Owned by: Flora Katarina Dragoslava
Northern Italian and Russian cuisine and music is featured in this restaurant. Set on the local’s side of Crescent Isle, not far from Harlequin’s Walk. It is open for lunch and dinner from two in the afternoon to around one in the morning. Upstairs, was an elegant bar that was opened from five in the afternoon to three in the morning.
The first floor was split into two areas with the open kitchen in between them. One side resembled a Venice palazzo of a Renaissance style home. Flora’s family was ancient and well known in Venice, having rose to some power in that era. The floor was done in tinted marble as well as the columns. Sconces on the walls gave the light as well as illuminate the different paintings by Italian and Russian artists. They were from her private collection that her family collected. Along one wall was a mural that Alanna MacLeod did of the Venice canals to the mountain ranges of Northern Italy. If the patrons glanced up at the ceiling, they would see Alanna also painted it.
The other side resembled part of the ancient palace of the Russian tsars in St. Petersburg, Tsarskoye Selo. The rich sculptured wall ornamentation painted in azure stood out against the glistening white columns and gilt tracery.
The tables were elegantly carved and set for groups of two, four, or up to ten. If more, they could be set up to accommodate the party if a reservation is placed in advance. Elegant place settings in Renaissance styles were set. Candles in candelabras gave a soft glow over the patrons during dinner. Dinner could be served for both the human and vampire kinds.
On the second floor, there was a long bar hewn out of black marble for the top and dark wood supporting it. Stools were all around it. Tables were set up around the outskirts of the small dance floor. Here the band would come up and perform different Italian dances from the minuet, quadrille, and other formal dances to the frenzied furlana and other dances of the streets. A couple of nights, the dances and music of Russia were performed for a change. On these walls were the landscapes that Alanna painted of Northern Italy. Next to each painting was a scroll of paper that explained where Alanna painted the scene. The main sight was on the ceiling. Though not Northern Italian, Alanna painted a version of Michelangelo's painting from the ceiling in the Sistine Chapel. She bent parts of it down on the walls and continued it. Similar to the restaurant below, the bar catered to both the human and vampire kinds. Different vintages of wine were flavored with the blood of different styles (from humans, weres, Feys, and whoever else donated).
Outside in the back of the house there was a garden and small piazza set up. Complete with a small marble fountain. Here and there, hidden among the greenery, tables were set up for couples and small groups to get together under the stars and night sky.
