VENETIAN CUISINE IS ELEGANT, with exotic touches from its days as a center for trade with the Middle East. You’ll enjoy extraordinary fish from the lagoon, along with the Veneto’s outstanding wines—from enticing prosecco to rich, deep Amarone.
Traditional Dishes to Order
If you are in Venice in April or November, there are two lagoon specialties, only caught at that time: Moeche (soft-shelled crab) and Canocchie (mantis shrimp): They are what to order!
My Favorite Restaurant
It’s worth going through the challenge to find this place, near the Ponte de Tette (Bridge of Breasts), a spot where working girls once lived in Renaissance days. Now you are welcomed to this cozy, yet sophisticated dining room that serves some of the best fish you will have in Venice, along with wonderful pastas and desserts.
A Few Favorite Caffès
Hands down my favorite caffè on earth, and absolutely worth the splurge. It opened in 1720, making it Italy’s oldest caffè, and Casanova enjoyed coming here because it was the only place at the time that admitted women. It’s lovely to settle into the red velvet banquettes, and when the evening orchestra starts up, it feels like you’re in a dream world.
A cozy spot, directly across from the Frari church, that’s been around since 1870. It attracts the range from students to local nonnas, and many find themselves lingering in the upstairs salon. They serve low-priced salads, panini, and tramezzini (delicious sandwiches made with soft white bread), along with good coffee, beer on tap, and wine by the glass.
You’ll find more locals than tourists here, crowding in for what has been called the best coffee in Venice. Choice beans are masterfully roasted, and the company has expanded to a franchise, with outlets in California and Tokyo.
Bakery/Sweet Shop/Caffè
Perfectly placed between San Marco and the Rialto, this tiny bakery is jammed with locals elbowing for places at the counters. They serve excellent coffee to enjoy with a range of their goodies—from jam-stuffed cornetti to almond biscotti, artisinal chocolates, and Torta del Doge—a small cake flavored with raisins, pine nuts, and butter that makes a delicious souvenir. The smiling staff is as sweet as their creations.
Gelato
In a lively location, typically filled with a younger crowd, try the delicious Crema del Doge, flavored with bits of orange, along with excellent standards and specialties of the season.
Owner Carlo is a fanatic who gets his gelato ingredients fresh from the Rialto market every day and is always churning up flavors of the season, along with great renditions of standards.
Chocolate
Award-winning Mariangela Penzo is the master chocolatier of this shop. Her scrumptious artistic creations include chocolate flavored with pumpkin, artfully designed candies, pralines, jams, and even masks made out of chocolate. It’s a great place to snuggle into on a chilly Venice day and indulge in hot chocolate, or in warmer months enjoy their rich gelato.
Wine Bars
In the place that does everything differently, here wine bars are called bacari, the snacks are called cicchetti. A drink of wine is called an ombra, which means shade. That’s because back in the old days wine sellers in San Marco would move their carts to the shade of the Campanile to keep their wine cool, and workers would take a wine and panini break there. In warmer months, you’ll want a spritz—sparkling water, prosecco, and Aperol or Campari.
On a quiet canal in the Dorsoduro sestiere, across from a gondola workshop, this family-run nineteenth-century wine store is where old-time regulars go elbow-to-elbow with foreigners, spilling out of the tiny place to the San Trovaso bridge. Inside it’s floor to ceiling wine bottles, with a great selection of local vintages to buy. Prices are low for wines by the glass, and the cicchetti, made by Mama Gastaldi, is excellent. I had my first baccala mantecato (whipped baccala on toast) here decades ago, and have been hooked ever since.
A popular spot with the fishermen and sellers of the Rialto Market, here owners Francesco and Matteo fix up excellent ciccheti, including great vegetable selections, depending on the season, such as marinated artichokes or green beans.
Around the corner from All’Arco, you’ll find a quieter scene at the oldest wine bar in Venice, from 1462. It’s done up in dark wood, with copper pots hanging from the ceiling. Prosecco is served in old-fashioned, curvy-stemmed glasses, and there’s even the traditional wine sfuso (table wine) hosed out from barrels. Cicchetti can be pricey, with choices ranging from marinated artichoke bottoms to delicate tramezzini.
There is no menu at this wine bar/restaurant, but anyone looking for great fish (the crudo especially, is fantastic) and a wonderful selection of Veneto wines must come here. Though service can be hit or miss, the atmosphere is one big fun Venetian party.