Four Venetian friends, a passion for travel and good food, and an old osteria from the 1940s. It is from this perfectly dosed cocktail that the Osteria Enoteca San Marco was born, since 2002 managed by Carlo, Fabio, Luca and Massimo, the heart and soul of a unique venue in the lagoon restaurant scene with a cosmopolitan flavor and sophisticated interior design.

The menu is international, in the most typically Venetian sense of the term. Thanks to its mercantile trades, a western metropolis ante litteram, in fact, Venice’s cuisine was very open to contaminations from other countries so that, starting from a solid base of local ingredients, the best exotic products and spices were mixed in it, creating truly unique flavors.

This is the food philosophy that nowadays inspires the dishes offered by the Osteria; where the local vegetables of Sant’Erasmo are combined with the oil of the Antico Frantoio Muraglia di Andria, the capital of Apulian oil, and the organic flours of the Mulino di Val D’Orcia in Tuscany emphasize the taste of the homemade pasta dishes or of the fish from the local markets, such as cod or octopus. A modern cuisine that also pays great attention to the healthiness of the recipes, preferring only the use of extra virgin olive oil for any preparation and light cooking techniques. The wine list has about 400 labels chosen from the best of the Italian regions and a small selection of French, German and Spanish wines.

The interior decor is also “fusion”, a modern mix of the most authentic Venice with design accents. Exposed beams and rough brick walls re-emerged from the restoration of the old tavern, of which the restaurant has also kept the name, enhancing the contrast with the contemporary details such as lights by London brand Buster + Punch, the comfortable handcrafted leather seats, and the giant ocher chandelier by Murano glass artist Claudio Tiozzo.

Osteria San Marco is definitely a safe classic, one of the very few realities in Venice that perfectly marries contemporary aesthetic refinement and culinary solidity, perfect for a special evening just a stone’s throw from Piazza San Marco.

The Secret

When at the beginning of 2000 the 4 partners took over the place, to solve the problem of high water, frequent in the San Marco area of Venice, they decided to raise the entire floor by 30 cm by bringing several tons of gravel on site that worked as the “foundations” of their new Osteria.

Useful Info

Osteria San Marco
Frezzeria, San Marco 1610
30124 Venezia
Tel. +39 041 5285242

First courses: 18 — 21 euro
Second courses: 24 — 27 euro