Enrica Rocca's favourite Restaurants in Venice
In Venice for a couple of days? Let me introduce you to my favourite places in Venice where to eat, buy ingredients and wines for all occasions.
MY FAVOURITE RESTAURANTS
L’OSTERIA DI SANTA MARINA
Address Campo Santa Marina, Castello 5911
Phone +39 041 528 5239
Website http://osteriadisantamarina.com/en/
Open Lunch and dinner
Closed Sunday – Monday at lunch time
Booking essential Yes
My favourite Octopus salad with baby potatoes cooked in saffron
Average price Around € 80/100 pp (without wines)
Very creative chef who proposes a selection of good Venetian ingredients with a touch of originality. Menu changes depending on the season and the best way to eat is to allow the chef to offer you his best. Not to be missed is a bottle of Amarone Le Ragose with your dessert or ask the chef to create your menu around the wine. In the summer, tables available on the picturesque square.
OSTERIA ALLE TESTIERE
Address Castello 5801
Phone +39 041 522 7220
Website www.osterialletestiere.it
Open Lunch and dinner
Closed Sunday and Monday
Booking essential Yes
My favourite //
Average price Around € 40 pp (without wines)
This very small Trattoria (only 8 tables) offers a very nice menu in which the chef has very cleverly fused Venetian cuisine with some of the spices that used to be so popular in Venice at the times of the Republic.
Very nice is also the wine list and the staff very helpful.
LA CANTINA
Address Strada Nuova - Cannaregio 3689
Phone +39 041 522 8258
Open Lunch and dinner
Closed Sunday
Booking essential No
My favourite Tartar of smoked salmon on a slice of green apple and topped with a fried quail egg
Average price Around € 25 pp (without wines)
For a long time food lovers have been talking to me about this small restaurant and finally I went to try it and it was an amazing discovery. Francesco, the chef, does an incredible research for the best possible ingredients and cooks them simply but with a touch of originality, adding spices, flavours from the old times and presents his food beautifully.
I didn't order anything and let him choose for me (often this is the best way to eat in restaurants of a certain level) and he delighted me with a choice of the days best.
Loved the combination of "Riso di Venere" (a small red rice with a very nutty flavour) Venetian fresh Borlotti beans, row Sicilian prawns with a touch of curry powder. His tartar of smoked salmon on a slice of green apple and topped with a fried quail egg was a sinphony of flavours and textures. Wonderful also his seared fresh salmon bits with fresh grated horseradish and to fisnish the meal a seared slice of foie Gras of the best quality accompanied by home made Orange mostarda.
Francesco will certainly see me over and over...
OSTERIA ENOTECA “AI ARTISTI”
Address Fondamenta della Toletta - Dorsoduro 1169/A
Phone +39 041 523 8944
Website www.enotecaartisti.com
Open Lunch and dinner
Closed Sunday
Booking essential Yes
Average price Around € 50 pp (without wines)
In this small trattoria you can taste the real Venetian food with every day fresh fish from Rialto market (except Mondays when the market is closed) and fresh vegetables from Sant’Erasmo and the mainland. Meat comes from Piedmont or Trentino from grass-fed animals only. Cheeses come from Veneto and Trentino except for Mozzarella that comes fresh from Apulia and Campania. Their wine list has been awarded for quality and research prices (you can infact find very special wines, less known from the masses but really excellent). This is not the right place for a quick meal since everything is cooked at the moment and they only use Gragnano pasta which may take also 18 minutes to cook. The menu changes twice a day and when fresh food is over the restaurant closes because not using frezen food they would have nothing to serve. Better if you go early.
RISTORANTE RIVIERA
Address Fondamenta Zattere - Dorsoduro 1473
Phone +39 041 522 7621
Website www.ristoranteriviera.it
Open Lunch and dinner
Closed Monday
Booking essential Yes
Average price € 80/100 pp (without wines)
Situated along the Zattere promenade, near the vaporetto stop of S. Basilio, this restaurant also has outside tables from which you can enjoy the amazing view over the Giudecca Canal and the Hilton hotel. Excellent food (they put great care in the ingredients selection) as well as the wine list. The personnel is attentive and welcoming.
TRATTORIA ANTICHE CARAMPANE
Address S. Polo, 1911
Phone +39 041 524 0165
Website www.antichecarampane.com
Open Tue-Sat 12.45-2.30pm & 7.30-10.30pm
Closed Sunday and Monday
Booking essential Yes
Average price € 60/70 pp (without wines)
This small restaurant is situated in the heart of Venice, only steps away from Rialto. The menu is based mostly on seafood which forms a central part of Venetian cuisine. Ingredients are always the freshest and the personnel is attentive and welcoming.
PANE VINO E SAN DANIELE
Address Campo dell’Angelo Raffaele – Dorsoduro 1722
Phone +39 041 523 7456
Website www.panevinoesandaniele.net
Open Lunch and dinner
Closed Never
Booking essential Yes
My favourite Prosciutto San Daniele with pane carasau
Average price Around € 40 pp (without wines)
In the middle of the quiet Campo dell’Angelo Raffaele, this restaurant offers some specialities from Sardinia. If there are at least 10 of you call in advance (3 days) and order the suckling pig: cooked to perfection and delicious. Otherwise they serve the best Prosciutto San Daniele in town. Order just that with Pane Carasau and wine and have a happy light lunch.
