Restaurants in Venice

An article on Venice restaurants is a must read, especially if you are the kind of traveler that loves trying local food! Don’t you think?

If you’re like us, you believe that you can’t visit a destination without trying also its food.

There are two ways to do so:

Either you have local friends who are happy to cook for you…

or

you try to find good and authentic restaurants in Venice!

Since few people have Venetian friends willing to cook for them, we thought we should share a few insights on Venice restaurants and other places where to eat and drink.

To know which restaurants in Venice we recommend, where they are, and what food to expect, check out the links below.

Our articles will help you in your search for good and authentic restaurants in Venice. They will also give you information about what to expect from a traditional Venetian restaurant, and explain the difference between restaurants, bacari, and bars.

In a hurry or looking for something specific? Use the interactive index below to jump to the topic which interests you most

• Last but not least, our article about traditional Venetian cuisine, so you know what to try at local restaurants in Venice!
• If you’re looking for a list of restaurants in Venice, we’ve got you covered: a whole section on our website with our selection of restaurants, bars, wine bars, coffee shops, and more.
• Where are our favorite restaurants in Venice and other places where to eat and drink? Find them on our interactive map!

Why are we providing so much information about restaurants in Venice? Well, because there are all sorts of quality and prices in Venice!

We think it’s important for you to have the tools to decide whether to spend for fine cuisine or to have good food at good prices, and make sure you to avoid both spending little in exchange for bad food and, even worse, to be spending lots and have bad food anyway!

To know more about restaurants in Venice, read on!

Despite the fact that Venice has less than 53.000 inhabitants [Feb 2019], yes, there are hundreds of restaurants in Venice!

However, the common word “restaurant” is here used to indicate a broad variety of places that serve food.

Places serving food are generically referred to as “restaurants”, but actually have specific names in Italian. In Venice, you will find ristoranti, osterie, and taverne, as well as trattorie and pizzerie.

Traditionally, ristorante, osteria and taverna were used to indicate the kind of food and service the place offered: A “ristorante” was a formal restaurant, a “trattoria” was a restaurant that served dishes of the local cuisine, and a “taverna” was a restaurant that served dishes of the local cuisine in a very rustic ambient.

Today, however, the name says little about the type of food, ambient, and service the “restaurant” provides.

Since Venice offers both traditional wine bars that offer simple meals, as well as Michelin starred restaurants with a view on Saint Mark’s square, the prices can vary a lot.

It is possible to eat in restaurants in Venice for as low as 10 euros per person, as well as for a few hundred euros per person.

In general, you can expect to pay under 15 euros/person in those small “bacari”, wine bars, that also serve simple but good dishes and in simple “osterie”.

In a “pizzeria”, the bill will most likely be around 20 to 30 euros per person, depending on what you order (of course!). Pizzerie typically serve also pasta, risotti, and other traditional dishes.

If you decide to eat in a restaurant specialized in fish dishes, expect a price for a normal meal to be 60+ euros per person. Those few restaurants serving good steaks, usually charge 50+ euros per person.

We recommend you to avoid restaurants offering “tourist menu” as well as those having staff calling you inside.

In general, always make sure to check the prices on the menu, to know what price to expect at the end of your meal!

To avoid tourist trap restaurants, do look out for “national flags in clear view, a big “tourist menu” sign, someone playing “Italian” music and a menu with pictures of food: THAT is a typical tourist trap!”

You can find this and other recommendations in our article “The quick guide about eating in Venice, Italy, that you will be glad you read.”

Check out the listings of our favorite wine bars and restaurants in Venice where to have good food and drinks, while supporting the local community

Restaurants in Venice are proud to serve local food as well as traditional Italian dishes.

We recommend trying fish based dishes as they are part of the Venetian tradition for hundreds of years and the raw materials couldn’t be any fresher. In fact, restaurants purchase fish directly from fishermen of the Venetian Lagoon!

However, if you are not to keen on fish, restaurants in Venice also serve good pasta and risotto.

