Venice eats standing up: a glass of wine (an ombra) and a plate of cicchetti at a wooden counter, twice a day. Between the Rialto fish market, the Cannaregio bacari and the lagoon islands lies a cuisine of salt cod, soft-shell crab and sweet-sour sardines.
Venice's fish market has traded on this spot since 1097; the neo-Gothic Pescaria loggia dates to 1907. Tues–Sat 07:30–12:00 (closed Sun/Mon), with moeche, canoce, seppie and go' from the lagoon. The Erbaria vegetable stalls run Mon–Sat.
Open since 1462 and reputedly Casanova's local, this narrow copper-pot-hung bacaro near the Rialto serves francobolli (postage-stamp sandwiches) and baccala mantecato. No seats, no tables — you stand. Closed Sundays.
Hidden in the former red-light district, this family trattoria hangs a 'No pizza, no lasagne, no menu turistico' sign at the door. Fritto misto, spaghetti with canoce and a raw crudo of lagoon fish define the kitchen. Booking essential.
This canal-side strip is where Venetians drink: Vino Vero for natural wine, Al Timon with its moored boat used as outdoor seating, and Paradiso Perduto for cheap wine and live jazz. Prices drop sharply away from San Marco.
Venice's most serious pastry shop since 1886, a short walk from Campo Santa Margherita. Locals queue for krapfen, zaleti (cornmeal-raisin biscuits) and, in Carnival season, frittelle veneziane. Closed Mondays and all of August.
A cavernous 1954 institution off the Rialto with white tablecloths and brisk waiters. Seppie in nero con polenta (cuttlefish in its own ink) and grilled lagoon fish are the reasons to come. No reservations — turn up and wait.
The Venetian spritz predates the Aperol version: locals order 'spritz bitter' (Select, a Venetian amaro from 1920) with prosecco and soda, garnished with an olive rather than orange. Rosa Salva has run cafes here since 1879.
Twenty-two seats, two nightly sittings, and a menu decided by whatever chef Bruno Gavagnin brings back from the Rialto. Gnocchetti with baby squid and cinnamon is the signature; the wine list is a Veneto masterclass. Closed Sun/Mon.
Sant'Erasmo, the lagoon's vegetable garden, grows the castraura — the first-cut violet artichoke bud, harvested only in late April and May. Vaporetto line 13 from Fondamente Nove takes about 45 minutes to Capannone stop.
On sleepy Mazzorbo beside Burano, this trattoria cooks lagoon hunting-and-fishing food: risotto de gò (goby fish), wild duck in season, and castraure. A pergola garden faces the Venissa vineyard of Dorona grapes.
Burano's ring-shaped bussola and S-shaped essa buranelli are egg-yolk-rich butter biscuits baked for fishermen's long trips. Panificio Palmisano (Via Galuppi 355) has baked them since 1922 and sells them loose by weight.
A wine shop and bacaro facing the Rio San Trovaso since 1944, run by the De Toni family. Its inventive cicchetti — tuna with ginger, gorgonzola with pistachio, cod with strawberry — are made fresh and sell out by early evening.