Venice, April 2023 – JW Marriott Venice Resort & SPA, part of Marriott International, is happy to announce the reopening of the gourmet restaurant Dopolavoro under the direction of Emanuele and Michela Scarello, from “Agli Amici 1887” restaurant in Udine, 2 stars in the Michelin Guide Italy 2023.

Led by a cuisine philosophy deeply connected to what the island and the lagoon have to offer, the restaurant named “Agli Amici Dopolavoro” welcomes its guests starting from April 6 in an environment with a sophisticated atmosphere, enriched by surprising architectural details dating back to the 1920s and an innovative menu, with green and sustainable proposals from the vegetable and marine world.

Agli Amici Dopolavoro joins the Scarello family's restaurants in Godia (Udine) - Agli Amici - and in Rovinj (Istria, Croatia) - Agli Amici Rovigno - and, like the latter, will bring on the motto "today is the day" that has underpinned the Scarello family's hospitality philosophy for over 135 years, meaning "preparing for each lunch and dinner well in advance to welcome guests as if each time was a special occasion, to be celebrated", in order to make guests feel at home, offering them an unforgettable experience.

“We are extremely proud and happy to welcome to our Resort, at the glorious Dopolavoro restaurant, Chef Emanuele Scarello and his sister and great sommelier Michela. A further step in establishing the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa as an attractive destination in the Venetian culinary scene” says Cristiano Cabutti, general manager of the hotel. "The collaboration with 'Agli Amici' is a unique opportunity to explore new gastronomic territories with products coming directly from our garden and lagoon, so that we can create exceptional moments that leave a lasting impression. We are thrilled to work together to enhance our culinary proposal and offer an extraordinary, localized experience to our customers. We look forward to discovering their dishes and experiencing new flavours together."

With a dedicated access via boat through a private dock, surrounded by the lush greenery of the island, Agli Amici Dopolavoro sets a culinary offer utilizing the best of the local production in terms of economic and biologic sustainability. Chef Emanuele Scarello leads his restaurants following the same philosophy, so he can create unique menus, impossible to replicate elsewhere, given their strong connection with the local environment.

At the new Agli Amici Dopolavoro Chef Scarello proposes two tasting menus, built around Venice’s and the lagoon’s specific features, a destination where sustainability must be taken in consideration to preserve its delicate balance. The Isola delle Rose, thanks to its strategic position between the lagoon and the sea, as well as to the breezes that generate a mild and beneficial climate the island boasts a wealth of plants that cannot be found anywhere else in Venice. These include an olive grove with a hundred plants from which the island's olive oil is produced and served at the tables of the resort’s restaurant. In addition to the magnificent olive grove, the resort also houses a vegetable garden next to Dopolavoro restaurant, fruit trees as well as a wonderful cultivation of roses, eponymous of the island.

The two tasting menus are dedicated to the vegetable garden and to the lagoon, with an offering strongly focused around vegeterian and pesceterian options, with one only meat dish. All the fish served won’t be sourced from fish farmings, so that the seasonality of the products available can be prioritize, in order to be constantly in touch with the local area.

From the vegetable garden and the plant world come the botanical proposals: artichoke, asparagus, carletti (the Friulian sclopit) and bruscandoli. On the menu, unusual combinations and flavors that are traditionally offered with meat will instead be paired with fish. It is a greater challenge for Chef Scarello to propose a varied, refined and richly flavored cuisine without meat dishes but focusing mainly on the vegetable world.

"Agli Amici Dopolavoro is a small restaurant with a large vegetable garden in the Venice lagoon." Comments Chef Emanuele Scarello "Venice and its lagoon form an incredible whole, the result of a dynamic process where the man work and the natural ecosystem blend seamlessly, influencing each other. This process is reflected in a stratification of knowledge and traditions that we want to re-propose in our cuisine, with an elaboration of products deliberately and closely linked to the environment that welcomes us. The intention is to offer an experience that fully expresses the uniqueness of the Venetian lagoon, enhancing its exquisitely indigenous products."

Entering the restaurant, guests are welcomed into a large room with an open cellar, a beautiful bar counter and a large window overlooking the vegetable garden, so that they can embrace at a glance all the inspirations behind the menu that they will then be able to taste. The team, both in the kitchen and in the dining room, is new and young, just as in Godia and in the restaurant in Rovinj: a symbol of the Scarello family's commitment to the new generations, with whom they challenge and face the future by entrusting them with such an important heritage of knowledge and tradition.

"We are thrilled to inaugurate our second home outside Friuli-Venezia Giulia region," says Agli Amici sommelier Michela Scarello, "and honored to bring our philosophy to this place of great potential, which stimulates us from all points of view. The greeting, which for us represents the first step in the culinary experience we wish to offer our guests, will be unique. Being welcomed into a large room with an open cellar and bar counter, with a large window overlooking the vegetable garden and the lagoon, guests will immediately have before them all the springs of what will be their journey with us, with wine, food, the sea and the vegetable garden."

