TRATTORIA ANZOLO RAFFAELE

From a story by Luigi and Patricia Secchi

Luigi comes from the restaurant industry, and he has been working in it for 46 years, always in Venice. I (Patricia, noted) used to work as a tour guide and in the hospitality field. Then, in the early 2000s, we found this place that was for sale. No one believed in it because it is in a unique location, and it required a certain expertise. We had to create a concept (although it’s worth noting that this trattoria has been around for 300 years, so it’s not a recent establishment). The last management had abandoned it, so we took over, completely dismantled it, and did a full renovation in 2003, giving it a new format. We’ve been open since 2004.

We started by offering only meat dishes, but in 2021, we began to include seafood on the menu, and it worked well. We serve traditional Venetian dishes, with a touch of Sardinian cuisine since I (Luigi, noted) am from Sardinia, but it’s not a Sardinian restaurant. The main idea is to offer simple cuisine that promotes the local territory. Our customers know that if they want to enjoy dishes like granseola, castraure, or botoli, they can find them here. However, they can also find a Sardinian touch, like bottarga. Of course, upon request, we can prepare dishes like roasted suckling pig, and we offer special meats such as stewed goat with cardoons, which is definitely not Venetian but not the rule either.

In general, we focus on the quality of the ingredients. We seek out the best raw materials we can find and try to handle them as minimally as possible. These are some of the most challenging dishes to create because if you make a mistake with those few ingredients, everything is ruined. We are fortunate in many ways. I always say that we are more of an agriturismo than a restaurant because we have a farm in Sardinia where we produce olive oil, saffron, honey, wine, and a range of products that we use in our dishes, along with local products from our garden on Sant’Erasmo. I challenge any agriturismo to have more homemade products than we have here.

This is our philosophy. We don’t aim for mass tourism or high volumes. The location also reflects this. Those who come here do so deliberately, not by chance. There are days when we are packed, but the rest of the area might be deserted because people come here specifically. Occasionally, passersby drop in, but it’s rare, and it’s not our primary focus.

We joined the Buona Accoglienza association three years ago due to a shared belief in the value of quality raw materials, hospitality, and professionalism. Another thing that stands out here, as in other member establishments, is that people feel at home when they come in. This is the core, for me. We probably manage to convey this familiarity because it’s what we, too, seek in a restaurant. We’ve noticed that there’s generally a shift towards seeking more personal, relaxed service and well-executed classic cuisine.

I believe that the association has tremendous potential. If we think about it, together, we are a powerful force with very high numbers. If we could harness this strength to make people aware of our presence and to share the common values we hold—quality, product selection, and professionalism—and project an image of Venice where such places exist, we would have achieved a lot. We need to be able to tell people: “Look, you come to our home to eat. You’ll find us.” Ultimately, it’s people who create a place and an experience. They are the ones capable of turning a simple plate of pasta into an emotion. We are here to do just that.