Al Timon, Venice, Italy

Al Timon, Venice, Italy

We were staying at the Domus Orsoni, which my wife had seen in a newspaper travel review of Venice. A lovely little Bed & Breakfast just above a famous mosaic foundry situated in the quiet Cannaregio district, Northern Venice.

Our host on arrival, Flavio, was particularly friendly, warm and welcoming, and gave us several recommendations on where to eat and drink.

We decided to visit all the places he recommended on our first afternoon so we could choose somewhere for our gastronomic extravaganza.

We popped into Al Timon, which was packed with locals and tourists alike. Al Timon is tiny but the sight of the cichetti (mini-bruchetta with different toppings) sitting on top of the bar and some great looking wines was just too tempting to pass up, so we stopped at the bar, had a couple of cichetti and two glasses of Barbera, chatted to the bar staff and booked a table there and then. The wood-beamed ceilings, random antiques, temperature-controlled wine cabinets and cool soundtrack formed a relaxed but quality impression and we couldn't wait to come back later.

In the evening we returned and were greeted once again to a full bar and there were even people standing outside and drinking in the rain! The atmosphere was gently buzzing and they bent over backwards to accommodate us. Our lovely waitress translated the menu for us and was charming throughout. 

 

We decided to try something new and potentially controversial to some, horse Chateaubriand. Whilst we waited, I foraged four different cichetti from the bar and a bottle of Barbera d'Alba. The wine was fantastic quality and at £18 was a bargain too.

The cichetti were mexican prawn, prosciutto ham with roasted artichoke, sausage meat with sage and roasted pork. All four were delicious, though the Mexican spiced prawn wasn't as spiced as we would have liked, we could have easily eaten many more!

Horse Chateaubriand for two served on a wooden platter surround by grilled marinated vegetables and chips. It tasted as good as it looks! The Chateaubriand came cooked blue, seasoned very well with salt, pepper and rosemary. 700 grams of horsemeat is a big meal between two, the equivalent of ordering 3 steaks back in the UK. The array of vegetables were lovely: steamed spinach, cannellini beans in rosemary oil, roasted red peppers and skin on chips. All were well cooked and seasoned, although the spinach would have been great seasoned with garlic. Interestingly, they offered to cook the meat a bit more when we'd eaten half the plate.The flavour of the horse meat medium rare definitely came through much more, well worth doing. A leisurely hour later we had just about finished, our taste buds satiated and stomachs full.

We were offered grappa and limoncello to finish off with as we had to refuse the dessert menu, slightly gutted about that!

Overall we had a great evening in a relaxed, informal, slightly chaotic environment, where if you take the time to get to know the staff, you can have a really authentic Venetian experience and some great food and wine.

Our bill came to £80 which is about average in Venice and we thought it was well worth it. We also left a 10% tip as the staff had been friendly and accommodating throughout.

Details:
Reservations essential for lunch and dinner

Al Timon
Cannareggio
Venice

Open Tues-Sun 12-10.30pm
Cards accepted