crappy flowers and left. The servers saw this happen and they did not kick him out -- in fact, they let him keep walking around, bothering the patrons. I hate that this happened, because it had been such a wonderful dinner up until that point. read more
11 years ago
This place get's booked fast! We waited for 2 days to get a table...Not sure why.... Server was rushing us in the beginning and didn't let us have time to look over the menu. We felt rushed into choosing our meal. We told her we were vegetarian and she just said "pasta" - but the menu was in Italian so a little help would've been nice to help us choose. Lasagna wasn't good at all, I should've ordered something else. Only good thing = Tagliatelle pasta sauce was great!!! Bread was too hard to eat. (Late Post - July 2015) read more
9 years ago
Omg! This place is amazing! A vegetarians paradise in Venice. Our waiter Rudi is also one of the owners. He was super friendly and helpful and you can see how much he loves what he does. The food was delicious. The staff super friendly and helpful. Our waiter quickly brought out the kids food first to keep them happy. Loved the spinach, beam pumpkin soup. The goat cheese stuffed fig was to die for! The main courses were great! The deserts were ridiculously yummy! I would come back in a heartbeat! read more
9 years ago
Outstanding. Easily the best meal I've had in Venice. Unique food, well executed and absolutely delicious. Make a reservation tho!! Menu is 100% Italian and servers don't care if you're having trouble ordering or understanding it. Who cares. You're in Italy. Figure it out and definitely go! There's lots of trash food in Venice so it's even more astounding that we found this place. read more
I found this place by accident, while looking for a spot for lunch before visiting the Natural History Museum - HOLY CANNOLI am I glad I found it! My partner and I came in for lunch around 1pm, seeing as though the place is known for their veggie dishes we kept our meal strictly vegetarian. We started with a buratta, eggplant, and basil appetizer that just knocked our socks off. Everything was so flavorful and the cheese was as soft as can be! Especially wonderful when paired with the fresh bread they bring. We followed that up with their seemingly famous pumpkin flan (for good reason), stuffed mushrooms with pecorino, and an eggplant and red pepper dish. Each thing was so beautiful. The integrity of each veggie was maintained and each dish tasted completely unique. Even though we had eggplant twice during our meal - both dishes were different and equally delish. The flan was a highlight - to me it tasted of a savory pumpkin pie. Almost indescribable past that other than an amazing experience - if you go to La Zucca, this is a must eat! I also really appreciated the fact that the restaurant provides you with a little book of translations for their menu - makes ordering much less of a mystery. Overall 10/10 phenomenal meal! Great spot to visit while in Venice. read more
3 years ago
9 years ago
We had three nights in Venice on our recent honeymoon and barely found out about this amazing place the day we got in. Getting a reservation is a must, but somehow we lucked out. Someone was 20 minutes late and we managed to get seated. But that won't be the case for everyone and if you're planning a trip to Venice, make your reservation as early as possible. This place was fully booked for more than five days. The food here was phenomenal, it was face-meltingly good. The veggie lasagna and the veggie platter were the culinary stars of our stay in Venice. If we have one regret, is that we didn't get a chance to eat here more often and try more items from the menu. If you don't act like an entitled douche-bag American, your waiter or waitress will kindly translate the entire menu for you. If you are fortunate enough to get in to this wildly popular spot, go in with the understanding that it will be busier than you could imagine such a little place could be and that this will not be a fast food experience. But the food and the experience is worth every minute. We had an hour and forty minutes here and every second was delightful. read more
9 years ago
The service is not so good. Their attitude just feels like they don't give a fuck. Even after getting a table we sat down and had to wait for a while to get attention. The menu is in Italian and give you brochure to translate it, confusing and complicating. Just translate the menu got damn it! The server felt arrogant and not pleasant at all. Food: as a vegetarian I was disappointed! I travel around the world and I'm a foodie and this was so so, not impressive at all. Their veggies player was the best probably, but again very basic, nothing special. The rest was weird and tasteless. My friends got lamb chops and it had a texture like it was boiled and the veil was with weird sour sauce... Venice is very disappointing on food and low quality service overall. read more
9 years ago
