Eating in Venice can be an incredible experience, but it can also turn into a bit of a nightmare, especially if you land in the wrong spot without knowing better.
You’ll find the Italian classics on every corner, but if you’re here, you should be eating Venetian. As you probably already know, Italian food is all about regional tradition, and what’s typical in the north often doesn’t exist in the south.
That’s the beauty of travelling and exploring the food scene across Italy.
Where to eat in Venice
In this guide, I will share a list of 7 places to eat in Venice that I’ve personally liked over the past few years and where I like to go back to, time and time again.
If you want to dig deeper into Venetian cuisine, see my Venice Food Handbook, where I share curious facts about its history, red flags to keep an eye out for while you’re here, what and where to eat instead, and 3 of my own food maps.
Now, take a look at the map and let’s dive into my list of favourite food spots:
1. Osteria Al Cicheto
This small osteria serves both cicchetti and most of the traditional Venetian dishes all year round, plus a few seasonal specials. It’s only a five-minute walk from Santa Lucia train station, tucked down Calle della Misericordia, which makes it a great last stop before catching a train to your next destination.
You’ll want to book in advance, especially for dinner, as it only seats a handful of tables. The food changes with the season, but what really sets this place apart is the wine list: they focus on small, sometimes barely known, artisanal and biodynamic producers from the Veneto and Friuli regions.
💰 Price range: ££ – £££
📍 Address: Calle della Misericordia, Cannaregio 367/A, 30121 Venice
2. Trattoria da’ Marisa
A popular lunch spot for Venetian people and university students, located along the Cannaregio canal. Only a handful of tourists venture into this not-so-touristy part of the city, which is exactly why the flavours here still feel like proper nonna’s cooking! There’s no printed menu: you get what the kitchen decided to cook that morning, usually a fixed multi-course meal at a genuinely fair price.
I used to eat here with the student menu when I was going to university in Venice, in San Giobbe, so this one is close to my heart. It’s been open since the mid-1960s and hasn’t really changed its spirit since. Cash only, and go hungry, because Venetians take their communal lunch tables seriously.
💰 Price range: ££
📍 Address: Fondamenta San Giobbe 652, Cannaregio, 30121 Venice
3. Ca’ d’Oro alla Vedova
A cosy old-style trattoria decorated with copper pots and lace-covered lights, tucked just off the busy Strada Nova. The menu offers some of the best polpette (meatballs) in the city, along with a great selection of wines from the Veneto region, that you can get served in the tiny traditional glasses locals call ‘ombre’.
You can sit down for lunch, which tends to be a quieter time so no booking is needed, but evenings are far more frequented and I’d recommend reserving ahead. This is a traditional trattoria/osteria in every sense: unpretentious and frequented by locals and travellers alike that know a thing or two about traditional food.
💰 Price range: ££
📍 Address: Calle del Pistor, Cannaregio 3912, 30121 Venice
4. Diavolo e l’Acqua Santa
Located in the San Polo neighbourhood, just across from the Rialto market, this one serves a lovely ‘mozzarella in carrozza’, fried mozzarella with anchovies or ham. Other small fried bites, like sardines and polpette, are just as delicious.
It’s slightly tucked away down a narrow calle off a busier street, but you’ll still find Venetians stopping by for a quick bite, aperitivo or settling in for a sit-down meal. Expect a warm, no-frills atmosphere and a menu that leans into the traditional cicchetti repertoire, alongside pasta dishes like spaghetti al nero di seppia.
💰 Price range: ££
📍 Address: Salita San Polo 561B, San Polo, 30125 Venice
5. Sepa
‘Sepa’ in Venetian dialect means ‘seppia’, or squid. This one has only recently turned into one of my favourite places to eat in Venice, for two reasons: it’s a little hidden, but it’s also just steps away from the route between St. Mark’s Square and Rialto. So every time I’m around here and it’s lunchtime, or I just need to refuel, I know exactly where to go.
They have a great selection of small bites, from polpette to fried seafood skewers and mozzarella in carrozza. They can also prepare full portions of dishes like risotto. It’s a standing-only spot, so don’t expect to sit down, but it’s a great stop on a cicchetti crawl near the Rialto. A note on their Cabernet wine which is absolutely divine and you can order a quarter or half litre in case you don’t want to go with the bottle.
💰 Price range: ££
📍 Address: Campo San Giacomo di Rialto, San Marco, 30124 Venice
6. Osteria ai Promessi Sposi
In Cannaregio, one of my favourite neighbourhoods to eat out in Venice, you’ll find Osteria ai Promessi Sposi. I had food here a while ago and liked the restaurant back then because it really feels like an old osteria or trattoria in Venice.
The furnishings, the menu and the staff all speak to that not-so-well-known side of the city, the one that should stay protected: traditional Venetian hospitality.
Expect plenty of fish and seafood, with traditional dishes like baccalà mantecato and sarde en saor. There are a couple of meat options too, but you’re better off going for the fish. Although I haven’t been in a while, I can see from their reviews that it’s still going strong, and other visitors seem just as happy as I once was.
💰 Price range: ££
📍 Address: Calle dell’Oca 4367, Cannaregio, 30121 Venice
7. Pasticceria Tonolo
A real institution in Venice, open since 1886, and the go-to place for traditional sweet pastries such as ‘fritole veneziane’ during Carnival celebrations. The small sweet pastries are also delicious, and the prices are fair, especially knowing you’re getting something freshly made in the laboratory.
There’s no seating inside, just a long counter that’s perpetually busy with university students and Dorsoduro locals grabbing a coffee before work or class. I guarantee you’ll remember what you tried here for a while, whether it’s a cream-filled brioche or one of their famous choux pastries.
💰 Price range: £
📍 Address: Calle San Pantalon, Dorsoduro 3764, 30123 Venice
Where to eat in Venice
That’s my list of 7 places to eat in Venice that I go back to, again and again.
From cosy, hidden bacari to student-menu trattorias and pastry counters, they all have one thing in common: they serve genuine Venetian food, made the way it always has been, away from the tourist menus you’ll see around St Mark’s Square.
Want to go deeper into the history and etiquette behind Venetian food? Be sure to check out my Venice Food Handbook and maps below for more.
- Venice Food Handbook (eBook)
- Traditional Venetian Restaurants (Map)
- Venice Bacari Walking Maps (Bundle)
- Venice Unlocked (Visitor Map)
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