Our Favourite Traditional Restaurant in Venice

Although we had several fantastic meals during our week-long visit to Venice, there was one restaurant that we enjoyed so much we booked a return visit for dinner on our last night.

In my previous posts, I’ve talked about how to find great food in Venice, shared our favourite places to eat cicchetti, and favourite places to eat pizza in Venice. Coming soon is a post about a charming Venetian coffee shop where you can enjoy coffee, cake and calming greenery.

Read on to discover a wonderful restaurant to visit for lunch or dinner.

Exterior of Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district. Exterior of Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district.

Nevodi

Located in the laidback Castello neighbourhood, Nevodi describes itself as an ‘enoteca, cicchetteria e cucina tradizionale (traditional kitchen)‘; its culinary roots are classic Italian, but with an overlay of innovation. The restaurant name (which means ‘nephews’ in Venetian) references a pair of cousins who work alongside their uncle, providing a friendly and down-to-earth service and some truly delicious cooking.

 Mixed cold cured meats - Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district. Mixed cold cured meats - Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district.

The Di Tutto un Po’..rk (€15), described as ‘Mangaliza porchetta, sauris salami, Sicialian mortadella and other specialities‘ was so good we ordered it as a starter both times we visited. A generous selection of four or five different charcuterie products were served with a dish of zingy, crunchy, fizzy giardiniera pickled vegetables, made fresh every day. Perfect against the fatty meat!

Mozzarella and tomato salad - Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district. Mozzarella and tomato salad - Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district.

On our first visit, we also ordered La Vera Caprese (€12), a simple dish of a whole buffalo mozzarella with Sant’Erasmo tomatoes and salad. Simple, fresh and the tomato had a lot more flavour than its colour suggests.

Raw fish plate at Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district.

On our second meal at Nevodi, we ordered Il Crudo di Rialto (€22), a selection of raw fish from the Rialto market so sweet and fresh it was an utter delight.

Gnocchi and duck ragu at Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district.

For a second, when the Gnocchi al Ragu di Anatra (€13, gnocchi with duck ragout) was placed on the table, I was a bit disappointed. The pale colour of the ragu didn’t promise much flavour and looked nothing like I was expecting.

The first mouthful showed me how utterly ignorant I was – an explosion of flavour against the comforting pillowiness of fresh soft gnocchi. Luckily, we were sharing both mains, so I didn’t have to suffer the intense food envy I would have experienced had this dish been Pete’s and Pete’s alone!

Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district. Pasta at Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district.

Our other shared main during our first meal at Nevodi was the Ravioli Ripieni al Tartufo Nero e Ricotta Fresca (€16, ravioli filled with black truffle and fresh ricotta cheese). The freshness of the ricotta made for the most wonderfully light texture, with a fantastic punch of flavour from the black truffle. So utterly simple, and yet so very good!

Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district.

On our second visit, Pete chose the Lasagne classiche con Ragu di Sorana (€14), which was every bit as rich, meaty and delicious as the duck ragu gnocchi. Sorana beef, I think, is beef from a young female cow, and evidently makes for a tender, well-flavoured ragu.

Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district.

On the day of our return visit, I chose the daily special of lamb chops (€18), these came breaded, with the bones French-trimmed, making it easy to eat them like lollipops. They were served with classic rosemary-roasted potatoes and a simple salad.

Tiramisu at Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district.

I’m amazed we had space for dessert on either visit, but really we just didn’t want such a fabulous meal to finish, on either occasion. We are fussy about our tiramisu, both preferring a moist tiramisu with a light and creamy texture rather than a dense and cheesy one. The Nevodi tiramisu looked dry visually, but again, looks were deceiving, and it was perfection to eat! So good we ordered the same again on visit number two!

Customer looking out of restaurant window - Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district. Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district.

