Beautiful Little Trattoria

• October 8, 2009
• Rated 4 of 5 by jbarronton from Atlanta, Georgia

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A Reasonable Choice in Murano

• July 13, 2009
• Rated 4 of 5 by Slug from Huddersfield, United Kingdom

The centre of Venice in July is not a good venue for a relaxing, quiet and reasonably priced meal. It didn’t take us long to realise we needed to disappear far from the maddening crowds and slipped off on a water taxi to the nearby island of Murano. It turned out to be a good use of the six and a half Euros cost of a single boat trip, particularly as we managed to "stowaway" on the return hop to Venice island (no one approached us for our fare on the busy return leg).

Murano is petty much like a slightly less spectacular Venice, but you can do all of the typical Venice things without having to barge through hordes of people. Once we had our fill of exploring canal streets, bounding over hump back bridges and exploring (cheaper and better quality) Murano Glass shops, we decided it was time to eat.

Unlike the main island of Venice, Murano restaurants do get quiet after the main lunchtime session, and some restaurants close at three. We fell upon one of the larger restaurants in town, the Trattoria Busa Alla Torre, perched on a main square by a clock tower, and found them still serving food at around 3:30.

The restaurant didn’t look particularly promising, as the outside tables consisted of bright yellow cloth clad plastic patio furniture, but we gamely elected to go for the tourist menu at 12.50 a head. This offered three simple choices of starter and main course. Those wanting a more detailed choice can eat from the extensive (and more expensive) main menu. To be fair, the interior of the restaurant looked a lot nicer, and all of it was certainly clean. There is a terrace restaurant area upstairs, which also looked very pleasant (and in fact, was probably a nicer choice to the gardens). Those on a tight budget need to be aware that the restaurant charges two and a half Euro table cover per person, and a rather hefty 12% service charge (although this is fairly ubiquitous throughout Venice).

For our starter, we chose the spaghetti and clams, and I liked my simple, filling, but very fishy tasting dish. I guess they add a good fish stock to the tomato sauce, as there wasn’t too many little clams. The meal came with a couple of very fresh and locally produced bread buns, and balsamic vinegar and olive oil for drizzling.

For our main course, we both chose the calamari, and were rewarded with a small but very fresh dish of deep fried battered calamari and squid, with a small cube of traditional fried salty polenta (semolina). I had chosen a green leaf side salad, and received a very fresh and tasty bowl of lambs lettuce, while my beloved, who isn’t watching her weight, had fries. I loved my main course, and although it wasn’t huge, found it had filled us up adequately for a lunch meal. The only downside appeared to be that our fried fish had been placed on a paper doily, which meant that after a few cuts of the knife, we were eating bits of delicately cut out paper with our meal!

We chose a bottle of the house white wine, a strangely deep coloured, but young and very tasty Pinot Grigio, which was good value (for Venice) at 9 Euros.

Unfortunately, the restaurant doesn’t seem to own any cats, and as we dined and the remaining diners left, we found ourselves surrounded by some rather overeager pigeons, who attempted to hop onto our table while we ate. If you have an aversion to "Hitchcock: The Birds" moments, you might want to insist on dining inside or perhaps upstairs on the terrace. To be fair to the restaurant, they do supply a fresh clean tablecloth for each new dining party.

While the wait service was very effective and friendly, the waiters were obviously keen to pull off their uniforms, and put their feet up in the shade after a busy lunchtime. We found tables being packed away, and our plates removed almost before we had put our cutlery down. Still, our bad for eating so late, I guess.

Overall, we thought the Busa Alla Torre was a reasonable, if not "must do", choice for lunch on Murano; the food and house wine was certainly filling and good. The overall cost of 41.30 Euros for two was probably slightly below average for our Venice dining experience.

From journal Venice - Italian Dining

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Pasta Lunch on Murano

• July 12, 2009
• Rated 4 of 5 by sararevell from London, United Kingdom

Don’t be fooled by the cheap plastic chairs set out in Campo San Stefano, this trattoria may look modest but it serves very decent, and very decently priced food. I was slightly worried that we had arrived at Busa alla Torre too late in the afternoon for lunch as it felt like most of Murano was taking a siesta. Fortunately for us, while the rest of the island fell quiet, the kitchen at Busa alla Torre was very much awake.

We took a table outside. The indoor seating is quite limited so we were grateful for the clement weather. From the corner of the small piazza we could sit and admire the slender brick clock tower and a more modern, spiky blue glass sculpture in front of the canal. A cluster of middle-aged waiters attended the tables, bringing out baskets of impossibly smooth bread rolls, which had the appearance of having been hand sculpted by a professional plasterer.

Having become a little glassy-eyed from a couple of hours of Murano window-shopping along Fondamenta dei Vetrai, I was in the mood for something substantial. I went straight for the gnocchi in a tomato and mozzarella sauce. My husband opted for the spaghetti in tomato sauce and my mother-in-law ordered the lasagne. All three meals were delicious, simple and thankfully filling. I don’t know how Italians rate Busa alla Torre for authenticity but the no-nonsense food, coupled with the lazy, laid back air of Campo San Stefano made for what felt like an idyllic Italian island lunch.

The ample outdoor seating means that Busa alla Torre is also a good place for groups. I’ve read that their seafood dishes are also highly rated but if you’re looking for something uncomplicated, substantial and inexpensive, Busa alla Torre is the place to come.

From journal Venice: Prosecco, Gelato and la Giudecca

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Busa Alla Torre

• May 22, 2004
• Rated 4 of 5 by ShannonBrooke from Somerville, Massachusetts

This highly rated trattoria serves up the best seafood in Murano. Tourists and Italians eat here alike, dining either inside the two dining rooms, or on the piazza.

Busa All Torre is ideally located near the campanile on Murano, on the main drag of glass shops. The mixed fried seafood dish is delightful. Our meal was accompanied with an espresso and a salad.

Italian-speakers even get better treats. An imposing bearded man in an apron comes out and describes the daily specials. Perhaps this is the Torre (Bull) of which the name speaks? He is the picture of the rotund and jolly chef.

The waitstaff here is very pleasant, and they made us feel at home even with our limited Italian. As always in Italy, my pleasantries and ordering vocab words were acknowledged rather than ridiculed. When I had to switch to English, they took that in stride as well.

It is worth noting that Busa Alla Torre, like all the restaurants on Murano, is only open for lunch.

From journal The Other Side of Venice

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