Are you wondering what to eat in Venice? After covering the best cafés in Venice, I feel it’s time to elaborate on the overall drool-worthiness of this city’s food scene.

Sure, Venice gets a bad rep for being too touristy and for not having the best pizza in Italy (though cut them some slack – brick ovens are prohibited here, people)!

But at its core, the floating city is masterful at producing handheld comfort foods that seem like “nothing special” on the surface – but that I’m still salivating over months later.

As always, I’m sharing it all with you – the surprisingly simple foods that hit the spot (and the under-the-radar joints making them), our favorite restaurants, where to capture those irresistibly Instagrammable gelato shots, and much more.

I hope you brought your appetite because we’re diving right into the best food in Venice!

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Venice is especially famous for its delectable finger foods. Cicchetti (a.k.a Italian tapas) can be found at traditional Venetian wine bars (bacari) and tramezzini, Italian finger sandwiches, make the perfect light bites on the go.

The local preference is to avoid the tourist-choked restaurants in favor of more intimate and authentic dining establishments like bacari and osterie.

In addition to cicchetti and tramezzini, the local food scene is largely focused on seafood, from traditional full-fish dinners to salted cod spread (a popular cicchetti topping).

The most popular Venetian street foods typically involve seafood. Some common ones you’ll see include Fritto misto (translated to “mixed fry”) and scartosso de pesse fritto (fried fish served in a cone).

Before we dive into the specific foods to order in Venice, let’s first touch on the types of cuisine you’ll find here as well as where/how food is consumed, as it’s distinct from other areas of Italy.

When many people conjure up images of “Italian” food, pizza and pasta are usually the first to come to mind (though many Italians would argue this).

That said, you shouldn’t come to Venice for the pizza (more on that later) and it’s also not a place that offers “regional” pastas like a Tuscan or Apulian town.

So…what do people actually eat in Venice?

Broadly speaking, seafood is a main focus and the food scene largely falls into one of two categories: Quick bites enjoyed at local bars or more formal, sit-down dining at trattorias.

Both types have their place in Venice – and both can be fantastic! With that in mind, there are some things to be aware of as you eat your way through the city.

Things to Keep in Mind When Dining in Venice:

• Enjoy the local fare – We’ll touch more on this in the following sections, but don’t leave Venice without sampling the cicchetti and tramezzini!
• Avoid restaurants with a large signage board featuring food pics – This tip isn’t localized to just Venice (or even Italy), but more of a general travel rule I’ve learned (the hard way) to follow. If you pass a restaurant with one of these large boards (usually paired with an aggressive waiter trying to lure people in), keep walking. While you might get lucky on an off-chance the food is halfway decent, this screams tourist trap.
• Don’t expect to turn up at a restaurant & get served – While you might get lucky and stumble upon places that don’t require a reservation, many of them do (especially in the more popular districts). Rather than take the gamble, do some restaurant research in your desired neighborhood before heading out for the evening.
• Skip the pizza – While you may be tempted to order pizza because you’re in Italy, Venice isn’t the best place to do it because wood-fired ovens are strictly prohibited here. Obviously, if you’re in a rush and pizza is one of the few things available, do what you have to do, but don’t expect it to be the world’s best. (Admittedly, we ended up at a fast-food pizza joint after a long travel day with our toddler and it was fine, but it was completely unmemorable compared to other dishes we had here.)
• Expect to pay a premium for higher quality dishes (like seafood) – Venice is unique in terms of its food distribution because everything needs to travel via canals or over bridges to the restaurants. These associated delivery costs will be reflected in the final price you pay, as restaurants need to offset them.

If you’re ballin’ on a budget, cicchetti will be your best friend in Italy’s floating city – not to mention, it’s easily one of the tastiest things to eat in Venice. The best way to think of cicchetti is Italy’s take on Spanish tapas.

These bite-size finger foods are considered some of the best cheap eats in Venice, and will only set you back around 2-3 euros per piece. They often come with savory toppings such as seafood – tuna and salt cod spread are especially popular.

Cicchetti can be found all around Venice, but it’s typically served at bacari (local bars) and paired with an aperitivo. Aperol spritz, anyone?

My recommendation for exceptionally delicious cicchetti is from Basegó (Via Giuseppe Garibaldi, 1762, 30122) in the San Polo district.

This cicchetteria (bar-meets-restaurant) has an intimate and hip vibe and, most importantly, drool-worthy cicchetti.

The testament to deliciousness? We intended to order just three cicchetti (figuring that would suffice as a light snack), and I ended up back at the counter for three more (one repeat and two new styles) just minutes later.

I’m already dreaming of returning to Venice and indulging in delicious cicchetti from some of the other great bacari.

Here are some additional cicchetti places that receive high praise:

• Bar All’Arco (San Polo)
• Cantina Do Mori (San Polo)
• Osteria Al Squero (Dorsoduro)
• Cantine del Vino già Schiavi (Dorsoduro)
• Vino Vero (Cannaregio)

My husband still can’t stop talking about the delicious tramezzini we had in Venice.

