Vicenza
San Daniele hams dangle over the vast glass counter, which is filled with ready-made specialities like fresh seafood salads, house-made pastas and cheeses…
Must-see restaurants in The Veneto
San Polo & Santa Croce
The counter at this friendly hole-in-the-wall takeaway is a sea of oven-fresh pizza perfection of both the thin- and thick-crust varieties. Join the queue…
Padua
Industrial student feeding spot near the university with a basic concept – choose from four types of pasta, add one of 10 sauces, buy a drink, and hang…
Verona
The last of the historic osterie (casual taverns) that once lined this riverside alley, Sottoriva still draws local crowds to rough-hewn tables under the…
Venice
Make a reservation for one of the two evening sittings at this tiny restaurant and come prepared for Bruno Gavagnin's beautifully plated seafood feasts…
Verona
Concealed atmospherically under the arcading on Via Sottoriva, this high-ceilinged, wood-panelled and bottle-filled trattoria does a mean pizza as well as…
Verona
Home to Verona's plumpest brioche, sassy Miozzi also peddles finger-licking pastries (including mini versions for those on a diet), biscotti and…
Treviso
Named after an old mulberry tree, this classy restaurant serves some of Treviso's finest seafood. Chef Gaetano selects the finest ingredients from the…
Padua
The fresco above the kitchen door at this sweeping, chintzily over-the-top restaurant-pizzeria dates back to 1673, but most people come for Zairo's long…
The Veneto
Cheap and cheerful Alla Rocca is known as La Bigoleria because it focuses on the region’s signature pasta (bigoli) served with dozens of different sauces…
Verona
Old-fashioned bakery and deli selling everything from wine to pasta by weight, to the finest of desserts and miniature pastries. Grab a slice of takeaway…
San Polo & Santa Croce
This snappy place is never short of local professors, labourers and clued-in out-of-towners. Crusty rolls are packed with local cheeses, fresh greens,…
Venice
Staffed by refugees and migrants from all over Africa, the menu at this attractive restaurant reflects that diversity, with dishes from Egypt, Morocco,…
Trattoria alla Rampa del Piave
Venice
Hidden behind a little working-class bar is a low-slung dining room serving up some of Venice’s heartiest lunch specials. A largely male, Venetian crowd…
Venice
All vegetarian, all organic and largely vegan, this tiny cafe and wholefood shop offers a counter full of salads and grains that are shovelled onto plates…
Venice
The Querini Stampalia's gorgeous cafe is a great place for a coffee or a snack, and also serves a range of reasonably priced pasta and rice dishes at…
Giudecca, Lido & the Southern Islands
Located in the old Lido fish market, al Mercà is popular with students who come for the abundant cicheti (Venetian tapas), outdoor seating and well-priced…
Giudecca, Lido & the Southern Islands
No, you're not suffering from heat stroke – that really is a red double-decker bus parked up against the kerb. What's more, it's dishing out the Lido's…
Venice
Venice's only organic vegan restaurant serves delectable dishes such as Thai rice noodles, seitan lasagne and tempeh mafè (peanut butter sauce) with rice…
Giudecca, Lido & the Southern Islands
Beloved by locals, this charming fish restaurant serves classic Venetian dishes prepared with attention to quality. All desserts are homemade. In summer,…
Venice
This eatery serves pizza and freshly made pasta that you can see being prepared in the immaculate kitchen. There is also a small choice of mains and an…
Giudecca, Lido & the Southern Islands
This tiny artisanal ice-cream parlour prides itself on fresh ingredients and interesting flavours, such as cheesecake or walnut and fig. Vegan options…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Running this closet-sized cicheti counter are zemei (twins) Franco and Giovanni, who serve loyal regulars small bites with plenty of imagination:…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Once an anarchist clubhouse, intimate, art-slung 'At the Crooked Bridge' serves up scrumptious cicheti (Venetian tapas), whether it's quiche or the famed…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Watch the world drift down the Grand Canal outside or canoodle indoors, but prepare to sit up and pay attention once the food arrives. Pesador reinvents…
Venice
All the makings of a true Venetian osteria (casual tavern) – hidden location, casks of wine, chandeliers that look like medieval torture devices – plus…
Murano, Burano & the Northern Islands
Seek out this vintage osteria (casual tavern) where glass-blowers head for plates of frittura mista (mixed fried fish), seafood risotto and spaghetti…
Venice
Midway through museum crawls from Accademia to Ca' Rezzonico, Toletta satisfies starving artists with lip-smacking, grilled-to-order panini (sandwiches),…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Along with a dozen other things, Marco Polo is said to have introduced ice cream to Venice after his odyssey to China. At this gelato shop the…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Dapper white-jacketed waiters serve pristine grilled lagoon fish, fresh pasta and desserts made in-house (‘of course’) with a proud flourish, on tables…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Ignore the proliferating pizza stalls and head to Acqua e Mais where you’ll find authentic Venetian street food wrapped in a scartosso (paper cone). The…
Venice
Husband-and-wife team Luigi and Patricia conjure up inventive dishes that excite the palate, drawing from the cuisines of the Veneto, Fruili and Sardinia…
Venice
When other restaurants close, Impronta stays open to accommodate late lunches, tea sessions, and midnight snacks of club sandwiches. The menu is a mix of…
Giudecca, Lido & the Southern Islands
This simple restaurant halfway along Pellestrina serves lagoon-fresh fish on its pontoon terrace. Go at sunset, when the rose-tinted sky kisses the glassy…
Venice
Despite its dialogue with the East, Venice lacks good ethnic eateries, but this wildly popular place aims to set that straight. Run by Ahmed, it dishes up…
Venice
The dishes at this sushi specialist are as beautiful as they are delicious. Specials include succulent grilled eel with figs topped with lemongrass and…
San Polo & Santa Croce
With outdoor tables occupying the campo in front of San Giacomo dall’Orio, this is a sunny spot from which to watch gondolas drift by. The food, too, is…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Musicians, artists and philosophising regulars make this hideaway, positioned under the arcade leading to the Rialto bridge, exceptionally good for…
Venice
At this Cannaregio institution, you'll be seated where there's room and get no menu – you'll have whatever Marisa's cooking. Serves are absurdly abundant…
San Polo & Santa Croce
Traditionally a fritolin was an eatery where diners sat at a communal table and tucked into fried fish. This is the modern equivalent, albeit smarter,…
