Barrique, a Romantic Destination in Venice

My wife and I were happy to join my cousin and her husband for her recent birthday. They are devout food connoisseurs and when asked where they would like to dine, they left it up to me. I don’t like having that decision for a birthday, but I didn’t argue. Since I hadn’t dined in Venice for quite some time, I selected an Italian restaurant named Barrique.

Barrique is located on Main Street in a lovely, yellow, bungalow-style home with indoor and outdoor seating. Among the locals, it is known as the “Little Yellow House.” It is clean, modern and provides a romantic setting.

We were seated in a dimly lit outdoor patio with a single candle on the table. Unfortunately, the lighting wasn’t sufficient for us to read our menus without using the flashlight on our phones. Fortunately, our server had intimate knowledge of the menu and the specials that day. We learned that our server was co-owner Tony Black.

Chef Antonio Murè graduated from Italy’s prestigious Istituto Alberghiero di Stato. He worked the kitchen in Il Meloncino in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Veneto. After Murè moved to LA, he led the kitchen at Il Moro, La Botte, Locanda Veneta and Allegria. While he was a chef at La Botte, the restaurant earned a highly coveted Michelin Star.

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We selected a couple of appetizers to begin our dinner, Grilled Octopus and a Prosciutto with Burrata. The Grilled Octopus was served with smoked yukon potatoes, fresh green beans, red and yellow cherry tomatoes, and topped with an aioli dressing. I was delighted with the delicate sweet and salty nature of the Prosciutto di Parma.

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Pasta alla Norma is a classic Sicilian pasta dish made with eggplant. Various pasta shapes are used in this dish and Barrique uses a housemade paccheri pasta. The paccheri appeared to be pappardelle, but that was because the tubular pasta flattened in the preparation process. It was mixed with tomatoes and basil pesto and topped with white dry Ricotta Cheese.

Barrique’s signature dish is their Red Beet Tagliolini Pasta. A Marsala Quail Ragù is carefully placed on on top of the pasta and melted taleggio cheese surrounds the sauce. After mixing everything together, I found that the flavors and textures nicely complemented each other. I would definitely order this dish again.

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My cousin selected halibut for her entree. It arrived with roasted multicolored carrots and asparagus atop a purée of fennel. Unfortunately, she doesn’t care for the taste of licorice and that was inherent with the purée of fennel. The halibut was nicely seared, but it was a bit dry.

Cacao tagliatelle (chocolate pasta) is an extremely popular dish in Tuscany.  Barrique makes this pasta in-house using cocoa powder and it is prepared with a wild boar ragu sauce. The mild chocolate taste and freshness of the pasta made this a memorable dish.

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The desserts were both impressive and delicious. A 3 layer chocolate mousse arrived with a lit candle to celebrate my cousin’s birthday. My wife and I shared a ricotta cheesecake. The ricotta cheese gave the cheesecake a custard-like consistency.

The combination of the romantic setting, the service and the remarkable menu makes this a destination when you need to wow that special someone. Beware that the prices are a bit on the high side and probably best for a special occasion.

Barrique, 796 Main St, Venice, CA 90291; 310.399.9010
barriquevenice.com