The essence of Dime Bistrot is breathed from the moment you arrive when, after a few kilometers of silent landscape, a post-industrial building of burnished metal and steel sheets with a gigantic glittering sculpture that stands out against the entrance is revealed to the visitor.

The work-of-art, the number 100, was donated by its designers, Franco and Roberto Driusso of the DriussoAssociati Studio, to the chef and owner Serena Bergamo in 2017 on the occasion of the centenary of Porto Marghera, today subject to urban and artistic reconversion, thus recognizing the restaurant to all intents and purposes as a both culinary and anthropological “museum” of the area.

Our cuisine is a tribute to the territory in which it is located, which does not see ports yet romantic fishing boats, people and not factories, in which everything is a material to be transformed, in the memory of our origins.

(Serena Bergamo, chef)

Serena, the soul of the restaurant, with a degree in Conservation of Cultural Heritage and then a diploma from the Marchesi’s ALMA, in 2015 decided, in fact, to open her first restaurant in a disused family warehouse with the idea of ​​enhancing the industrial history of the locality.

The Porto Marghera area, with its Blade Runner views, is today a controversial and romantic witness to the industrial development of post-war Italy wanted by Giuseppe Volpi, Count of Misurata, founder of SADE, director of the Venice Biennale several times and creator of the Venice Film Festival, with the vision of building a development perspective for nearby Venice. So, just to pay homage to Marghera’s history, Serena asked for help from her father Franco, a building contractor, who, with recycled material, such as second-hand steel sheets, walls in Corten, iron and glass, built the very original “envelope” of the restaurant, truly one of a kind.

Even the interiors of Dime Bistrot are a hymn to Marghera, filtered through Serena’s creative and witty eye: the chairs come from the patrician private theater of former Villa Caburlotto (that’s why they are so comfortable), the oak staves on the first floor were made by the same designers of those of Villa Valmarana on the Riviera del Brenta, the boxes that adorn the stairs were recovered from an old hardware store, while, silent witness to the thousands of workers who lived in these areas, at the entrance of the restaurant there is one, of the very few remaining, punching time card machines of Montedison, one of the factories that made the history of the Port.

The cuisine, lively and volcanic like its ex machina goddess Serena, is gourmet with a territorial imprint and enhances the fish raw material giving life to dishes that are simple and curious at the same time; such as raw fish starters or focaccia with Sant’Erasmo cabbage and anchovies, linguine pasta with Gargano croaker, cream of pepper and bottarga, or scallops with radicchio, Jerusalem artichoke and puffed quinoa.

The ingredients are as local as possible, such as the fish that comes from the Chioggia market or the vegetables from the nearby countryside, with special care for sustainability and promotion of the territory, a concept that also embraces the wine list that favors small producers that follow an organic and natural philosophy.

Everything is homemade and the artisan bread prepared every day by Marta, an expert baker as well as a sommelier, deserves a special mention, just delicious freshly baked to accompany a selection of raw foods.

Surely one of the most original and welcoming places in Veneto.

The Secret

Serena wanted, also for the name of her restaurant, to be inspired by the truthfulness of Marghera: dime means, in fact, “tell me” in the local dialect, a metaphor for the straightforward and direct relationship she has with her customers, raw materials and life tout court.

Useful Info

Dime Bistrot
Via Colombara 42
30176 Venezia
Tel. +39 041 923786

Starters: 15 — 25 euro
First courses: 15 — 20 euro
Second courses: 17 — 25 euro
Tasting menu: 5 courses 45 euro, 7 courses 60 euro, wine pairing excluded