Restaurants in Venice
While Venice's cuisine can't compare with many Italian
destinations, it does have some wonderful restaurants featuring the
cuisine of the Veneto. Near the Rialto Bridge, there is a string of
restaurants with tables along the canal, where you can enjoy the
quintessential Venice practice of dining by the canal lights. The
Dorsoduro area of has the highest concentration of places where
locals, especially students, go to eat.
One of Venice's celebrated meal components is cuttlefish and its
ink. This powerful black ink serves as an ingredient and a sauce in
polenta (corn meal), risotto (rice), and pasta dishes. Despite the
intensity in colour, the ink has an unexpectedly mild taste. Also
popular in Venetian restaurants and bars is cicchetti (Italian
tapas), which is usually made up of small servings of fish, little
sandwiches, plates of olives or even very small servings of regular
full course meals.
For fresh fruit, including chilled coconut, visit the street
market stalls. If self-catering, the Rialto food markets are the
best place to find fruit, vegetables and cheese, and a definite for
the huge range of seafood, most of it fresh out of the lagoon.
Travellers looking for authentic Venetian cuisine and prices
should avoid establishments with menus in six different languages
displayed in the windows and rather head away from the tourist
centre to look for quaint and welcoming eateries ticked away in the
cities' nooks and crannies.
| Ristorante Quadri |
$$$$$ | International |
Oozing with old-fashioned romance and elegance coupled with
breathtaking views across St Mark's Square, Ristorante Quadri lays
it on thick when it comes to fine dining and style. Try the
Sea-bass puff pastry marinated in vinegar, white wine and basil
with baby spinach, cherry tomatoes and mustard, or the Beef fillet
steak rolled in Colonnata lard with black truffle and Pioppini
mushrooms. This restaurant might be perceived as being kitsch, but
it definitely doesn't disappoint. Open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch
and dinner. Closed Monday. Reservations essential.
Address: Piazza San Marco 120
E-mail: quadri@quadrivenice.com
Telephone: (041) 522 2105
| Vino Vino |
$$$$$ | Italian |
Located next to the Antico Martini, Vino Vino is a wine
bar-cum-restaurant boasting the largest selection of top-quality
Italian and imported wines. The food's not bad either, where dishes
such as octopus salad, rabbit baked with thyme, veal stew and
braised beef in Barolo wine, are paired with a delicious selection
of wines. Specials can be found scrawled on the blackboard or
displayed under the glass counter. Open daily for lunch and dinner.
Reservations not accepted.
Address: San Marco 2007, On Ponte delle Veste
E-mail: vinovino@anticomartini.com
Telephone: (041) 241 7688
| Trattoria Altanella |
$$$$$ | Local |
Trattoria Altanella has been in the same family for over a
hundred years and the French president, François Mitterrand,
used to dine here whenever he was in Venice. However, the real
attraction to this ambient
trattoria is the sumptuous
gnocchi, which is homemade and served with tomatoes or
nero di sepia (squid ink).
Address: Calle delle Erbe, 268, Giudecca
Telephone: (041) 522 7780
| Antico Martini |
$$$$$ | Venetian |
Popular with tourists and featuring grand paintings that occupy
entire walls, Persian carpets and beautiful views onto the square
of the Fenice theatre, Antico Martini is one of the oldest
restaurants in Venice, steeped in almost 300 years' history. The
superb cuisine will not disappoint and is always made form the
freshest ingredients. Open Thursday to Monday for lunch and
Wednesday to Monday for dinner. Reservations essential.
Address: Campo San Fantin (on the same square as La Fenice opera house)
Telephone: (041) 522 4121
| Trattoria alla Rivetta |
$$$$$ | Seafood |
This bustling seafood eatery serves some of the most authentic
Venetian cuisine and for the right price. Locals and tourists alike
flock to this restaurant for delicious pastas, seafood and other
mouth-watering Italian fare. Even in off-season there can be a
waiting list. Open from Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner.
Closed Mondays. Reservation recommended.
Address: Castello 4625, Salizzada San Provolo
Telephone: (041) 528 7302
| Ca' d'Oro Alla Vedova |
$$$$$ | Italian |
Located away from Venice's tourists hub, you know Alla Vedova
must be good because this is where all the locals eat. With marble
counters, charismatic furniture, a cosy atmosphere and some of the
tastiest Venetian cuisine in town, diners can feast on dishes such
as the delicately grilled cuttlefish
cicchetti,
pastisso de radicio rosso (lasagna with sausage, radicchio,
and béchamel sauce).
Address: Calle del Pistor, Cannaregio
Telephone: (041) 528 5324
| Grand Canal |
$$$$$ | Local |
Located in Calle Vallaresso, this elegant restaurant belongs to
the Hotel Monaco and Grand Canal, and serves traditional Venetian
cuisine, including seafood and fresh vegetables. Celebrities such
as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been spotted dining here and,
only a few metres from the Vaporetto stop, the location is both
convenient and appealing, with a very romantic terrace to sit
on.
Address: Hotel Monaco, Calle Vallaresso, 1325
Telephone: (041) 520 0211
| Ristorante Ai Quattro Rusteghi |
$$$$$ | Venetian |
The airy spaciousness of this Venetian restaurant owned by the
local Rossi family, coupled with its wonderfully varied menu
creates a wonderful dining experience. Located in the heart of the
local 'Ghetto' of the Cannaregio district, this eatery is popular
with both locals and tourists alike. Try the delicious homemade
pastas with mouth-watering sauces, or the
gondola, fish
baked with tomatoes, olives, capers, potatoes, and white wine in
parchment paper and then folded to look like a gondola. Indoor and
outdoor dining available. Open daily for lunch and dinner.
Address: Campo del Ghetto Novo, Canareggio 2888
E-mail: info@aiquattrorusteghi.com
Telephone: (041) 715 160
| Cantinone-già Schiavi |
Italian |
This essential Venice restaurant is famous for its great wine
selection from the Veneto region and for its flagship dish,
cicchetti (Italian tapas) made up of wedges of
Mortadella sausage speared with curly, piquant Tuscan peppers and
crostini topped with creamy tuna and shredded leeks.
Cantinone-già Schiavi's lively atmosphere and warm and
friendly locals is what Venice dining is all about. Travellers will
love the food, prices and authentic Italian cuisine at one of
Venice's best kept secrets.
Address: 992 Fondamenta San Trovaso
Telephone: (041) 523 0034
| La Cantina |
$$$$$ | Italian |
Not somewhere many tourists would know about, unless escorted
here by a local, La Cantina is run and owned by the passionate
Francesco who is temperamental yet obsessive about food. Come here
for some indulgent and lip-smacking crostini piled with tongue,
chopped pickle, smoked ricotta and layers of fresh horseradish
shavings, washed down with a glass of local wine. Open when the
owner feels like it.
Address: Campo San Felice, Cannaregio
Telephone: (041) 522 8258
| Il Refolo |
$$$$$ | Pizzeria |
This cosy pizzeria is located alongside the canal where diners
can pull in their boats in, sit under an umbrella at a shady table
and feast on homemade crusted pies filled with roasted figs with
prosciutto, amongst other exotic flavour combinations. Open for
lunch and dinner from April to October.
Address: 1459 Santa Croce, Campo San Giacomo dall'Orio
Telephone: (041) 524 0016
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