Emanuele Scarello, born in 1970, is passionate about the sea as well as cooking, and grew up in the restaurant that belonged to his family for generations: a Friulian hospitality story for over 135 years. The pleasure of sharing knowledge has allowed him to imprint a unique and personal character to his cuisine, made of local ingredients and contemporary taste. Together with Emanuele and Michela Scarello, a sommelier with a passion for minor winemakers and forgotten vines in the area, as well as the restaurant's hostess, they have been running the kitchen, reception, service and wine cellar of "Agli Amici" in Godia for almost twenty years, to which they added "Agli Amici Rovigno" in June 2021 and now "Agli Amici Dopolavoro" at the JW Marriott Venice Resort&Spa.

Agli Amici Dopolavoro www.dopolavororestaurant.com

Open from 06 April from Tuesday to Sunday, from 18:30 to 22:30.

For reservations Agli Amici Dopolavoro Restaurant - Laguna di San Marco, VE | OpenTable

Telephone: +39 041-8521300

E-mail: fb.venice@marriott.com

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JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa

Located on Venice's private Isola delle Rose, with St Mark's Square easily accessible via shuttle boat, the JW Marriott Venice Resort & Spa is the ultimate luxury experience for discerning travellers. The combination of expansive, lush green areas and a refined restoration by renowned architect Matteo Thun, along with attentive service and the finest dining and wellness experiences, makes Isola delle Rose a serene retreat from which to easily explore the beauty of Venice without sacrificing the luxury of a resort. Opened in 2015, the resort consists of 266 rooms and elegant suites, 4 restaurants - including Chef Scarello's Agli Amici Dopolavoro - and 4 bars offering international and local cuisine, the JW Venice Spa in collaboration with Bakel, a private church for scenic events, children's clubs and family activities, water sports, a rooftop lounge with a swimming pool and views of Venice, lush green areas and the Sapori Cooking Academy, for gourmets who want an authentically Venetian experience and atmosphere. The JW Marriott Venice is online, on Instagram and on Facebook.

About JW Marriott Hotels & Resorts  

JW Marriott is part of Marriott International’s luxury portfolio of brands and consists of beautiful properties and distinctive resort locations around the world. JW Marriott is a tribute to the founder of Marriott International, J. Willard “J.W.” Marriott, who prioritized his own well-being so that he could take better care of others. Inspired by his approach to life and rooted in holistic well-being, JW Marriott properties offer a haven designed to allow guests to focus on feeling whole – present in mind, nourished in body, and revitalized in spirit – through programs and offerings that encourage them to come together and experience every moment to the fullest. Today there are more than 100 JW Marriott hotels in more than 35 countries and territories worldwide that cater to sophisticated, mindful travelers who come seeking experiences that help them be fully present, foster meaningful connections and feed the soul. Visit JW Marriott online, and on Instagram and Facebook. JW Marriott is proud to participate in Marriott Bonvoy®, the global travel program from Marriott International. The program offers members an extraordinary portfolio of global brands, exclusive experiences on Marriott Bonvoy Moments and unparalleled benefits including free nights and Elite status recognition. To enroll for free or for more information about the program, visit marriottbonvoy.com 

Agli Amici

Agli Amici - From the great-great-grandfather Umberto to Michela and Emanuele, the Agli Amici restaurant in Godia (Udine) is a five-generation family history that is doubly tied to family values, love for its territory and its products, hospitality, homage to tradition and innovative drive. Agli Amici has been continuously evolving for over 135 years: opened in 1887 as a colonial and tobacco shop, in the 1950s it became a trattoria serving Emilian specialities, until the 1970s, when it began its transformation into the restaurant it is today, under the leadership of Emanuele and Michela Scarello. Two Michelin Stars (the first since 2000 and the second since 2013), and three Forks in the Gambero Rosso Guide to Italian Restaurants, Agli Amici is also the first Relais & Chateaux in Friuli-Venezia Giulia. The sign "Hic manebimus optime" welcomes guests at the entrance and encapsulates the philosophy of cuisine and hospitality of the Scarello family, whose motto is "today is the day", being - as it has been every day for more than 130 years - the desire of "Agli Amici" is to make guests feel at home, offering them an unforgettable experience.As of 2021, Agli Amici is also in Rovinj (Istria, Croatia) with "Agli Amici Rovigno", the first Relais outside Italy. Opened on 22 June 2021, the restaurant was awarded its First Star in the Michelin Guide Croatia not even three months after opening. Agli Amici Rovigno was born from the close partnership with the Maistra Hospitality Group, and is located in the beautiful space between the Grand Park Hotel Rovinj and the Marina, overlooking the sea with its scenic terrace.

Press Contacts:

Sara Migliore, Director of Communications Italy, Marriott International | sara.migliore@marriott.com

Domenica Maruzzo, PR Manager Italy, Marriott International | domenica.maruzzo@marriott.com

Ludovica Lambertenghi, PR Executive Italy, Marriott International | ludovica.lambertenghi@marriott.com

Costanza Giustiniani, PR Executive Italy, Marriott International | costanza.giustiniani@marriott.com