In Venice it's easy to spend a fortune on tourist food around San Marco, when the best of the city is its bacari, where cicchetti and a glass of wine cost a couple of euros. This part of my Venice guide is about food and drink. Only the wine bar Vino Vero on Fondamenta della Misericordia comes from my own saved list; the bacari, trattorias, pastry shops, gelateria and café I added from travel-guide recommendations (34travel and travel blogs on Venetian bacari). All descriptions are compiled from Google Maps reviews; my own notes will follow after the trip.
Prices are Google's average spend per person, valid as of 7 October 2026. Rate: 1 € ≈ $1.12.
In short
- Cicchetti by the Rialto: Cantina Do Mori — a bacaro going back to 1462 — and Bar All'Arco a few steps away, open only until 14:30.
- Cheapest: Cantine del Vino già Schiavi — house wine for about 1.50 € and cicchetti by the San Trovaso canal.
- An evening with wine: Vino Vero on Fondamenta della Misericordia — natural wines by the glass.
- Quick lunch: Dal Moro's — fresh pasta in a box to go.
- In the morning: cream bignè at Pasticceria Tonolo, house-roasted coffee at Caffè Cannaregio, pastries at Rizzardini or at Dal Mas by the station.
- Gelato: Suso near the Rialto; queues in the evening, shorter by day.
Where to eat
Cantina Do Mori
Rialto · bacaro and cicchetti · 10–20 € (≈$11–23) · Mon–Fri 8:00–19:30, Sat 8:00–15:00, closed Sun
Google Maps · Calle Do Mori, 429
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 1,100+): a legendary bacaro dating back to 1462, down a lane by the Rialto market. Inside it's cool and dim, all dark wood, with copper pots hanging from the ceiling that were once used to carry water. There are no tables — you eat at a counter along the wall: cicchetti, baccalà several ways and good wines by the glass, Barolo included. Downsides: a bit pricey, and one guest felt the staff were mocking their slow choosing.
Bar All'Arco
Rialto · bacaro and cicchetti · 10–20 € (≈$11–23) · Mon–Sat 10:00–14:30, closed Sun
Google Maps · San Polo, 436
According to Google Maps reviews (4.7 from 1,600+): a tiny bar whose cicchetti many call the best in Venice. There are classics — creamed cod, gorgonzola with anchovies, octopus — and cicchetti of the day that change practically every quarter of an hour and sell out fast. Pair them with prosecco or a glass of wine; the staff are happy to advise. It's open only until 14:30 and there can be a queue. Downside: one guest found the toasted bread too hard.
Dal Moro's
Castello · fresh pasta to go · 10–20 € (≈$11–23) · daily 12:00–18:00
Google Maps · Calle de la Casseleria
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 20,300+): Venetian fast food, Italian style — fresh house-made pasta with your choice of sauce, in a box, a couple of minutes after you order. Reviewers like the pesto, the squid-ink pasta with prawns and the "Veneziana"; carbonara is about 13 €, squid ink about 11 €, and portions are big. The queue is long but moves fast. Downsides: it's touristy, staff ask for a tip at the till (optional), and some call it social-media hype — greasy carbonara, bland bolognese.
Il Paradiso Perduto
Cannaregio · tavern and seafood · 20–40 € (≈$23–45) · Mon 12:30–23:00, Thu 17:00–23:00, Fri–Sat 12:30–23:30, Sun 12:30–23:00, closed Tue–Wed
Google Maps · Fondamenta Cannaregio, 2540
According to Google Maps reviews (4.2 from 6,000+): a loud neighbourhood tavern with more Italians than tourists, and regular live music and readings. Reviewers praise the mixed seafood platter, scallops, razor clams, shellfish steamed in white wine and garlic, and the fried potatoes. You don't have to sit down: there are cicchetti at the counter, and one guest got fried cuttlefish and an Aperol for 10 €. The menu is Italian-only, and on Friday nights it's nearly full. 34travel recommends it too (article) — there's jazz on Mondays.
Trattoria Al Gatto Nero
Burano · trattoria and lagoon seafood · Tue, Fri, Sat 12:30–15:00 and 19:30–21:00; Wed, Thu, Sun 12:30–15:00; closed Mon
Google Maps · website · Via Giudecca, 88
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 1,900+): a long-standing, homely trattoria with a blue facade on Burano — worth building a trip to the island around a long lunch here. Fish and seafood from the lagoon and house-made pasta; reviewers praise the risotto, the seafood spaghetti and the prawns, and tables sit by the canal. Chef Ruggero comes out himself to ask how everything was. Book ahead; one guest complained about a brusque host at the door.
