I enter the kitchen to say hello to the chef and I get a quick glimpse of the fuss going on, it is almost 40 degrees over the stove and the humidity is racing higher. The phone rings as Massi moves to pick it answering with a classic scottish accent. You’ll think you are speaking to a native Scotts man, the son, manager and life of Gatto Nero is centered around a small family and at the helm of a close knit family business is Ruggero and his wife Lucia. It is a definite must if you can take a small ride to Burano and enjoy authentic and classic regional food, and don’t forget to try the Sarde in saor.

The saor is made at Gatto Nero by coating sardines with flour, frying them, and then marinating them in layers of onion and vinegar. Frying and marinating food in a sweet and sour sauce known as saor was a common method of preservation in medieval Venice.