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Thomas Cook Travel Magazine

The beautiful photos by Susan Wright and the words by Alice Adams lead us through a romantic journey through Venice and its forgotten tastes. Guess what? They were our beloved... read more

restaurantsOMH: Acqua Stanca

By Helen Wright Tel: +39 041 3195 125 Address: Fondamenta Manin 48, Murano Notes: Closed Monday.  Open for lunch other days, and Friday/Saturday evenings – call to check for other evenings in high season Tables outside? Yes Vaporetto Stop: Murano Colonna Website: www.acquastanca.it Murano is growing better and better for good eating and one of the newest restaurants comes with a great Murano pedigree. Opened in Spring 2012 by Giovanna Arcangeli and Caterina Nason, both natives of the island, Acquastanca offers great fresh food and a very welcoming atmosphere. The name is a naval term for the still water at the turn of the tide, and the restaurant is a haven of calm even when busy. Tiny outside, at the foot of one of the bridges crossing the canal leading from the Colonna vaporetto stop, the inside has a good bar area and tables for about 30 people. Converted from an old bakery, the brick walls, subtle lighting and quirky artefacts are warm and the plain wooden tables and charming flowery tablecloths are both modern and utterly traditional. Which is a reflection on the cuisine – Caterina in the kitchen conjures up some very good twists on the classics of Venetian cooking. The menu is short and interesting.  Antipasti (€10 – 21) included a wonderful caprese with buffalo mozzarella and cherry tomatoes (€12) and scampi e carciofi violetti (€18) which matched lovely prawns with thinly sliced baby artichokes, just coming into season. Gamberoni croccante con maionese piccante (€12) also sounded – and looked – good at a nearby table.  Pasta dishes range from the simple pasta e fagioli (€8) to the Venetian classics of spaghetti with clams (€10) and gnocchi con capesante e... read more

Intern@ute.com

French review Take a look at the travel tips by Hélène Sadaune, on the “L’ Internaute”.   “5- une pause gastronomique bien méritée au restaurant ACQUASTANCA : Après avoir savouré tant de beautés artistiques, arrive l’heure propice à savourer des bontés matérielles: c’est l’heure d’aller se reposer dans un restaurant de charme spécialisé en cuisine vénitienne traditionnelle, une cuisine de qualité complètement réalisée avec des aliments frais et de saison: Acquastanca. L’ « Acquastanca » est un mot spécifique à la marine, indiquant le niveau de la marée qui se trouve entre la montée et la descente, pendant lequel l’eau de mer est au calme plat. Pour y arriver, vous devez retourner jusqu’au pont Vivarini enjambant le Grand Canal muranais, le traverser, poursuivre sur le quai des Vetrai (plein de boutiques de verre en tous genres) jusqu’au pont « de Mezo », le traverser: aux pieds du petit pont en pierre, vous êtes arrivés à Acquastanca! Ce restaurant, ouvert depuis le mois d’avril 2012, a été entièrement restauré avec beaucoup de goût par Caterina, architecte et vante une gestion toute au féminin: une cuisine délicate, œuvre du chef autodidacte Caterina et un accueil des plus agréables par son associée Giovanna, qui s’occupe aussi de la pâtisserie maison. Parmi les spécialités : comme hors-d’oeuvre : le tartare de thon ou les petites crevettes grises de la lagune, servies avec de la polenta tiède ou de la mayonnaise faite maison, les écrevisses croquantes enroulées dans des « cheveux d’ange » (pâte si fine qu’on les surnomment cheveux d’ange) cuites au four et servies avec une sauce mayonnaise légèrement piquante. Comme entrées: les raviolis fait maison garnis d’épinards frais servis au beurre et à... read more

The New York Times: Eating Among Locals on a Venetian Island

If beautiful Murano glass is a strong draw to the Venetian Lagoon island, camera-snapping groups clogging the canals, and the cookie-cutter restaurants hoping to sell them a pizza along the way, can have the opposite effect. But thanks to a culinary newcomer, there’s a reason to return. Opened last April by Giovanna Arcangeli — a Murano native who planned events at the legendary Harry’s Bar for a decade and knows a thing or two about preserving a cultured calm in the midst of a touristy enclave — Acquastanca is a refuge from all that. “We wanted to create a place where guests would be able to relax and enjoy good food in a warm, quiet atmosphere with locals,” Ms. Arcangeli said. Continue reading the main story During a recent lunchtime visit, local businessmen taking a stand-up break at the bar were sipping Soave from the Veneto and snacking on cichetti, Venetian snacks like crispy prawns and octopus salad; a group of Venetians and a fashionable Italian mother and her teenage daughter occupied the few wood tables by the canal. Housed in a former bakery, the restaurant is stylish but not overdone: with wood beam ceilings, brick walls and resin floors, the setting is intimate but modern. Caterina Nason, the chef and Ms. Arcangeli’s sister-in-law, focuses on simple preparations of seafood, appropriate for a lagoon restaurant. Highlights include a buttery and perfectly briny spaghetti alle vongole; crispy orata (sea bream), baked in the oven with potatoes; baccalà with polenta; and tagliolini with squid. One of Ms. Nason’s strengths is her house-made desserts, so save room for daily selections like lemon meringue cake, tiramisù and coffee coviglia... read more