Anna Venice is meant to be savored
Venice is such a unique city, it’s no surprise that it has developed its own unique cuisine. There are plenty of traditional Venetian dishes and culinary customs to take part of during your stay in the floating city, unfortunately there are also a lot of tourist traps contributing to the city’s reputation of bad food at high prices. Rest assured that you can eat like a queen in La Serenissima. Here are some recommendations of local specialties and where to find them.
Ombra and Cicchetti
Enjoy this very Venetian tradition at a Bacari, or local bar. Cicchetti are a customary Venetian small dishes- similar to the Spanish tapas OR the Milanese apertivo. These are little bites of delicious foods that are typically consumed with an afternoon glass of wine, colloquially referred to as an Ombra, named after the tradition of enjoying in the wine in the shade (ombre literally means shade). According to the local customs, the cicchetti are served along side the wine to buffer the ill effects of over consumption, but really they’re both so enjoyable, how could you not over-consume? There are many choices, but head to Cantina Do Mori in the San Paolo sestiere (one of the six neighborhoods).
Florian Café
The Florian is widely accepted to be the oldest café in Europe. It’s conveniently located in Piazza San Marco adjacent to the Campanile. You’ll probably come across this recommendation on your own, but let me explain how this coffee shop is another Venice icon and is integral to the identity of the city. The Florian is named after the cafe’s beloved owner and has some historical importance as a popular meeting point, significant during political upheaval. It attracted many notable patrons like Byron, Dickens, and Casanova. It has been well maintained over the years, but the interior is still grand and palatial, decorated in an art nouveau style, with velvet seating and frescoed walls. It is upscale and a little pricy, but you can walk the footsteps of the literary greats. It seems to be fit for a queen, and it is, cuz she’s been here too. You can relax on the patio, sipping your coffee in the shade of the famous bell tower while listening to the nearby string quartets or other live music.
Da Romano Trattoria
This legendary restaurant can be found on the island of Burano and has an interesting legacy of being a popular hang out of the artists. It excels at a specific specialty called risotto di gò, a very traditional Venetian dish. Let me explain. Gò is a Venetian word for a fish, in English is known as a goby (yet I’ve never heard of it until going to Venice). While risotto is generally associated with northern Italy, the gò risotto was born specifically in Burano from the local fishing trade- this fish is plentiful in the lagoon. The gò fish is small and bony, otherwise useless fish that is notoriously difficult to cook. It must be cooked very slowly and carefully to make the flavorful, delicate and superb broth that is the base of this dish. The successful execution of the gò risotto takes patience, passion, and skill- therefore, it is fairly rare and should certainly be savored. I don’t think you can get a better version than what is served at the Da Romano Trattoria.
Birreria La Corte
Here is where we ate my favorite meal in all of Venice. This is a local brewery, and the food they serve here is so good. It serves Venetian cuisine, while modern, celebrates the traditional roots and local flavors. The ingredients are very fresh, and they rotate the menu based on the seasonal availability. The prices are pretty reasonable considering how good it is, and our service was great, our waiter was so knowledgeable and helpful.
We got:
House made tagliatelle with duck ragu and hazelnut crema with black truffle.
Corte del Diavolo, a pizza fired in the Neapolitan style. S.Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte (from agerola), spinata calabra piccante (spicy Calabrian cured meat) and peperone crusco. A note: pizza isn’t a traditional Venetian dish, and Naples does this classic much better than Venice, generally speaking. That being said, this was pizza slapped an we had no regrets.
Picanha, a grilled steak dish with chimichurri.
Lustaferi, literally means iron polishers and is the name of a Venetian waterway, this dish was a contemporary take on a classic dish with a black sauce made with squid ink over cuttlefish. While I’m glad we tried this traditional cuisine, this was perhaps the least popular thing we ordered. It wasn’t bad, necessarily, I just liked the other dishes better.
And 2 desserts, the tiramisu and chocolate cake. IT WAS SO GOOD, you have to go.
Pizzeria and Cicchetteria alla Strega
I loved this restaurant, if not mostly for the subtle Halloween theme (Strega = witch in Italian). We came here for a casual dinner, it’s located in the Castello Sestieri, close to the Acqua Alta bookstore. We all ordered calzones, and these things were massive, approx the size of a newborn baby. We easily could have shared the portions…but… we each… ate the giant baby calzones alone. No regrets. My calzone had a roasted pumpkin sauce and I loved it.
I tre Mercanti
Go here for excellent tiramisu! Tiramisu is generally associated Italy, but it actually originated near Venice. I Tre Mercanti is a gourmet food store specializing in tiramisu and other quality Italian ingredients. They also serve cannoli and other desserts, and you can see the chefs making the tiramisu fresh, as they work at a window facing the street. The shop was packed when we went in but the food was 10/10.
Suso Gelato
This gelato is made in Venice and is as unique as they city itself. It has gained popularity really quickly and seems like everyone is talking about it! I think many would claim that this is the best gelato in Venice. It avoids artificial ingredients, accommodates dietary restrictions (dairy-free, etc) and has a ton of classic and wild flavors.
Venchi
Don’t miss this shop. This is first and foremost a chocolate shop, so yes, definitely get the gelato but be prepared to shop for some chocolate souvenirs too. The gelato cones are dipped w chocolate and rolled in raspberries, chocolate, or other exciting things (like the salt rim of a margarita). There were other non-chocolate flavors and desserts, but I wasn’t really paying attention to that stuff, because I was distracted by all the chocolate things. Oh yeah AND there’s chocolate sauce and whipped cream (which is a little different than what we have in the US, so it’s exciting and you must try it.) The gelato here truly slapped, and I think it can give Suso a run for its money…so maybe Venchi is the best gelato is Venice? You’ll have to try both and let me know which one is your favorite.