I read online about La Zucca and a reservation is a must so I booked the restaurant prior to our trip and I am really glad that I did. The restaurant is small but for Venice is moderate in size. The owner/manager had to turn several groups away because the were booked that night and the entire next day. We had a vegetable starter which was delicious. I "like" vegetables...but i could have eaten 3 of these and still rated this place high. My wife and I took a chance on beef cheek and it was tender, tasty, and seasoned well. The sides of potatoes, asparagus, and artichoke were also really delicious. We had panna cotta and my mom had tiramisu and both were great. Don't ask the waiter about what her prefers to eat or any server in Italy this question. I got a lecture on we were two different people etc. Service in Italy was always never a pleasant experience which is sad but I would definitely still go here again when I am back in Venice. read more
3 years ago
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I ordered the pomodoro e ricotta Fresca and oh my god. This was some of the best pasta I have ever eaten in my life. For such a simple dish, everything tasted so fresh and flavorful. The waiter was very nice and helpful, and even translated and explained the menu options. If you're in Venice, I would highly recommend coming here! And the pumpkin flan was amazing. If you're skeptical (which I was) split it with a friend! But you must try it! read more
8 years ago
Good food, but definitely feels overhyped. If you don't have a reservation for this place, which is hard to get less than 24 hours in advance, you have to come in when it opens and try to wait it out, which is what we did. They also have a translations sheet that allows you to figure out what each dish is, but it is still difficult because it takes forever to figure out what one dish contains. A friend and I split 3 dishes: the pumpkin flan, the vegetarian lasagna (both of which were highly recommended on Yelp) and the Pesto Pasta. None of the dishes amazed me but were all filling. The pumpkin flan was easily the best of the 3. It had the same texture as a pumpkin pie, but had a more savory taste, as opposed to just a sweet taste. The sunflower seeds were a great touch too and the overall presentation of the dish was fantastic. The vegetarian lasagna was extremely underwhelming. Although well made with a very crispy top and several layers, it didn't really taste like anything. It felt like I was eating a lot of cheese. It could've used some sort of flavoring to really take it over the top. Again, the presentation of the food was great. The final dish was the most disappointing - the pesto pasta. We both wanted to order it because we loved pesto, but there was barely any pesto on it. It seemed like it was lightly mixed in and you really had to focus on each bite in order to be able to taste the pesto. Overall, cool little restaurant next to a canal in Venice with interesting options, but definitely not the #2 restaurant in Venice (according to Yelp). read more
11 years ago
This was the best meal we had in Venice. If you're a little tired of the usual pizza, spaghetti menu catered to tourists, this place fits the bill for an intimate, home-cooked meal. The menu is subject to change depending on what ingredients are available (that's how you know it's fresh!) with the exception of a couple of classic staples. On that note, let me start my ode to their pumpkin flan: YUMMMMM. Definitely something more to share than eat alone. very rich in flavor and the sweetness and spice of the pumpkin is well balanced with a white cheddar? and pumpkin seeds. Many guests at busy meal times so be sure to reserve in advance or play the early bird gets the worm wait game read more
8 years ago
The best restaurant I've tried in Venice ! Daily fresh menu. Really local and fresh. Everything was delicious. You definitely need a reservation ! We had the artichoke fonduto appetizer and stuffed mushrooms which were delicious followed by the tagliatelle with pumpkin and mushrooms and the beef filet. For dessert we had the pane cotto ! A must try in Venice !!! read more
3 years ago
Came a day early at around 6 pm (before they are open for service, but the owner was there getting ready for the night) to get a reservation and was able to get on the list for the next day, our last night in Venice. Definitely get a reservation, and hopefully the weather isn't too bad, so you can sit outside. We only had pastas when we were here (big food day), but they were impeccable. The pesto in particular was excellent, with a deep garlic flavor. We also had the artichoke (amazing, not served Roman style) and the panna cotta for dessert (pretty great, served with fresh strawberries and mint). Everything here is very thoughtfully selected and prepared, and bursting with freshness. The wait staff and owner are so friendly and accommodating that it made the place a real treat. I wish I had more time in Venice just so that I could go eat here again with a bigger appetite. One of the best restaurants in town, without question, and probably one of the best meals I had in Italy. read more
Fabulous last meal in Venice. I was very happy to see such a veggie friendly menu. We had the lasagna (yum and definitely a share plate if you are getting a second course too) and the linguine with lamb rague. Both very nicely flavored and great quality of pasta. We ordered two of the veggie sides: greens with beans and the spicy fennel. Both were fantastic! The fennel had a tomato sauce and olives. The spicy was just right so don't be scared of it if you don't like spice. The beans and greens were great with a drizzling of good balsamic. For dessert we had the apple and custard pie. Yummmmm! On top of all that, they serve house wine by the 1/4, 1/2, or liter for very reasonable prices and if you bring a bottle you can have it for takeaway. Best meal in Venice and very reasonably priced. Enjoy! read more