So…what exactly is tramezzini? I was a newbie to the concept before our first visit, but tramezzini (plural for tramezzino) are scrumptious little sandwiches that are stuffed with savory fillings and housed between two fluffy slices of white bread.

They’re served sans-crust (a key detail I love) and cut into little triangles. Basically, they’re adorable little sandwiches and once you have one bite, you’ll be hooked.

We enjoyed our first tramezzino at one of the top places to get it in Venice – Bar Alla Toletta in the Dorsoduro district. While my favorites were the tuna with egg and the prosciutto, not to worry if those don’t sound appealing to you – Bar Alla Toletta offers nearly 50 different varieties!

And just like with the cicchetti – I returned to the counter to order more after our first serving. (And they’re also super cheap; think a few euros per sandwhich!)

While I will continue to sing the praises of Bar Alla Toletta, there are other great locations for tramezzini throughout the city.

Here are some additional tramezzini spots that people recommend:

• Bar Filovia (Dorsoduro)
• Bar Rialto da Lollo (San Polo)
• Bar Tiziano (Cannaregio)

Talking about gelato in an Italian foodie guide may be too…obvious? Cliché?  Passé? Regardless, gelato is too good not to share in my book, so I’m giving you the scoop (literally).

Plus, I need to share where to get it – and, where to quickly capture the classic gelato-in-front-of-a-canal pic for the gram before it’s a melted mess.

For both overall deliciousness and convenience to a nearby canal, head to Suso Gelatoteca (Sotoportego de la Bissa, 5453, 30124), one of the city’s main gelato hot spots. Suso is conveniently located steps away from a lovely little bridge over a canal where you can snap some quick pics.

And when I say “hot spot” I mean there will be a line out the door and most people will be flittering over to the canal post-purchase for those Instagram shots.

(No judgement here, I was snapping away myself so I could share this gem with all of you!)

They have a wide variety of gelato flavors here and we went with a double scoop – one scoop of Straticitella (hubby’s fav) and one scoop of dark chocolate (for my daughter).

Sadly, we didn’t make it to other gelato spots on our busy trip, but there are plenty of other options in Venice.

Here are some additional gelato spots in Venice that people recommend:

• Gelateria Gallonetto (Castello)
• Gelateria Nico (Dorsoduro)
• Gelateria Il Doge (Dorsoduro)

If you’re looking to dine out in Venice but want something more than the popular finger foods, you’ll be spoiled for choice in terms of restaurants.

This section could probably take the form of a short novel, so I’ll keep it concise and stick to sharing our two favorite restaurants. These are family-friendly restaurants we personally dined at (and enjoyed) in Venice with a toddler.

With a romantic and peaceful canalside location in the Castello district, Ristorante alla Conchiglia specializes in delicious seafood and offers wonderful regional dishes.

While it’s within close walking distance of popular Piazza San Marco, it’s fortunately removed from the accompanying chaos, and you can still enjoy a peaceful meal here while staying close to the center of the action.

I enjoyed the delicious Gnocchi Granchio (with crab meat) and a creamy tomato sauce.

We were shut out our first night (as we didn’t have a reservation and their online system said they were full), but we got lucky with a table as walk-ins the second evening.

I suggest booking in advance (if you’re able) to secure a spot.

Ristorante alla Conchiglia is located at Fondamenta S. Lorenzo, 4990, 30122 in Venice.

Set along a quiet little canal in Dorsoduro, Osteria Da Toni is one of those charming spots that offers a lovely outdoor setting, yet still feels delightfully removed from the main action.

Here, I enjoyed a classic plate of spaghetti and meatballs. Yes, I realize this isn’t true Venetian food, but I also wanted to order something “safe” that my daughter could also pick at.

Much to my delight, she did much more than pick – she slurped up the spaghetti and kept asking for more meatballs. (If you have a picky toddler then you already know this is a huge testament to the tastiness of the restaurant!)

We were also pleasantly surprised to receive a refreshing (and complimentary!) limoncello after our meal.

I tried making a reservation via their online system but was unsuccessful. Although I did receive an auto reply that my reservation was submitted, I never officially got confirmation from the restaurant.

Thankfully, it worked out that we were able to walk in, but if you’d prefer not to wing it, I suggest calling ahead, as I don’t think their online system is very reliable.

Osteria Da Toni is located at Fondamenta de S. Basegio, 1642, 30123 in Venice.

I could eat my way through Venice and still never be bored (or fully satiated); that’s how good the food is! There are also plenty of delicious breakfast spots we loved, but I’ve already included those in a separate, dedicated guide to the best cafés in Venice.

Be sure to check that out if you’re looking for some tasty inspo to start your day – or for a pick-me-up throughout your travels.

Had we not been traveling with our toddler, I would’ve loved to join a food tour in Venice.

Instead, I’m sharing some yummy options here so I can live vicariously through you!

I hope this guide to what to eat in Venice has whet your appetite! What will you be ordering up – or what questions do you have about the tasty delights I mentioned?

Let me know in the comments below!