There are several previous Alle Testiere write ups on this site so I’ve identified this as an update. I had been a number of times and it was in fact one of my favorite places in Venice and I just couldn’t not go whenever we visited Venice. We often went the first day there and either the jet lag effect or just having been there enough to make you tired of going there, made me declare I’d been there for the last time. Either way, I’m glad I broke my word and went back to try it again. I felt it had gotten too tired and too full of tourists but this time it showed the freshness and friendliness that brought me to love it in the first place. It was a fine meal from start to finish, with the dessert being better than ever. The only ding I’d still give it is the size of the tables and how close they are together however in their defense there is no room to have bigger tables nor to place them any further apart.
I started with Carpet Shell Clams with ginger. This mountain of small clams were soaking in a broth filled with ginger and garlic. It smelled heavenly and tasted similarly. The clams released easily from the shells. They were fun to eat and not a bit of grit in the shells. This was a simple dish but with the best of ingredients soared to another level.
Steamed spider crab was shredded spider crab meat presented inside a large spider crab shell. It was topped with a bit of roe and plated on some greens. There was a bits of shell lodged in the meat but otherwise it tasted very good. It was tender, sweet and fresh.
We split potato gnocchetti with small calamari “zotoi” and cinnamon scent for our second plate. These soft little pillows were surrounded by a deep cinnamon sauce and tiny little well cooked squid. The baby squid were ultimately tender and picked up the taste well. The cinnamon seasoning flavored it all nicely and combined perfectly with the deep seafood taste. It was another good one.
Sea bass fillet with Pantelleria capers and ligurian black olives was served with seasoned mashed potatoes. The olives and capers were combined with some dried tomatoes to produce a lovely sauce. The tomatoes were particularly good. The fish managed to stay quite moist.
Prawns with lime, coriander and ginger sauce were served with the heads still on. They were mixed with chunks of boiled potato, some greens and lightly cooked cherry tomatoes in a wonderful broth/sauce. The prawns were perfectly cooked with the seasonings permeateing the meat. They were large and meaty. It was a great dish.
For dessert Crema rosada, Venetian creme caramel was served cold with a burnt cookie underneath. It added a wonderful texture to the smooth top custard. It was given further texture by being studded with roasted hazelnuts and topped with caramelized ones. It was a wonderful dessert.
The Caramelized pear tart was out of sight. The tart was on a buttery crust and sprinkled with roasted hazelnuts. Inside was sweet pear that was perfectly cooked and seasoned. It was amazing. Yum x3 here. Luca runs the restaurant and he not only found us a really interesting wine but helped guide us to order the right amount of food.
