Italian dining in Venice

Venetian cooking is a cuisine of the lagoon: fish and seafood from the Rialto market, vegetables from islands such as Sant’Erasmo, plus rice and polenta from the hinterland. Typical dishes are baccalà mantecato, creamy whipped stockfish, sarde in saor, sardines in a sweet and sour onion marinade, and moeche, small lagoon crabs caught while moulting in spring and autumn and fried whole.

Alongside the restaurants of the grand hotels on the Grand Canal, a creative scene has established itself in recent years that works consistently with produce from the lagoon. There are also long-established trattorias, often family run, and the bacari, wine bars serving cicchetti, small bites to go with a glass of wine. Many good addresses lie away from San Marco, in San Polo, Castello or Santa Croce, and can be reached on foot or by vaporetto.

Tip: Venetian house numbers do not run per street but consecutively per sestiere, or district. So always note the alley as well as the number, and allow plenty of time to get there.