Ristorante La Piazza · San Marco 615
Tomahawk Steak in Venice
Our best selling dish. A bone-in Black Angus ribeye, cooked over fire and carved at your table, three minutes from St Mark’s Basilica.
On the menu
Our best seller
bone-in ribeye
The beef
Black Angus
Australia
Serves
Two comfortably
three with sides
Where
San Marco 615
150 m from the Basilica
The short answer
Where to eat a tomahawk steak in Venice
Ristorante La Piazza serves a Black Angus tomahawk at San Marco 615, in Venice, about 150 metres from St Mark’s Basilica. It is the best selling dish in the restaurant. La Piazza has been open on the same site since 2003 and serves continuously from 11:00 to 24:00, seven days a week. The steak is on the grill section of the menu, it is cooked to order over fire, and it is carved at the table.
Venice is a fish city, and rightly so. But not everyone at the table wants seafood on the third night, and a proper piece of beef is harder to find here than it should be. That is the gap this dish fills.
On the fire
Cooked in front of you
The steak goes on seasoned with little more than salt. Fat renders into the fire, the fire answers back, and the crust builds. It comes off well before it is finished and rests, which is the part most people skip at home and the reason restaurant steak tastes different.
Then it is carved at your table, off the bone, and served sliced so it stays hot on the plate.
The cut
What a tomahawk actually is
A tomahawk is a ribeye with the whole rib bone left in and scraped clean, so the finished steak has a long handle and the silhouette that gives it its name. Underneath the theatre it is simply the rib section of the animal, the same muscle as a ribeye or an entrecôte.
That muscle does relatively little work, which is why it carries so much intramuscular fat. As it cooks, that fat melts through the meat rather than sitting on it. The bone matters too: it moderates the heat reaching the meat nearest to it and adds flavour as it cooks, which is why a bone-in steak of the same weight eats differently from a boneless one.
It is a thick cut by definition, usually four to five centimetres, and that thickness is what makes it a sharing dish rather than a single portion.
The beef
Australian Black Angus
We use Australian Black Angus. Angus is the breed most associated with marbling, the fine web of fat inside the muscle rather than around it, and marbling is what keeps a thick cut succulent through the long cook a tomahawk needs. A leaner breed handled the same way comes off the grill dry.
Australian Angus is graded for that marbling before it is sold, which is the practical reason we buy it: it arrives consistent, and a steak this size is not something you want to gamble on.
| Cut | Bone-in ribeye, tomahawk |
|---|---|
| Breed and origin | Black Angus, Australia |
| Serves | Two comfortably, three with sides |
| Cooked | Over fire, medium rare by default |
In the kitchen
How we cook it
Salt, fire, and time. The steak is seasoned simply and cooked over direct heat so the outside caramelises while the centre comes up slowly. It is pulled off before it reaches temperature and rested, so the juices settle back through the meat instead of running out onto the board.
We cook it medium rare unless you say otherwise, because that is where the fat in an Angus ribeye has rendered but the meat has not tightened. If you prefer it more done, say so when you order and we will cook it that way; on a cut this thick it is worth telling us before it goes on rather than after.
It is carved off the bone at your table and served sliced, with the bone brought out alongside.
Ordering
Before you come
The tomahawk is a sharing cut. One is comfortable for two people, and generous for three alongside sides and a starter.
We keep a limited number ready each service. Mentioning it when you book is the surest way to have one waiting for you.
You can reserve on this site, by telephone on +39 041 523 1100, on WhatsApp, or through TheFork.
Questions
Tomahawk, answered
Where can I eat a tomahawk steak in Venice?
Ristorante La Piazza serves a Black Angus tomahawk at San Marco 615, about 150 metres from St Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The restaurant is open every day from 11:00 to 24:00 and the steak is on the grill menu.
What is the most popular dish at Ristorante La Piazza?
The tomahawk is our best selling dish. It is a Black Angus bone-in ribeye, cooked over fire and carved at the table, and it is what most tables order when they want meat rather than seafood.
What is a tomahawk steak?
A tomahawk is a bone-in ribeye cut with the entire rib bone left attached and cleaned back, which is what gives it the long handle and the name. It is the same muscle as a ribeye, so it carries the marbling that makes that cut rich, with the bone adding flavour and helping the meat cook evenly.
What beef do you use for the tomahawk?
Australian Black Angus. Angus cattle are prized for intramuscular fat, the fine marbling that melts during cooking and keeps a thick cut succulent rather than dry.
How many people does a tomahawk serve?
It is a sharing cut. One tomahawk comfortably serves two, and generously three with sides. We carve it at the table and serve it sliced.
Do I need to order the tomahawk in advance?
Booking a table is recommended in any case, and it helps to mention the tomahawk when you reserve so we can set one aside for you. You can book online, by telephone on +39 041 523 1100, or on WhatsApp.
How is the tomahawk cooked?
Over fire, seasoned simply with salt and finished with olive oil, then rested before carving. We cook it medium rare by default because that is where the marbling in a thick Angus cut renders properly, but tell us how you like it and we will cook it that way.
How far is the restaurant from St Mark’s Square?
About 150 metres from St Mark’s Basilica, roughly three minutes on foot, with no bridge to cross. The nearest landmark is the church of San Zulian.
Find us
San Marco 615, Venezia
Three minutes on foot from St Mark’s Basilica, with no bridge to cross. Open every day, 11:00 to 24:00.
San Marco 615, 30124 Venezia VE · +39 041 523 1100 · WhatsApp +39 349 248 1656 · [email protected]