General Restaurant Information
Ombra del Leone serves expertly crafted Italian food with a classic Venetian twist. Our dishes are prepared with locally-sourced, fresh produce as well as in-house, handmade items such as gnocchi and tiramisu. To compliment your meal, we offer a fantastic selection of Italian wines from various regions and an assortment of fine champagnes.
Our spacious terrace has stunning, sweeping views of the Grand Canal with direct sight of the Punta della Dogana Art Museum and the Santa Maria della Salute Church. Relax in our parasol-shaded seating with Gondoliers serenading you as they pass, and stay in this perfect spot throughout the evening to enjoy a beautiful sunset. Our indoor floor plan provides roughly 200 square meters of fine dining area, so it is quite spacious and comfortable. The high ceilings and central air conditioning provide a cool, fresh alternative in the summertime for our guests. The magnificent full-length windows of the Grand Canal shed natural sunlight on these tables while also offering a lovely view during your meal.
Our location is optimal as we are reachable by many different types of transfer. You can arrive by private water taxi directly in front of the restaurant, or a short walk from the San Marco vaporetto stop, or an easy 2 minutes walking from Piazza San Marco.
History of the Building
Ombra del Leone is a restaurant located inside the former Sala degli Specchi, which is on the ground floor of Ca’ Giustinian overlooking the Grand Canal. The walls inside of the space were previously covered with Murano glass and mirrors (hence the name "Sala degli Specchi”), which were speculated to have been dismantled at the beginning of the 1970s, well before Ombra del Leone opened its doors. Although the decorative setting that once existed in the first half of the 1900s is no longer, the significance and grandeur of the former Sala lives on today in Venetian memory, now in association with the beloved Ombra del Leone.
Aside from the obvious correlations to Venice’s architectural heritage, Ombra del Leone also has a relationship with the modern day city. The restaurant is as much open to cultural initiatives throughout the year as it is to frequent visitors who enjoy a break sitting inside the Sala or on the terrace enjoying a cocktail or delicious meal.
The current decorations of the indoor space are a contemporary reinterpretation of the nineteenth-century coffee tradition. The layout is divided into two parts, which are separated by two masonry blocks - a testimony to the unification of the two buildings in the previous period. This unification became the element upon which the distribution of various functions are displayed: a full-service bar and relaxation area with sofas first introduce you to the restaurant as you walk inside, followed by the dining area in the latter half consisting of a spacious table arrangement draped in natural sunlight. The modern decorative materials, shapes and colors used in wall ornamentation and furnishings are blended in harmonious contrast with the more traditional building structure.