Service in the restaurant was friendly, but busy, as you should expect in a clearly very popular local eatery such as this – the customer base was a good mix of regulars and first timers. Given the demand, we were very glad we made a dinner reservation a couple of days in advance for our last night in Venice. We were welcomed and looked after on both visits, and really appreciated the convivial atmosphere. The food, of course, we adored; note that the menu changes regularly to reflect the best available ingredients of the season, so don’t set your heart on a specific dish above – go, check out the menu and see what you fancy!

Find out more about eating out in Venice, and more of our favourite places. 

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Nevodi, a fantastic traditional restaurant in Venice's laidback Castello district - check out the review to find out why this was our favourite restaurant in Venice

Please leave a comment - I love hearing from you!
17 Comments to "Our Favourite Traditional Restaurant in Venice"

  1. Leah

    Thanks for sharing! I would love to eat here! The raw fish platter particularly caught my eye. Everything looks delicious.

    Reply
  2. Daniel

    I tried some amazing restaurants in Venice but never checked this one out. After this article, I’ll definitely give it a try during one of my next visits. You’re right about the Gnocchi al Ragu di Anatra not looking so appetizing but this is another proof that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

    Reply
  3. Jenn and Ed Coleman

    The food looks so good and of such high quality. I love European meats and cheeses but eating pasta in Italy would be a world food dream come true. I have heard about Venetian prices being exorbitant but they really didn’t look bad.

    Reply
  4. Leah

    Everything looks delicious, especially the raw seafood platter. I haven’t been to Venice (yet!) but would to eat here when I have the opportunity. When I travel, I love finding spots to eat that are popular with the locals, and it sounds like this restaurant has a great clientele. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful review of your delicious meal with us! It is very helpful for first timers to Venice, like me.

    Reply
  5. Sierra

    Yum! You’ve just made my mouth water with your experience here! I haven’t made it to Venice yet, but will definitely reference your restaurants when I do. I agree that the Gnocchi did not look like anything spectacular, but your description sure made me wish that I was there eating it right now. 🙂

    Reply
  6. Soumya Gayatri

    I am already drooling here. This looks like such a fab place. And the food looks amazing. I would definitely want to have some of that Gnocchi and that wonderful Tiramisu. Will give this a try the next time I am in Venice.

    Reply
  7. Ami Bhat

    Gosh… I never realized that Venice has so many options. I suppose I was more intent on the sights around. Love the salad you have shared at La Vera Caprese. The mozrella cheese looks so yummy

    Reply
  8. Claire Jessiman

    This looks wonderful and I’ve pinned for future reference. Unfortunately our Venice eating experience wasn’t great and we paid over the odds for mediochre food in tourist trap areas.

    Reply
  9. Amanda

    I am literally drooling. Caprese is my favorite thing in all the world, especially in Italy! I would love to try that and your lasagna looked absolutely incredible. No wonder you went twice!! I’m definitely adding this to my list of restaurants!

    Reply
  10. Blair villanueva

    I can’t help feeling more hungry reading your restaurants and food recommendations. This makes me feel more excited as well to visit Venice with my bf.
    Which of these restaurants is your best favorite?

    Reply
  11. Archana Singh

    I love Italian food and just spent 15 days in Tuscany. However, I couldn’t visit Venice this time. The Nevodi restaurant looks good and your unbiased review is very helpful for someone looking for restaurant suggestions in Venice. I love the fact that the restaurant is in a laidback neighbourhood. Also, if the staff is good then I am ok to wait for a while.

    Reply
  12. Annick

    I can understand why Nevodi was your favorite restaurant in Venice. Everything looks so amazing! I like how fresh and local so many of the dishes are. And I’m glad you made it to dessert since that’s usually my favorite course. It’s so much better to have recommendations when visiting a city.

    Reply
  13. Sinjana Ghosh

    Nevodi looks like a foodie’s delight. The prawn dish looks absolutely delicious. good to know about the lasagne also. In fact everything loks mouthwatering- lambchops, the fish, and all the dishes i didnt hear about before

    Reply

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