Trattoria Al Gatto Nero: the lagoon cuisine Burano has always kept to itself
Since 1945 on a canal in Burano, three generations of one family and a risotto you won’t find anywhere else.
Burano, Venice
In Burano, behind the colourful houses everyone photographs, there is a cuisine that hurried tourists rarely discover. Al Gatto Nero has been here since 1945, and its risotto di gò—made with goby caught by hand in the waters around the island—has remained the same.
Founded in 1945 as a harbour osteria where fishermen came to have their catch fried or to play cards, Trattoria Al Gatto Nero is today Burano’s most authentic dining table. Massimiliano Bovo represents the third generation of the family to run the restaurant. In the kitchen, Ruggero and his wife Lucia have been cooking for more than sixty years.
There is only one dish to order: risotto di gò. The gò—the goby—is what Ruggero calls “a heritage of humanity,” insisting that it can only be enjoyed properly in Burano, because he knows which gobies make the best broth. The fishermen still catch them by hand in the waters around the island. It is not a noble dish—it is a humble lagoon recipe that Venetians have always cooked, but one that tourist cuisine has largely forgotten.
The dining room overlooks the canal, with paintings by local artists on the walls and curtains inspired by the colours of the lagoon floor. Booking ahead is essential—there is almost always a queue outside.
This is an independent editorial feature.
Practical Information
Location: Burano, Venice
Duration: Lunch or Dinner
Estimated price: 40-60€ per person