A good pizza is always a good and affordable choice, while restaurants that serve a good steak in Venice, do come at a price!

In Venice, wine bars should also be taken into consideration for some good food. Venetian wine bars, bacari, are in fact are a cheaper yet yummy alternative to restaurants.

However, keep in mind that in many such local wine bars there are often no chairs or tables (and if there are a couple, they will probably be already occupied) since it’s a tradition in Venice to have a couple of glass of wine, some finger food, and then move on to the next wine bar!

Since Venice is a small city and its residents are scattered all across it, so are the restaurants and wine bars.

However, there is an even greater number of restaurants in Venice next to the two most famous landmarks: Saint Marks Square and the Rialto Bridge.

A high number of wine bars, bacari, can be found in the area between the Rialto Bridge, the Rialto Fish Market, and Sant’Aponal Square.

Good restaurants, wine-bars and pizzerie can be found in all districts of Venice.

The easiest way to find a good wine bar or restaurant in Venice is to check out our listings.

You can also find a place by yourself, but make sure to avoid those places exhibiting national flags, pictures of their menus, etc.!

Expensive restaurants and bars can be found in every district of the city. However, as you might imagine, a good number of them are around Saint Mark’s square, the most visited area in Venice.

The pricey bills of several such “expensive” businesses are often justified by their unique location, excellent service, and high costs of investment. They are, also, clearly written on the menus.

However, we must warn you that, unfortunately, around Saint Mark’s square there is also a growing number of businesses that just take advantage of tourists. They simply overcharge them and yet provide food and service that are often very poor. Barely acceptable at best.

Since there are millions of new tourists every year, these businesses can count on a never-ending source of unaware victims. Make sure not to be one of them.

Ha, this question is a tough one to answer!

Well, of course, we must mention that there are seven Michelin starred restaurants in Venice, each with 1 star. We confess we didn’t have the chance to try them yet but hope the opportunity will come soon!

So, maybe, we could say which are our favorite wine bars and restaurants in Venice. While we really like all the wine bars and the restaurants we included in our listings, we currently like a lot…

Restaurants: Ostaria Boccadoro, Trattoria al Ponte, Osteria di Santa Marina and Taverna la Fenice.
Wine bars and bars: Cantina Aziende Agricole, Osteria Ruga di Jaffa, Cantine del Vino già Schiavi, Corner Pub.

It is hard to only name three for each category because it depends on the mood we are in and in which part of the city we are currently at.

At this moment of writing, for example, we’re longing for a pizza and there are other places that come to our mind instead.

All the pastry shops, cafes, pizzerie, bars, wine bars, and restaurants you find on our website are places Venetians go to.

In fact, locals know very well where to go to have good food and drinks!

We’ve been asked this many many times. No, there is not one single place in Venice tourists don’t go to.

Is that a bad thing? We don’t think so!

We believe that anyone who’s respectful and is looking for quality, good food, and a nice service should be able to have it. This isn’t just good for the visitor, this is also good for all the Venetians who have invested in their business and, thanks to their customers, manage to pay the bills and live in the city they love.

Despite the fact that there are no places where only locals go to, there are a few places where locals outnumber tourists. <<No way! Really?!>>.

Yes, this is not too uncommon if the restaurant or bar is good but on a lesser known island of the Lagoon and away from tourist attractions.

This is the case of Trattoria da Celeste in Pellestrina, Al Pecador at the Lido, and Chiosco al Bacan at Sant’Erasmo.

Now that you know everything about restaurants in Venice, all you have to do is… try all they have to offer! Well, at least a part of it!

If you’ve enjoyed our article about restaurants in Venice, make sure to check out the following resources! They will help you make the best out of your stay in Venice!

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If you’re coming to Venice and are looking for tips for your first trip to Venice, you’re in the right place!

Below, you will find a few tips and recommendations which will help you to get the most out of your first trip to Venice and to fully enjoy the city.

These Venice tips, of course, can be very valuable and help you make the most of your time in Venice even if you have visited before!

Tips and Inspiration to experience Venice