A la Vecia Cavana restaurant

Today I decided to try the restaurant A la Vecia Cavana, that is specialised in traditional Venetian cuisine plus it has a menu completely dedicated to gluten free. In the kitchen they handle also gluten but the staff has been trained by AIC (the Italian Celiac Association) to avoid any possible contamination with gluten.

I loved to walk from San Marco to Rialto Bridge and then to Campo Santi Apostoli, the restaurant being just close to it.

I have to say that I lost myself more than ones, but I guess that for foreigners it is quite normal to get lost in Venice. I do hope to learn more about its little streets and squares before I leave the city…

As I was in the mood for fish, I chose to go all the way with it. As an appetizer I was offered a Mimosa drink with smoked salmon and then I took “Baccalà Mantecato”, a speciality here.

The “Baccalà Mantecato” is codfish cooked with milk, extra virgin olive oil and garlic. They served it on a delicate and tasty “polenta” made of corn. It was delicious! This is one of my favourite Venetian dishes ever.

As main course I took a classic fish soup with gluten free bread. The soup included scallop, monkfish, shellfish, shrimps, prawns, and the “canocia” as they call it here, in Venetian dialect. Basically the “canocia”, as Nicola kindly explained me, is a sea cicada that lives in the Laguna. The fish was super fresh and I loved all of it.

Instead of pasta, I opted for another fish specialty: fried “Moeche”. “Moeche” are small crabs without the shell that you find only in the Venice area and in a particular time of the year. I also had fried vegetables that included eggplant, zucchini, onions and carrots. As dessert, Nicola tempted me with gluten free Tiramisù, and I have to say that I was tempted, but I was also satisfied about what I’d just eaten.

So I said good bye to Tiramisù and opted for green tea + biscuits. Nicola made me taste gluten free “Amaretti” from the artisanal pastry shop Antica Dulcinea.

“Amaretti” are typical Italian sweet made of almonds. They were very good. I left the restaurant happy and also grateful to the staff of La Vecia Cavana, and to Nicola in particular, they were all very professional and super nice. They made me spent a memorable and pleasant experience. I will definitely be back.