The brightest stars in the lagoon

“When it comes to Michelin-starred restaurants, Italy is a major player,” says Great Italian Chefs. Their analysis of the 2017 Michelin Guide results includes no less than seven Venetian restaurants: Ristorante Quadri, Restaurant Oro at the Hotel Cipriani, Dopolavoro at JW Marriott, Met Restaurant at the Hotel Metropole, the Venissa Wine Resort on the island of Mazzorbo, Il Ridotto and Ristorante da Fiore.

New on the scene is Dopolavoro. It took a mere six months from opening for it to earn its first Michelin star, says Travel & Leisure. “Veronese chef Giancarlo Perbellini is at the helm, with a gourmet take on traditional Veneto dishes on the menu -- think ravioli stuffed with marinated shrimp, sour milk, candied lemon and capers.” All of the vegetables come from the Marriott’s private island garden, which “thanks to its position midway between the lagoon and the sea…boasts a wealth of vegetation unmatched elsewhere in the Venice,” explains Stefania Vida at Where Venice.

Also causing a stir are the four young chefs at Venissa. The first team of chefs to win a star, their Otto Mani (‘Eight Hands’) menu “highlights imaginative takes on la cucina veneziana,” writes Jackie DaGiorgio at Forbes. And although it hasn’t won any Michelin stars yet, another exciting opening in the lagoon in 2017 was GLAM Restaurant from chef Enrico Bartolini. Bartolini, who has gathered “a total of four Michelin stars over three restaurants,” and is “clearly hoping to add to that with his fourth new venture in Venice,” writes Anne Hanley at the The Telegraph. Housed in the luxury Palazzo Venart hotel, he has created at refined, contemporary restaurant rooted in the lagoon with dishes such as whipped salted codfish and herbs and smoked eel and wild fennel, according to Identita Golosa.