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Eat & Drink
It is amazing that a city that depends practically solely on boat deliveries can have such a good amount of restaurants, osterias and trattorias with such outstanding food. Given its seaside location, you can expect excellent fish and seafood, including Granseola, a local type of spider crab. And if you want to savor great Italian pasta, Venice is the perfect place to combine it all, by trying some spaghetti alle vongole (clams) or any other with seafood such as lobster or scampi. A pleasant Venetian custom in the evenings is to have some ciccheti, or bites to eat, with an aperitivo at a bacaro (bar), where you will find mostly a local clientele. Here we recommend our favorite places to eat and drink, so that your stay in enchanting Venice can be complete with an outstanding culinary experience.
This delightful little gem, tucked away in a small alley, is quite difficult to find, but the lines at the front give away not only its location but the assurance that good food is being prepared there. To appease your appetite while you wait outside for your table, waiters bring out to the alley pans with small dishes containing typical starters like gnocchi or a… Read more »
Probably one of your best meals in Venice would be at the Antiche Carampane, specialized in seafood, for which the city is famous, but with a modern twist. It is not exactly a fancy or fashionable restaurant, but rather a relaxed and lively family run setting that has become famous for its excellent quality of food. The menu changes regularly, given that they focus on… Read more »
This family run pasticceria has been around for quite some time, according to the family’s own account for over a century. It is a traditional pastry-making venue, an ideal place to stop for coffee and cakes, but they also sell chocolates and other sweets. There is more than one shop in town nowadays, we stopped more than once at the one conveniently located on the… Read more »
The Fiore has become a well-known venue in Venice, and even though it carries Osteria in its name, it is actually more of a distinguished Michelin starred restaurant serving traditional food with a modern twist. We were lucky enough to find available the seasonal granseola (crab meat) for starter, a Venetian delicacy not easily found in some seasons. Main courses included a delicious cod as… Read more »
Marciana was a good surprise for our lunch near Piazza San Marco, an area understandably surrounded by tourist traps. This small eatery, just steps away from the famous piazza and an unpretentious modern flair, delivers very good food, considering its location. We started with some vongole pasta, prosciutto and melon, and scampi (prawns) in purple onion, all appetizing. Following the starters, we had fun with parpadelle… Read more »
Osteria alle Testieri is in almost all experts’ lists when they talk about Venice, but do not expect a starred restaurant with in vogue spheres and foams. This osteria has been operating for decades and has a traditional bias in its offerings. The menu depends on the day since the Testieri cooks whatever comes fresh from the markets. In general you can find different kinds… Read more »
Da Raffaele is a traditional Venetian restaurant with typical food and a lovely canal front terrace, perfect for outdoor seating, weather allowing. The ambiance is cozy with objects on walls, wooden furniture, flowers on the balcony and delightfully tranquil canal views. Everything we ordered was tasteful and delicious, the Zuppe de Cozze (the Italian version of Moules et Frites), the carbonara (one of the best… Read more »