home - location - menu - photos an virtual tour - referrals - historical tale - CONTACT US - print map                 Simple, friendly restaurant between Campo Santa Margarita and the Frari, much frequented by locals (always a good sign). Excellent sarde in saor (a typically Venetian starter, sardines marinated with onions giving a sweet-sour flavour), good fish generally, and pasta cooked to perfection. Pleasant service and highly drinkable house red (merlot) make this a recommended spot. Inexpensive. "I highly reccomend the "Hotel American" in Venice It's right off the grand and has beautiful everything. Also a great little restaurant called "Trattoria Dona Onesta""     “...He has a friend who owns Dona Onesta, one of our recommended budget restaurants.  Around midnight, as the five of us walked toward home, we stopped by the trattoria, and Gianni introduced us to his friend, who was just closing for the evening. Since he's closed Sundays and Mondays, on Tuesday we'll surely have to return - our last night. :-( .. Came home to go to dinner at Dona Onesta (honest lady) - about 5 minutes from our apartment.  This is the trattoria that Gianni's friend owns. Each of us had a Venetian specialty:  Beverly had Sarde a Saor, Ellen Marie had clams in an oil and garlic broth, Lynanne had liver and onions.  Lynanne tasted both of theirs, but they declined her offer of a taste of hers.  Probably because they got it more often than they'd liked growing up at home!  Each of our dishes was outstanding. This was our best and most expensive meal in Venice - Lynanne's bill was $24 including wine, cover and service!  A great last night dinner. By the time we got back home, we decided to pack early tomorrow morning. Wow! these last two weeks flew by! ...”   The virtue of the "Honest Woman" is still practiced by the owners of the small, neat trattoria perched along the rio. Through the clear glass door you'll see a well-kept old structure with no frills or audacious decor. The style is dark-brown wooden chairs and white tablecloths. The menu posted outside offers a reasonable choice of pasta dishes, fish, and meat. Few tourists stop here, and the little English you'll hear is likely to be a conversation among professors of the nearby Università Ca' Foscari, who are lunchtime regulars. AE, DC, MC, V. Closed Sun.   A small cafe, the Trattoria Dona Onesta, caught our eye, and we stopped for a lunch of the house pasta and wine.