Trattoria da Romano

Trattoria da Romano sits on Via Galuppi, the main street of Burano in the Venetian lagoon, in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It has operated as a family trattoria since 1918 and is one of the island's best-known dining rooms, having fed painters and writers for generations. The walls are hung with artwork left behind by regulars over the years, which gives the room the character of a working gallery as much as a restaurant. The kitchen sticks to lagoon cooking rather than reinventing it: fish soups, risottos and fried seafood prepared the traditional way. The dish most associated with the house is risotto di gò, made with the small goby fish (gò) found in the lagoon waters around Burano, a preparation that is hard to find outside the northern lagoon. Other staples include fritto misto of small fish and shellfish, and sarde in saor, the Venetian sweet-and-sour sardine antipasto with onions, raisins and pine nuts. The atmosphere is traditional and busy rather than hushed. Lunch is the main event, because the trattoria receives heavy traffic from the vaporetto and tour boats that bring day-trippers to Burano, and the dining room can be crowded and noisy in the middle of the day. Dress is casual. The trattoria is open Wednesday to Monday for lunch (12PM-3PM) and dinner (7PM-10PM) and is closed on Tuesday. Reservations are recommended by phone on +39 041 730 030, especially for a midday table in spring, summer and on weekends, and booking a day or more ahead is sensible in peak season. Pricing sits in the mid-range for Venice ($$), with fish-based dishes costing more than pasta and risotto. The restaurant suits visitors who want a historic, no-frills lagoon meal on Burano rather than a modern tasting menu, and it pairs naturally with a walk past the island's brightly painted houses and its lace-making tradition.