8 years ago
Get the flan di zucca and zucchini/artichoke lasagna! Also make a reservation beforehand! Food: -Flan di zucca: lovely, rich, melt in your mouth pumpkin flan with smoky mozzarella shreds and toasted pumpkin seeds. Would come back just to eat this dish. -zucchini and artichoke lasagna: heartily enjoyed this free form lasagna with zucchini slices and artichoke slices in between the pasta sheets and cheese. Was surprisingly refreshingly light for being a lasagna. -Lengua (beef tongue) with herb-anchovy dip + smashed potatoes: tongue was extremely tender but a tad gamey. The dip was not enough to cut thru the richness of the tongue, so while it was decent, did not finish it. Potatoes were good. Verdict: I'll keep lengua on my tacos and would skip this dish and try something else on the menu here. -beef medallions + polenta: tender medallions (with some tendon in them) covered in lovely tomato based sauce. Two large triangles of tasty polenta on the side. Excellent house red wine. Service: friendly and professional. The menus se Italian only but the waiters knew enough English to help explain the dishes to us. Plus Professor google translate now has a cool camera function that real time translates the text. Space: small restaurant with few tables- make a reservation to ensure not having to wait an hour or more. In good weather has tables outside as well close to the water and a bridge. These tables shut down if raining. Price: reasonable given portions and quality of food. Overall, would come back again for the pumpkin flan and zucchini lasagna, as well as to try something else on the menu. read more
8 years ago
11 years ago
Wow. My husband and I were able to snag a last minute reservation for lunch and were so glad we did. It's right next to canal way and made for beautiful scenery. MAKE A RESERVATION. We saw at least three groups get turned down and they were all there waiting right when the place opened. My husband got the pumpkin lasagna and I got some sort of pesto dish. Their menu changes each day so ask the waitress what she recommends and you won't be disappointed. read more
8 years ago
Hole in the wall at megio bridge. Interesting choices of vegetables luved the fennel with blue cheese and pistacchio. At first the menu seemed scarce but we tried the tagliatelle with lamb and eggplants as well. Would definitely reccomend but if you are extremely hungry the plates are small. read more
11 years ago
Definitely need reservations to eat here. We arrived for lunch and they didn't allow us in without a reservation. Called and made reservations for next night. The venue is nice, right beside the water, you can get a table next to the window. The waiters are very nice and fluent as well. Definitely recommend to come here if you come to venice. The menu is in italian only, so check it out on yelp photos before you arrive. Appetizers Gorgonzola, pere e pistacchi - pasta with pistachios and pear (5/5) Flan di zucca con ricotta stagionata - pumpkin flan (5/5) Main Coscetta di tacchino con zucca, ricotta e guanciale - duck with pear (5/5) Ossobuco di vitello allo zafferano con riso - veal fillet (4/5) Dessert We ordered the mandarin one but it never arrived, otherwise I would have rated this restaurant 5/5. We paid $71 total. read more
9 years ago
This is a very nice restaurant with very good vegetarian dishes. It's casual, quiet and pleasant. Pesto pasta dish was excellent. The pumpkin flan was interesting as a saltier appetizer. Different. Veggie lasagna was good but a bit heavy with asparagus. The vegetarian plate was large and interesting but not exceptional. Initial service was ridiculously slow but once onboard service was efficient (minus a wait for the check). I'd try another place next time but would not talk anyone out of going here. read more
7 years ago
12 years ago
Service was great. Friendly staff. House white wine was good, too. We ordered pork chops and pumpkin (Zucca) lasagna. They were okay...I expected more from yelp review. read more
8 years ago
We had lunch here at this fantastic restaurant. The portions were perfect, not too much and not too little. Everything was so flavorful and fresh. You can taste the difference. Make sure you call for reservations because you will be out of luck if you just walk in! read more
I found this place based on previous reviewers on yelp. Most mentioned they had a reservation. Since I was just looking for a lunch spot the day of, I was a bit anxious about waiting and then getting turned away. Luckily we arrived right when they opened. I was able to get a table outside and right after, they placed a sign that said they were full. I tried the tagliatelle con ragu and the costicine di angello (duck breast). The duck was decent but the ragu was beyond words. The noodles were extremely fresh and cooked to perfection. Highly recommend! As for desert, I tried the pear like pana cota with chocolate drizzle. You can really taste the pear in it. Loved the dining experience and definitely not a tourist spot. read more
More info about La Zucca
Sestiere Santa Croce 1762
30135 Venezia
Italy
Directions
041 5241570
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http://www.lazucca.it/
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