TRATTORIA MARCO POLO
Address Salizada San Lio – Castello5548
Phone +39 041 523 5018
Open Lunch and dinner
Closed Never
Booking essential No
My favourite T bone steak
Average price Around € 40 pp (without wines)
For the meat lovers this is the place where to go. Situated in San Lio, call upfront and ask to reserve your own T bone steak, about 1.1kg of tender and succulent meat cooked to perfection and kept warm on your table on a hot slate stone.
Accompany with one of the many wonderful wines offered by the restaurant and have a good evening (try a bottle of Don Tommaso ’94 from the Corsini family).
OSTERIA ANICE STELLATO
Address Fondamenta de la Sensa - Cannaregio, 3272
Phone +39 041 720 744
Website www.osterianicestellato.com
Open Lunch and dinner
Closed Monday & Tuesday
Booking essential Yes
Average price € 40/50 pp (without wines)
The spirit of the bacaro, which offers small bites and house wine, happily coexists with that of the restaurant. Their kitchen draws inspiration from the Venetian tradition, using local lagoon fish and vegetables, prepared honestly and simply. Simultaneously, as has always been the case in Venice's history, their recipes bring together a mix of culinary traditions. One of the best "Fritto Misto" in the city.
TRATTORIA DA BEPI GIÀ “54”
Address Campo SS. Apostoli- Cannaregio, 4550
Phone +39 041 528 5031
Website www.dabepi.it
Open 12.00 -2.30pm / 7.00-10.00pm
Closed Thursday
Booking essential Yes
Average price € 40/45 pp (without wines)
Loris is a great guy and he takes food very seriously. His traditional Venetian dishes are often enriched with unusual ingredients that create a welcome diversity. Very pleasant for both lunch and dinner.
BEST BELLINI IN TOWN
THE BAR OF THE LONDRA PALACE HOTEL
Address Riva degli Schiavoni, Castello 4171
Phone +39 041 520 05 33
Website http://www.londrapalace.com/bar
Open From morning till night
Booking essential No
My favourite Bellini and Mojito
The barman of this well reputed hotel makes the best and the only real Bellini still surviving in Venice. This is a seasonal drink as it is made with fresh white peaches so they will only serve it in summer like in the old times. Most other Bellini’s in Venice are made with frozen peaches and does not taste the same.
During Autumn request for a Tiziano which is Prosecco wine with the juice of a special variety of red grapes; in winter ask for Mimosa as the oranges are in season and in spring ask for Rossini made with fresh strawberries. This way you will be guaranteed fresh fruit juice rather than frozen ones.
Try his Mojito as well, it’s excellent.
MY FAVOURITE TRAMEZZINI
BAR TOLETTA
Address Sacca della Toletta – Dorsoduro 1191
Phone +39 041 520 0196
Open Day time
Closed Sunday
Booking essential No
My favourite Tramezzini and a glass of Prosecco wine
This small cafe, with only a few tables, and mainly frequented by students from the many schools and university in the area, offers by far the best Tramezzini in town. Tramezzini are typical Venetian sandwiches, made of soft bread and stuffed with a huge array of different fillings.
Try a few but avoid the crab ones as they only use surimi (imitation Japanese crab).
A couple of tramezzini with a glass of prosecco make for a lovely lunch.
MY FAVOURITE CICCHETTI
ALL’ ARCO
Address Calle Arco – San Polo 436
Phone +39 041 520 5666
Open Mon - Sat 8.30am-2.30pm / From April till mid November Wed - Fri 8.30am - 7.30pm
Closed Sunday
Booking essential No
My favourite Everything
This is in my opinion by far the best Bacaro in Venice. Francesco, Matteo and Anna are incredibly friendly but more than everything absolutely obsessed by the quality of the ingredients they serve. Everything is cooked by themselves and if you are lucky enough you might meet Francesco’s mother, one of Venice best cooks.
CANTINONE (GIÀ SCHIAVI)
Address Fondamenta Nani, Dorsoduro 992
Phone +39 041 523 0034
Open Morning till night
Closed Sunday
Booking essential No
My favourite Tuna and leak “sandwich”
The lady of the house keeps under the counter a small book written by her with the recipes of her now famous cicchetti (Venetian version of Spanish Tapas). Between 6.30 and 8pm most young Venetian society meets here to decide the evening program or to have a social drink. Go early as the cicchetti disappear fast.
Very nice choice of wines by the glass to enjoy with your cicchetti. My favourite cicchetto is the tuna and leak “sandwich” (just a small slice of bread topped with a delicious cream of tuna and leaks).
OSTERIA CA’ D’ORO - LA VEDOVA
Address Calle del Pistor, Cannaregio 3912
Phone +39 041 528 5324
Open Day time
Closed Thursday - Sunday at lunch time
Booking essential No
My favourite Fried meat balls and cicchetti
A very traditional Venetian “Osteria” where you can taste a good selection of cicchetti. But the very best here are their “polpettine” (fried meatballs) which are among the best in town!
