Venice Food-Restaurants

Venice Food-Restaurants information

Traditional

Antico Pignolo *** Calle dei Specchieri 451 Tel: +39 041-522-8123 This elegant restaurant occupies a building that once served as the blacksmith's shop for the Doge's Palace. Renowned for having one of the best wine cellars in the city, and one of the most decadent menus - try the risotto with black truffles for a truly memorable meal. Da Fiore *** Calle del Scaleter 2002 Tel: +39 041-721-308 Venice's top restaurant? Many would say so including numerous celebrities, but this is no cheap chance to steal a glance at the famous faces who eat here. The menu is extremely expensive and Venetian, which means fabulously prepared fish. Booking is heavily advisable. Le Bistrot de Venise *** Calle dei Fabbri Tel: +39 041-523-6651 Not too far from St Mark's Square the Bistrot de Venise offers some fabulous traditionally Venetian fare. The usual fish options are on offer, scallops, squid and sardines, but the most intriguing aspect is the menu of dishes from the 14th century onwards. You can find such anachronistic combinations as baked quail risotto (17th century) followed by sea bass with pomegranate (15th century). Osteria Al Bacco ** Cannaregio 3054 Tel: +39 041-721-415 Off the tourist track but well worth seeking out for the excellent and very fishy menu. Not regarded as the height of fashion but good food at reasonable prices means tables aren't always easy to come by. Antico Martini *** Campo San Fantin Tel: +39 041-523-7027 Not far from La Fenice the Antico Martini is another of Venice's top-quality restaurants. Set in a peaceful square not far from St Mark's Square it makes a nice change from the main tourist magnets. The al fresco terrace is a fantastic place to tuck into the Venetian style food. Il Sole Sulla Vecia Cavana ** Rio Tera' SS Apostoli 4624 Tel: +39 041-528-7106 Il Sole Vecia Cavana offers a contemporary menu that stays close to its Venetian roots, with favourites such as salt cod and cuttlefish featuring highly. The setting is perfect, elegant and modern, in a square near to the Rialto Bridge. Ai Gondolieri *** Dorsoduro 366 Tel: +39 041-528-6396 So upmarket it has its own bridge and famously serving no fish, Gondolieri is definitely not a place for the thin walleted. The food has some international influence although Italian fare is in the majority. Taverna la Fenice ** Campiello de la Fenice Tel: +39 041-522-3856 A rare thing - a reasonably priced restaurant in shouting distance of St Mark's Square. Fish, fish and more fish still wet from the sea is served up in this elegant restaurant. Prices range across the menu from pasta to lovingly prepared seafood specialities. Trattoria Alla Madonna * Calle de la Maddona Tel: +39 041-522-3824 Popular family run restaurant that caters to Venetians as well as tourists who happen upon it. You can eat very reasonably here with grilled fish, fresh from the slabs at the Rialto market being a speciality. Ristorante Pizzeria Malibran ** Cannaregio 5864 Tel: +39 041-296-0768 Tucked away just round the corner from the Rialto Bridge, the Malibran is a friendly spot offering a good choice of home-style cuisine ranging from seafood and meat dishes to pizza and pasta. Slightly off the beaten track, the restaurant isn't as obviously touristy as some establishments, reflected in the thoughtful service and traditional décor.

Indian

Shri Ganesh ** Rio Marin, Ponte del Cristo Tel: +39 041-719-804 The only Indian restaurant in Venice and, as such, an ever present in any guide. The result is that Shri Ganesh is often full of tourists who have seemingly come to Italy just to try the curries. Quite a wise move as it happens, the food is excellent and inexpensive.

Jewish

Gam-Gam ** Cannaregio 1122, Sottoportego del Ghetto Vechio Tel: +39 041-715-2284 A popular kosher restaurant at the entrance to Venice's old Jewish ghetto. Gam-Gam's menu mixes up Italian, Jewish and Israeli influences with delicious results. Closed on Friday and Saturday evenings.

Bars

Like the rest of Italy Venice has an extremely healthy café-bar culture. The city was one of the earliest gateways to the West for the coffee trade and Venetians have been addicted to the drink since the first boats arrived with the precious commodity in the harbours. If you can't see a café-bar believe us, there will be one round the next corner. It doesn't come cheap however. Everyone wants to have a coffee on St Mark's Square and the prices reflect this high demand. Off the main tourist drags the bars and cafés are a lot more reasonably priced but, even if coming from costly cities such as Paris and London, prepare to be flabbergasted when the check arrives. Below is a mixture of the bastions of Venice café culture and some alternative bars you might like to check out. Harry's Bar Calle Vallaresso, San Marco Tel: +39 041-528-5777 Perhaps not top dog among Venice bars anymore but Harry's is definitely the best known of Venice's celebrity haunts. Hemingway and Gore Vidal are just two former patrons of the bar. Cocktails and expensive food, plus a packed booking list draw an exclusive clientele. Caffé Florian Piazza San Marco, 56 Tel: +39 041-520-5641 You can't miss the Caffé Florian, Venice's top pavement café. Sitting in Saint Mark's Square, Florian offers overpriced drinks, snacks and pastries to tourists and well to the locals. Well worth paying the extra for the experience, especially if you can grab an outdoor table on the square. Al Volto Calle Cavalli (near Campo S. Luca), San Marco Tel: +39 041-522-8945 If wine's your bag then you can do a lot worse than head for Al Volto and its cosy wood-panelled, wine-label wallpapered interior. The ambience is lively, the wine list hits over a thousand different varieties and you can even get a bottle that won't leave you gasping when you see the bill - a true rarity in Venice. Gran Caffé Quadri Piazza San Marco 120 Tel: +39 041-522-2105 Whereas everyone knows the name of the Florian, few visitors know the Caffé Quadri, St Mark's Square's other grand café, before they arrive. In fact the two rivals are just as good as each other, it's the location you're paying for after all. Again grab yourself an outside table and enjoy coffee, beers, wines and snacks in the stylish ambience of the piazza and think of Proust who used to drink here. Fiddler's Elbow Corte dei Pali, Canareggio 3847 Tel: +39 041-523-9930 In the canareggio this Irish bar is a surprising hit with locals as well as with the tourists who chance upon it. Although you may think that the last thing you might want to do on a trip to Venice is dive into a mock Irish bar the "Elbow" is a great place to come in summer, when music and dancing fill the square outside. Martini Scala San Marco 1980 Tel: +39 041-522-4121 This piano bar adjoining a restaurant is an upmarket haunt of the opera loving set (La Fenice Opera House was just round the corner). A stylishly expensive place to play the suave and sophisticated Venetian, and continue the spending trend into the night.