estro
vino e cucina

ESTRO – VINO E CUCINA

 

From a story by Alberto Spezzamonte

 

We opened Estro in 2014, my brother Dario and I. Both of us came from different backgrounds – I was involved in technical direction for performances, Dario studied Communication Sciences – but we were both passionate about food (me) and wine (him). We were born and raised in Murano, very attached to the lagoon, and an integral part of the city. I still live in Murano and move around only by boat. I know my land better than my pockets.

 

I cultivated my passion for cooking in my spare time, and I always had the opportunity to work in the restaurants of friends, both in Venice and abroad. Meanwhile, Dario chose the path of natural wine, which is still his primary passion. In short, we decided to change our lives and opened our first restaurant in San Giovanni and Paolo, a small trattoria where we gained our first experience.

 

After that, we looked for a space where we could express ourselves more comfortably and created Estro. The space that houses our restaurant was a pub for 30 years, but since 1860, it had been a place that served wine and sold bulk wine.

 

Our cuisine is a blend of sea and land, traditions, and interpretations, and it’s based on very simple components: the seasonality of products, the valorization of the territory, respect for tradition, and the quality of the offerings, all reinterpreted in a contemporary way. You can find everything, from tripe parmigiana to variations of raw Adriatic seafood based on what we feel like making that day. The menu is constantly updated and is extremely impulsive. I don’t stick to one style; instead, I put on the menu what I would like to find as a guest in a restaurant. Everything is influenced by my experiences. Since I enjoy dining in all kinds of restaurants, from three-star Michelin to serious trattorias, I don’t exclude either extreme. I simply try to offer my idea of sitting down to eat.

 

The focus on wine is also fundamental: we have a very extensive wine cellar with approximately 700-800 references, exclusively natural wines.

 

In addition to being a culinary proposal, with Estro, we have also created a platform for local craftsmanship. All the glassware – lamps and glasses – were custom-made by two young artists from Murano, the Salvadore brothers, Mattia, and Marco. All the furnishings – cedarwood tables, the counter made from reclaimed shutters from a building on the Grand Canal – were designed by me and Mauro Pasqualin, a carpenter artist who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts.

 

All of this fits perfectly with the values of Buona Accoglienza, which is why we were happy to join eight years ago. The path we are on is the right one, and there is a strong bond between historic restaurants and new establishments, some of which are of the highest quality. It’s great to see how these two generations manage to connect because, in any case, a high-quality business must be able to understand the past, measure it with the present, and project it into the future.