Ideal after a visit of the Ca’ d’oro.
AL MARCA’
Address Rialto market area, San Polo 213
Phone +39 393 992 4781
Open Lunch and early dinner
Closed Sunday
Booking essential No
My favourite Cicchetti
Situated just at the entrance of the Rialto market this is not a cafe as you can only stand outside, but it offers some nice cicchetti (mainly baby sandwiches with local cold meats) and good open wines. On a sunny day it is wonderful to have a drink and observe the people passing by.
OSTERIA DA CODROMA
Address Fondamenta Briati - Dorsoduro 2540
Phone +39 041 524 6789
Website www.osteriadacodroma.it
Open Monday to Wednseday lunch only / Thursday to Saturday lunch and dinner
Closed Sunday
Booking essential Yes
My favourite Cicchetti
Average price € 30/35 pp (without wines)
Osteria da Codroma is located in very quiet area in Dorsoduro, very close to both the Zattere Promenade and Campo Santa Margherita. In summer they also have a few small outside tables along the “fondamenta”. Nicola – the chef – has brought back Venetian tradition in this historical “osteria”. Here you can taste the real Venetian cicchetti and some excellent meat or fish dishes; fish is always the freshest. A careful search for the best ingredients. Very good wine list. They are very welcoming and attentive.
AL PROSECCO
Address Campo San Giacomo da l'Orio, Santa Croce1503
Phone +39 041524 0222
Website www.alprosecco.com
e-mail info@alprosecco.com
Open Lunch and early dinner
Closed Sunday
Booking essential No
My favourite Cicchetti and wines
Situated in San Giacomo da l’Orio Square (Campo), an area mainly frequented by locals, this Osteria offersan unusual array of snacks: cheeses, both local and international, cold meats, sandwiches and fish preparations, as the best of Lampedusa Tuna, sword fish and trout marinated with herbs and generous salads, all created to be enjoyedwith wine.
As the wine selection is quite big, ask the staff to help you select what best matches your choice of menu. On Saturdays Oysters and raw fish and in the summer evenings you might be lucky enough to enjoy a concert on the square.
TEAMO
Address Rio Terà della Mandola, San Marco 3795
Phone +39 347 366 5016
Open Morning till night
Closed Sunday
Booking essential No
My favourite Cicchetti and wines
A modern stylish wine bar half way of the Calle della Mandola (on the left when heading to Rialto from Campo Sant’Angelo). Very good wines and spritz. Lovely in spring and summer when you can sit outside and chill out.
MY FAVOURITE FOOD AND WINE STORES
(This is particularly useful for those of you who chose to rent a flat in Venice or those who want to bring back home a piece of Italian culinary culture)
THE RIALTO MARKET
Address San Polo
Open Morning till 12.30 pm
Closed Sunday
This is not a shop, but by far the best food shopping experience you can have in Venice. It is not only a lively and colourful market but it also offers the best selection of vegetables, fish and seafood in northern Italy. The variety of the vegetables depends on the season but admire the freshness of all the ingredients and the huge variety. In season you will find the real local specialities like vegetables grown in the nearby islands (Sant’Erasmo being the most well known one), like the famous “castraure” (the first artichoke the plant produces).
It would be impossible to give a list of all the fish and seafood which is offered at the market but look at the freshness... and if you rent a flat (suggested accommodation solution) buy some and cook it at home.
MERCATO DI SANTA MARGHERITA
Address Campo Santa Margherita - Dorsoduro
Open Morning till 12.30 pm
Closed Sunday
On this large square in the mornings till 12.30 there are 3 fish mongers with a good selection of fish and seafood although not as big as in Rialto and slightly more expensive.
LA BARCA DELLA VERDURE
Address Campo San Barnaba - Dorsoduro
Open Morning till 12.30 pm
Closed Sunday
In campo Santa Barbara, only few steps away from Campo Santa Margherita, there is the most photographed vegetables “store” in the world. Vegetables are served from a colourful boat moored in the canal and in summer you will often see many artists sitting and painting this unusual shop.
DA MASCARI
Address Calle degli Spezieri, S. Polo 381
Phone +39 041522 9762
Website www.imascari.com
Open Morning and afternoon
Closed Sunday
Hidden behind the Rialto Market, this store offers an incredible choice of spices and different Asian ingredients (the only one in Venice). There is also a good choice of local and national delicacies.
MILLEVINI
Address Fontego dei Tedeschi, S. Marco5362
Phone +39 041520 6090
Website www.millevini.it
Open 10 am 8 pm
Closed Sunday
Lorenzo is the co owner of this fabulous wine shop. With an amazing choice of Italian wines, it also offers some top French wines and champagnes and recently some new world wines. He speaks amazing English, is incredibly well prepared on his subject and will gladly spend the time it takes to guide you through the fascinating world of wines. Ask him also to talk to you about balsamic vinegars and discover with him this amazing Italian product. The shop is at the bottom of the Rialto Bridge on San Bartolomeo side: ideal to visit after your tour of the Market.