De Pisis is located at the base of the Grand Canal, with a view of the lagoon and the Chiesa di Santa Maria della Salute on the island of Dorsoduro to the south.
An outdoor terrace is lovely for lunch or an afternoon espresso, but the intimate interior — marble floors, fabric walls, and dimly lit standing lamps — is too romantic to miss for dinner.
Chef Giovanni Ciresa focuses on local ingredients and cuisine, but with modern and Asian influences. A foie gras dish was accented with tempura basil leaf. A plate of tuna tartare came topped with a sesame-crusted horseradish cake and “squid-ink caviar”—gelatin is added to the savory ink so it can be shaped into little globes that pop with flavor in the mouth. Classics such as squid-ink risotto and an excellent frutti di mare were also on the menu.