Coffee, pastry and wine
Pasticceria Tonolo
Dorsoduro · pastry shop · Tue–Sat 7:30–19:00, Sun 7:30–13:00, closed Mon
Google Maps · Calle San Pantalon, 3764
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 3,000+): a pastry shop going since 1886, with small pastries so you can try several. The thing to have is the cream-filled bignè, pistachio included; the chocolate cornetto is praised too, and at Carnival, Venetian frittelle. Counter service only, no tables. Come in the morning: things sell out fast.
Caffè Cannaregio
Cannaregio · coffee roaster and café · 1–10 € (≈$1–11) · Thu–Sat and Mon 8:00–15:30, Sun 9:00–16:30, closed Tue–Wed
Google Maps · website · Fondamenta dei Ormesini, 2804
According to Google Maps reviews (4.4 from 2,200+): for many, the one place in Venice for genuinely good coffee — they roast their own, sell the beans, and for filter coffee you pick the beans and take them to the counter. With it, pistachio-filled croissants, though pastries are gone by midday. There are seats by the canal. Downsides: crowded, tables turn over fast, and you pay afterwards, going back up to the till.
Pasticceria Rizzardini
San Polo · pastry shop & bar · 1–10 € (≈$1–11) · Mon and Wed–Sat 7:00–19:30, Sun 8:00–19:30, closed Tue
Google Maps · Facebook · Campiello dei Meloni, 1415
According to Google Maps reviews (4.7 from 740+): one of Venice's oldest pastry shops, loved by locals and visitors alike. Everything is baked daily: reviewers praise the mini tiramisu, the lemon cream, cream-filled frittelle and pastries with a light, slightly bitter cream; to go with them, a coffee or a white spritz, or one made with Cynar. Come in the morning, as the counter is nearly empty by closing time.
Pasticceria Dal Mas
Cannaregio · pastry shop · 1–10 € (≈$1–11) · Mon–Sat 6:30–19:30, Sun 7:30–19:30
Google Maps · website · Rio Terà Lista di Spagna, 150
According to Google Maps reviews (4.3 from 1,000+): a pastry shop a couple of minutes from Santa Lucia station, handy for breakfast off the train or before the vaporetto to Murano; locals have their morning coffee here too. Reviewers praise the pistachio cornetto, hot chocolate, tiramisu and chocolate-dipped orange slices. Most people eat standing at the counter, as there are few tables, but the queue moves fast. Downside: some found the croissants more bready than flaky.
Suso
Rialto · gelateria · daily 9:30–23:15
Google Maps · website · Sotoportego de la Bissa, 5453
According to Google Maps reviews (4.6 from 9,400+): Venice's most talked-about gelateria, a couple of minutes from the Rialto, with two shops in the city. Reviewers rave about the pistachio, the signature Suso flavour, the raspberry Olympia, watermelon granita and the vegan sorbets; a scoop is about 2 €. From 18:00 to 20:00 the queue is long but fast, and shorter during the day. Mind your pockets in the crowd.
Vino Vero
Cannaregio · wine bar · 10–20 € (≈$11–23) · Mon 16:00–0:00, Tue–Sun 11:00–0:00
Google Maps · website · Fondamenta de la Misericordia, 2497
According to Google Maps reviews (4.5 from 3,300+): a small natural-wine bar on Fondamenta della Misericordia, one of the liveliest evening waterfronts in town. A good list of wines by the glass for every budget, with cicchetti to match; there are only a few seats inside, so most people stand by the canal glass in hand. Plenty of tourists but locals too; there can be a queue, but it moves fast, and there's good gelato next door. Downside: the white was once served not cold enough.
Cantine del Vino già Schiavi
Dorsoduro · bacaro and wine shop · 1–10 € (≈$1–11) · Mon–Fri 8:30–14:00 and 16:00–20:30, Sat 9:30–16:00, closed Sun
Google Maps · website · Fondamenta Nani, 992
According to Google Maps reviews (4.7 from 3,000+): an old-school bacaro by a little bridge over the San Trovaso canal, with bottles from floor to ceiling. Locals drink house wine at about 1.50 € (≈$1.70) a small glass and eat cheap cicchetti — the little sandwiches especially. There's nowhere to sit: everyone stands on the fondamenta, glasses on the wall. Guard your food from the seagulls — they're very bold here.
One last thing
Venetian bacari keep daytime hours: All'Arco closes at 14:30, Cantina Do Mori at 19:30, and on Sundays nearly all of them are shut. Do your cicchetti at lunchtime around the Rialto and save the evening for Fondamenta della Misericordia. Book Trattoria Al Gatto Nero on Burano ahead.
More on Venice: what to see.