Andrea and Max are friends and business partners.
Their partnership began in the 90s, when Andrea, between one Philosophy exam and another at Ca
‘Foscari University, lends a hand to his father Sergio and mother Luigina in the family bar in Venice.
As per tradition, the bar has a billiard room and one of the regulars is Max, who comes not for cue and skittles, but to prepare his Economics and Business exams for university. Between books, study and billiards, Andrea and Max become friends and discover a common passion, cooking. It is a coincidence that will transform their future. They then decide to open a restaurant together. After leaving their studies, they inaugurate a brewery with a small kitchen: the Taverna da Baffo. A few selected dishes, quality raw materials and a sincere welcome animated by art exhibitions, live music and poetry readings, are the restaurant’s philosophy. It is a success.
However, great is the desire to take on new challenges, such as the desire to experiment with avantgarde cuisine. So Andrea and Max after some time decide to embark on a path of growth in haute cuisine. Their paths diverge but their friendship remains.
When they see each other, Andrea and Max reflect on the culinary options available in Venice and feel the desire to bring something new into the city’s restaurant scene, offering research and avant-garde, without forgetting the specificity of the Venetian gastronomic culture.
The time is ripe, so they decide to renew their professional partnership. They fall in love with a restaurant in the shade of a wisteria, overlooking a quiet “fondamenta”, lapped by a picturesque canal, away from the bustle of tourists and gondolas. It’s perfect.
After a year of renovations, the Wistèria Restaurant opens, Andrea and Max’s new project. It is the summer of 2019. The avant-garde cuisine, which offers an innovative taste experience, immediately meets the favor of the public and critics. It is a great satisfaction that repays years of commitment, study and sacrifices.
But on the night of November 12, 2019, the terrible Acqua Granda, with 187 cm of high tide, disrups Venice and also stops the Wistèria Restaurant, which suffers serious damage and remains closed for a month.
In December Wistèria reopens and resumes its rise in the Venetian restaurant scene. In March 2020 another stop. The pandemic is overt, the lockdown is triggered. It’s a really difficult time but Andrea and Max don’t give up, they reopen as soon as possible and thanks to the enthusiasm, tenacity and professionalism of the whole team, Wistèria climbs the rankings of the most popular restaurants in Venice. The reviews and articles by sector journalists speak for themselves and there are rumors of Michelin recognition.
2021 ends under a good star and it’s Michelin. Since November Wistèria is officially a new starred restaurant in Venice.
Check out our New Year's menu and book your dinner!