There are plenty of reasons to visit Venice—including this year’s film festival, which kicked off earlier this week—but if you ask the average tourist who hasn’t traveled far beyond St. Mark’s Square, the general consensus is that the food isn’t one of them. With its labyrinthine canals and alleyways, grand palazzos, and masterful art and architecture, it’s easy to lose yourself in this ethereal city, whether on your first visit or your twelfth. Chances are, though, you’ll come thudding back to earth at dinnertime.
You may have to work to find a bad meal in other parts of Italy, but in Venice, it’s easy to spend the equivalent cost of an entire day of spectacular eating in Rome on a single mediocre (at best) main course. Simple math can explain the abundance of tourist traps over the sort of high-quality, local spots you’re hoping for: Vacationers outnumber Venice’s 60,000 residents by a ratio of more than 330 to 1.
With so many restaurants catering to tourists, the usual tricks for separating the culinary wheat from the chaff don’t apply—multi-language menus and locations smack in the middle of the most-visited areas aren’t necessarily the dead giveaways they would be elsewhere.
Still, there are gems hiding in plain sight and ways to find them. For starters, if the menu reads like a playlist of Italian greatest hits, keep walking; you’re best to leave culinary stereotypes such as pizza to Naples and Rome (wood-fire ovens are mostly banned in Venice). As with each region in Italy, Venice has its own foodie traditions—many are seafood-based, from tiny prawns fresh from the lagoon to crisp tangles of fritto misto (platters of mixed fried seafood and vegetables), while cicchetti, found in Venetian bacari (wine bars), are a centuries-old answer to tapas.
Here, find nine great places for dining among the locals.
Photo: Courtesy of All’Arco1/9All’Arco
Around the corner—or the perfect cicchetti crawl distance—from Do Mori, All’Arco offers none of its neighbor’s ambiance but all of its local cred. Fight your way to the linoleum counter for bread heaped with prosciutto or topped with a generous smear of creamy, truffle-laced cheese, or more of that delicious salt cod. And as with most tiny bacari, All’Arco is standing room only.
Photo: Courtesy of Cantina Do Mori2/9Cantina Do Mori
With its wood-paneled bar and ancient wine barrels, Venice’s oldest wine bar—Do Mori has been in continuous operation for more than 550 years—looks very much its age. But that’s exactly why it’s worth a visit. Located steps from the Rialto Bridge, the bar here spans a full block, and it’s crammed from morning to night with market vendors and tourists alike. Take your pick of crostini topped with several varieties of whipped salt cod, or delicacies such as lardo and anchovies. There’s a by-the-glass wine list that crosses the spectrum from Prosecco to pricey Amarone and Barolo.
Photo: Courtesy of Osteria da Alberto3/9Osteria da Alberto
Think of the server’s recitation of the daily specials as a public service announcement. While the menu at this cozy restaurant—antique cooking pots hang from the wood-beamed ceilings and the walls are lined with bottles of wine and olive oil—includes classics like squid ink spaghetti, you’ll be dreaming about dishes such as lagoon prawns tossed with zucchini blossoms and tomatoes (or whatever else is in season or fresh from the water) weeks after your visit.
Photo: Courtesy of Ostaria Boccadoro4/9Ostaria Boccadoro
The food at elegant, arty Ostaria Boccadoro is best described as modern with a Venetian heart. While seafood reigns supreme here, as it does all over the city, it shines in chef Luciano Orlandi’s bright, simple crudi: sea bass, tuna, and the like plated with lashings of olive oil and crunchy sea salt and pops of fresh strawberry, citrus, and other lively pairings. Seafood pasta dishes, from spaghetti and clams to light-as-air gnocchi with crab, are winners, too.
Courtesy of Al Vecio Marangon5/9Al Vecio Marangon
Tucked away in a quiet corner off Dorsoduro’s main thoroughfare, Al Vecio Marangon’s relaxed atmosphere and reasonable prices make it a particularly popular spot for Venetian locals in the know. If you’re looking to try squid ink pasta with cuttlefish, you’ve found the right place—and while it directly contradicts the previous advice not to venture outside of local dishes while in Venice, Al Vecio Marangon makes one of the city’s best lasagnas also.
Photo: Courtesy of Osteria alle Testiere6/9Osteria alle Testiere
Located down an alleyway off Campo Santa Maria de Formosa, Osteria alle Testiere’s unassuming locale—even walking past of an evening with the lights on, it’s easy to miss—makes it the very definition of a hidden treasure. With just 20 seats, this discrete restaurant serves up some of the best seafood the city has to offer, purchased from the Rialto market each morning, with both refined takes on Venetian staples and more inventive twists on the regional cuisine, like the spectacular gnocchetti with baby calamari.
Courtesy of Osteria alla Bifora7/9Osteria alla Bifora
Situated in the heart of Campo Santa Margherita, the square popular with students that features the only bars in the city likely to stay open past 10 p.m., Osteria alla Bifora has a warm, convivial atmosphere—and one that appeals year-round, with a large outdoor seating area for warm summer nights, and a cozy interior dimly lit by Murano glass chandeliers. The order of the day here are enormous charcuterie and cheese platters, to be soaked up with plenty of alla Bifora’s homemade bread.
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Courtesy of Anice Stellato8/9Anice Stellato
Located near the Jewish Ghetto, it’s a worthy trek to this warm, country-chic osteria. Sure, the menu may be virtually identical to countless other restaurants around the city—most a much closer walk than the northern edge of Cannaregio—but as they say, it’s all in the execution: Fried in light tempura batter, the greaseless fritto misto is nothing short of perfection, while spaghetti alla busara—scampi and spaghetti in a kickier-than-usual tomato sauce—will ruin you for all the rest.
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Courtesy of Trattoria da’a Marisa9/9Trattoria da’a Marisa
It’s highly likely you’ll need to put on your walking shoes to make it to Trattoria da’a Marisa, which is located at the very furthest western end of the quiet, neighborhood-y sestiere of Cannareggio. But the food is worth the trek: with no menu, you’ll be served up whatever is going that day as a three-course meal, from zingy fried fish to homemade tagliatelle to rich game stews. Particularly popular as a lunchtime spot for local students and workers—the price, even with wine and water, typically comes to under 20 euros per person—it’s Venetian home cooking at its most authentic.
