Restaurant in Zelarino, Italy
Family-run farm cooking near Venice. Book it.
Al Segnavento is a family-run Venetian restaurant in Zelarino with genuine zero-kilometre credentials — the family raises the duck, lamb, and produce it cooks. Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025 confirms consistent quality. At €€€, it's well-priced for the level, easy to book, and a practical choice for visitors looking to step outside Venice without sacrificing seriousness.
Al Segnavento is worth booking if you want serious Venetian cooking with genuine farm-to-table credentials — the kind where the vegetables, meat, and duck on your plate were raised within reach of the kitchen. At €€€ per head, it sits at an accessible price point compared to the region's starred rooms, and the Michelin Plate recognition in both 2024 and 2025 signals consistent quality without the premium that comes with a full star. If you've eaten here once and are weighing whether to return, the answer is yes — but time it for a quieter weeknight when the family-run pace shows leading, and consider whether the main restaurant or the adjoining bistro suits your mood.
Al Segnavento operates as a zero-kilometre Venetian restaurant in Zelarino, a short distance from Venice itself, run entirely by one family. The produce-first philosophy is visible before you read a word of the menu: fruit, vegetables, mutton, lamb, pork, and a locally prized duck breed form the backbone of what comes out of the kitchen. This is not a concept imposed from outside , the family grows and raises the ingredients, which means the menu is anchored to what is actually in season at any given moment. For returning guests, that's the most important detail: what you ate last time may not be what's on offer now, and that's by design.
Visually, the room reads as elegantly rural rather than formally starched , the kind of setting where a well-laid table coexists with the sense that the land outside is directly connected to the plates inside. That aesthetic suits the food's character: careful, grounded, and specific to its place. The dining room doesn't try to impress through scale or theatrics, which makes it a better fit for a long evening with people you want to actually talk to than for a showcase dinner.
The bistro alongside the main restaurant changes the calculus depending on what you're after. If the full menu feels like more than the occasion calls for, the bistro offers simpler fare and wine by the carafe , a genuinely useful option if you're arriving from Venice without much of an appetite for ceremony. Few €€€ venues in the area offer this kind of built-in flexibility. That said, if you're returning specifically to explore the kitchen's range, book the main room rather than defaulting to the bistro.
For visitors who want to extend the stay, Al Segnavento also has guestrooms on site. Given the Zelarino location , functional rather than scenic , the rooms are leading understood as a practical convenience if you're exploring the wider Veneto or want to arrive from the airport without battling Venice's pedestrian infrastructure. They're not a destination in themselves, but they make the logistics easier.
The farm-to-table model means Al Segnavento performs leading in the seasons when its produce is at peak: late spring through early autumn is when the full range of the kitchen's sourcing is on show. Winter visits are still worthwhile , lamb and duck carry well through cold months , but summer, when vegetables are in full supply and the estate is running at capacity, is when the menu has the most depth. Weeknight visits tend to be quieter, which suits the restaurant's family-run pace; weekend evenings draw more covers and a livelier room, which can work against the slower, conversation-friendly atmosphere the space does naturally.
On the question of late dining: Al Segnavento is not a late-night venue in the way that a city bar or brasserie might be. Hours are not published, but Venetian-area restaurants of this type typically close their kitchens by 22:00 or 22:30 at the latest. If you're arriving from Venice in the evening, plan to be seated no later than 20:30 to avoid pressure on the kitchen close. The bistro may offer more flexibility on timing than the main dining room, but confirm directly when booking.
Reservations: Easy , booking difficulty is low relative to the region's starred venues; contact via the restaurant directly as no online booking link is published. Address: Via Gatta, 76C, Zelarino (Venezia VE). Price range: €€€. Cuisine: Venetian, zero-kilometre, family-run. Bistro option: Available nearby for lighter meals and carafe wine. Accommodation: Guestrooms on site for those staying over. Google rating: 4.2 from 495 reviews. Awards: Michelin Plate 2024 and 2025.
See the comparison section below for how Al Segnavento sits relative to Italy's higher-end Venetian and Italian contemporary rooms.
Explore more in our full Zelarino restaurants guide, or browse Zelarino hotels, bars, wineries, and experiences. For Venetian cooking at a different register, see La Caravella on the Amalfi Coast or March in Houston for a transatlantic take on the tradition. Among northern Italy's most technically ambitious rooms, Le Calandre in Rubano and Casa Perbellini 12 Apostoli in Verona are the clearest points of comparison for guests considering a step up in formality. Uliassi in Senigallia and Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence are relevant if the trip extends south. Piazza Duomo in Alba and Enrico Bartolini in Milan round out the northern Italian fine dining set for multi-city itineraries.
If you're visiting specifically to experience the kitchen's farm-to-table range, yes. The menu is structured around produce the family raises themselves, so a tasting format gives the most complete picture of what the kitchen does. At €€€, the price point is accessible compared to starred venues in the Veneto , Le Calandre operates at €€€€ with three Michelin stars, and the gap in price is significant. Al Segnavento's Michelin Plate recognition confirms consistent quality, but it's a different kind of experience: ingredient-led and unfussy rather than technically progressive.
