American restaurant, a completely new cuisine for Venice, which has its roots in an already established and well-known local restaurant.
The idea comes from two young chefs who, in a few years, have worked in some of the most important kitchens in Europe. They both share, along with the one for food, a deep love for Venice.
But why Latin-American cuisine?
Marco tells us: “During our studies, Silvia and I attended our courses with many Latin-American students, and we fell in love with their cuisine. We traveled to a lot of their countries, and a great number of chefs we have worked for came from South-America. For this reason, we decided to bring our experience to Venice, to Bacán. And we are having so much fun with it!”
Bacán is a fresh, young, elegant, both international and intimate place. The view on the open kitchen allows for a natural connection between the guests and the chefs. Meticulous attention was given to every aspect of the restaurant: the selection of raw materials, the plating, the furniture and the sculpted design of the walls. The whole ensemble has the guests traveling to a faraway culture, ready to be discovered – or better, tasted.
Silvia and Marco
Silvia Rozas and Marco Zambon are the young and innovative couple that brought a new breeze to the culinary landscape of the lagoon, gifting Venice and its most curious gourmands with refined ethnic cuisine.
Bacán opened its doors last May and immediately gathered everyone’s attention and approval for the quality and careful choice of both products and menu. Along with the typical dishes from Latin America Bacán also offers a rich selection of signature cocktails and Mezcal.
The two chefs crossed paths during a professional training experience at the Basque Culinary Center in San Sebastian, the most prestigious culinary training center in Spain. From then on they shared numerous professional adventures in some of the most important kitchens in Europe (among which Noma and Osteria Francescana) until Marco’s origins took him and Silvia, who is actually from Bilbao, back to his home, in Venice.
It is the right occasion to rethink the offer and format of Marco’s family’s restaurant, the historical Birraria La Corte in campo San Polo (where, in our opinion, you can eat one of the best pizzas of the lagoon, but not only). Birraria reopens then under a new light, more contemporary, with biological wines and gourmet pizzas.
Silvia and Marco still feel the push and determination to stimulate the palates of Venetians with a restaurant and menu that has never been seen before in the city’s calli. That is how Bacán is born, from the chefs’ relevant culinary experiences: it is an ethnic and convivial jewel, both in its dishes and its design, close to the heart of Venice. It is a place that carefully handles the tradition and culture of past and current South-American generations by looking at it from a new, different angle.
Bacán
As of today the restaurant offers a selection of eleven dishes. Marco tells us about the origins of the meals and the approach they had when they opened the restaurant: “Our menu is based on dishes coming from different countries of Latin-America, like Peru, Mexico, Ecuador, and many others. We make great ceviche, and also tacos, quesadilla, and enchilada.” The two chefs are also eager to remind us that they are extremely attentive when it comes to choosing raw materials of the right quality: “Everything we cook is based on ingredients that grow here, in the lagoon, or in surrounding regions, like in the Dolomites. All of our dishes can be accompanied by cocktails we created ourselves, of course using spirits coming directly from Latin-America, with a preference for Mezcal and spirits distilled from Agave.” The cocktails are indeed another piece of resistance of the restaurant, as they mirror its colors and atmosphere, which you can only find in Bacán.
The most typical and original characteristic of the place is undoubtedly the ethnic design and the international atmosphere: “Our restaurant’s architecture is based on a colonial palace’s facade, with arches and windows that put into communication the kitchen and entryway to an internal and external courtyard.” Although, at first sight, as you enter Bacán’s courtyard, what catches your attention is the characteristically wonderful hydroponic tree embellishing the heart of the restaurant. “All the work we put into it, with rammed earth coming from Italy, pays off by creating the sensation of being in a natural, sustainable ambient, submerged into Latin-American and Mexican design.”
Silvia, Marco, and the kind staff’s motto is “happiness, enthusiasm and positivity”, a symbol of Bacán’s own name.
Hours:
Mon – Sat
Restaurant: 7 p.m. – 11 p.m.
Mezcaleria: 11 p.m. – 1 a.m.
Reservations:
+39 346 075 0952
[email protected]