It can work for solo diners, though the family-run room in Zelarino is oriented around table dining rather than counter or bar seating. The bistro option alongside the main restaurant is the more practical choice if you're eating alone , simpler menu, carafe wine, less ceremony. Solo diners visiting Venice and considering a side trip to Zelarino should factor in the logistics: it's a short journey from the city, but you'll want to confirm transport options in advance.
There is no confirmed bar seating at Al Segnavento. The adjacent bistro is the more informal option for those who want a lighter, lower-commitment meal. Contact the restaurant directly to confirm current seating configurations before arriving.
The kitchen's zero-kilometre sourcing model is produce- and meat-focused, with duck, lamb, pork, mutton, and seasonal vegetables all central to what it does. Guests with dietary restrictions should contact the restaurant directly before booking , no dietary information is published. The breadth of the menu's ingredients (fruit, vegetables, and multiple proteins) suggests reasonable flexibility, but it is not a venue that has publicly positioned itself around dietary accommodation.
Yes, particularly if the occasion calls for a personal, unhurried evening rather than a formal production. The family-run setting, the on-site guestrooms, and the Michelin Plate credentials make it a considered choice for a dinner that feels meaningful without being intimidating. For occasions where status and theatre matter more than intimacy, Osteria Francescana in Modena or Dal Pescatore in Runate at €€€€ deliver a more formal register.
At €€€, it is well-priced for the quality level Michelin Plate recognition implies, and the zero-kilometre sourcing adds a layer of specificity that justifies the spend relative to generic mid-range options in the Venice area. It is not a budget meal, but it is considerably less expensive than the €€€€ venues in its peer set. The 4.2 Google rating across 495 reviews reflects consistent guest satisfaction rather than polarising reactions, which for a family-run venue at this price point is a meaningful signal.
Direct alternatives at the same price and cuisine level in Zelarino specifically are limited , the area's dining scene is thin relative to Venice proper. If you're open to the wider Veneto, Le Calandre in Rubano is the most technically ambitious option at a higher price point. For farm-to-table Italian cooking with more international recognition, Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler in Brunico and Reale in Castel di Sangro both operate at €€€€ but with a stronger emphasis on alpine and central Italian provenance respectively. Al Segnavento's combination of Venetian specificity, on-site accommodation, and accessible pricing is genuinely hard to replicate at the same price tier in this part of Italy.
| Venue | Awards | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Al Segnavento | An elegant restaurant run by an entire family, whose philosophy could be summed up in the phrase “from farm to fork”. Fruit, vegetables, mutton, lamb, pork, plus a delicious breed of duck are all showcased in this zero-kilometre restaurant. If you’re looking for simpler fare and wine by the carafe, the restaurant also has a more informal bistro nearby. Charming guestrooms also available for visitors wanting to prolong their stay.; Michelin Plate (2025); Michelin Plate (2024) | €€€ | — |
| Atelier Moessmer Norbert Niederkofler | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Dal Pescatore | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Osteria Francescana | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Quattro Passi | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
| Reale | Michelin 3 Star, World's 50 Best | €€€€ | — |
How Al Segnavento stacks up against the competition.
If zero-kilometre Venetian cooking is what you are after, yes. The entire menu is built around produce the family grows or raises — duck, lamb, pork, fruit, and vegetables — which gives the tasting format genuine coherence rather than the usual parade of unrelated courses. If you want something lighter, the informal bistro nearby is the better call.
It works for solo diners. Family-run rooms at the €€€ price point in the Veneto tend to be more personal and attentive than large urban restaurants, which suits solo visits. The bistro option is also available if you want a lower-commitment meal without the full restaurant experience.
Bar seating is not documented for Al Segnavento's main restaurant. The adjacent informal bistro, however, is designed for more casual visits — carafe wine, simpler fare — and is likely the right choice if you want a drop-in-style experience rather than a full reservation.
No specific dietary policy is on record, but a farm-to-fork kitchen built around its own produce tends to have genuine flexibility with vegetables and proteins given the breadth of what the family raises. check the venue's official channels to confirm — there is no online booking portal, so a call or email is required regardless.
Yes, especially if the occasion calls for something personal rather than grand. The family-run setup and Michelin Plate recognition at €€€ pricing give it a sense of occasion without the formality of a starred room. Guestrooms are also available on-site, which makes it a practical choice for a celebratory overnight away from Venice.
At €€€ with two consecutive Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025), it delivers above its weight for the Zelarino area. The zero-kilometre model means you are paying for provenance that is actually traceable, not marketed. Compared to starred Venice venues charging similar or higher prices for less verifiable sourcing, the value case here is genuine.
Zelarino itself has limited comparable dining, so the practical alternatives are in Venice proper or the broader Veneto. For more formal, starred Venetian cooking, look at Venice's higher-end rooms. For something in the same farm-driven, family-run register but with more destination profile, Dal Pescatore in Mantua is the reference point — though it requires a longer trip and a higher budget.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
