Where and what to eat in Venice: Elisabetta’s tips, from a true Venetian!

One of my points of reference for the city is Elisabetta, a wonderful tour guide who was born and raised in Venice.

She, like other ‘local’ friends of mine, always knows how to advise me on the right place, the right event, and even the right street when I need to go somewhere (with the small problem that for a Venetian everything is very close, you just have to cross ‘two bridges and a calle’, but you, a foreigner, will get hopelessly confused and end up somewhere else).

That’s why when I saw her post on one of the Facebook groups I f, I got all teary-eyed! What a huge gift she gave us!

I reproduce it here – she gave me permission – with useful links to make the most of it.

Elisabetta, take the mic!

Hey foodies, I’m Elisabetta, a born and raised venetian, food expert and sommelier and I want to share some inside tips on What and where to eat in Venice avoiding touristy traps:

1. One of the must do in Venice is: eating CICCHETTI, venetian finger-food, a cicchetto can be everything: fish, vegetables, meat, cheese etc, cicchetti are made with fresh local ingredients and are seasonable. The Bacari, traditional venetian wine-bars serve Cicchetti.
   Bacaro comes from the ancient venetian word bacarar and means to have fun, to celebrate something! The most traditional bacari are in the Rialto Market area.
2. Drink SELECT SPRITZ not Aperol!
   Do you know that Spritz was invented at the beginning of the XX century here in Venice?
   And It was prepared with SELECT, a VENETIAN liqueur born in Venice in 1920?
3. Don’t look in Venice for pizza, lasagne, carbonara, cacio e pepe or cannoli…
   For sure Venice Is part of Italy, but Venice has been an indipendente Republic for 1200 years, so our way of cooking Is different from the rest of Italy, because Venice back in time was more relates to the middle and far East than to the West!
   You can have good Pizza in Venice too, but pizza is typical from Neaples, carbonara and cacio e pepe from Rome, cannoli from Southern Italy, so if you look for local venetian food follow my suggestions
4. So apart from cicchetti what are the typical dishes in Venice?
   • baccalà mantecato alla venexiana
   • fondi di carciofo
   • musetto col cren
   • trippa
   • seppie in nero
   • sarde in saór
   • bigoi in salsa
   • pasta e fasioi
   • risi e bisi
   • fegato alla venexiana
   • risotto alla zucca
   • risotto de go’
   • calamari fritti
   • schie e polenta
   • lasagne con baccalà
   • polpette di pesce e carne e verdure
   • lasagne di pesce
   • fiori di zucca con mozzarella ed acciuga
   • mozzarella in carrozza
   • seppioline grigliate
     Just to list a few…
5. What to drink ?
   • Prosecco (the prosecco area is really close to Venice, so Prosecco for us is local wine)
   • Prosecco Spento
   • Lunario
   • Manzoni
   • Soave
   • Chardonnay Veneto
   • Cabernet Veneto
   • Tedesco dal Peduncolo Rosso
     The Veneto Region produces the biggest quantity and variety of wines, so I cannot list all the wines Here ….
     Don’t forget the famous Bellini, invented by the Cipriani Family at Harry’s Bar (Calle Vallaresso, Sestiere San Marco): Bellini should be prepared with fresh pressed white peach and prosecco. Bellini is an aperitif
     Do you know that was the Cipriani Family to invent the Carpaccio meat? (Carpaccio is the name of a really famous painter!)
6. Desserts:
   • Tiramisù was invented in Treviso Prosecco’s hometown, 20 minutes away from Venice by train, so Tiramisù for us is local
   • Zaeti: cookies made with corn-meal and raisons to dunk in dessert wine like Verduzzo Veneto (zao Is the venetian Word for the italian giallo – yellow because corn-meal has a yellow color)
   • Buranei and Essi buranei : traditional cookies from Burano. Essi symbolize the Grand Canal Of Venice
   • Pan del dose
   • Fugassa Venexiana
   • Fritoe: frittelle Venexiane, traditional Carnival Pastries)
   • Galani
   • Mammeluchi
7. How to avoid touristy traps ?
   • menù with photos: run away
   • a waiter waiting outside, inviting you to go inside? Run away (good local restaurants don’t need that!)
   • if you don’t see locals INSIDE, is for sure a touristy trap
     
     Try always to move one street over, on the back streets you will find the best places where to eat real local food and find locals!

Elisabetta gifted us also of an amazing list of recommended Restaurant!

Restaurants:

• Vino vero (Cannaregio, Fondamenta de la Misericordia, 2497)
• Cantina Do Mori (San Polo, Calle Do Mori, 429)
• Adriatico Mar (Dorsoduro, Calle Crosera 3771)
• Cantina Arnaldi (Santa Croce, Salizada San Pantalon 35)
• Enoteca San Marco (San Marco, Calle Frezzeria 1610)
• La barrique (Castello, Via Garibaldi 1765)
• Luna Sentada (Castello, Fondamenta San Severo 5018)
• Algiubagiò (Cannaregio, Fondamenta Nove 5039)
• I Do Pozzi (Castello, Campo Do Pozzi 2613)
• Al Mariner (Cannaregio, Fondamenta Ormesini 2679)
• Venissa (Mazzorbo, Fondamenta di Santa Caterina 3) per la degustazione dei vini

Bacari:

• Antico Dolo (San Polo, Ruga Rialto 778)
• All’Arco (San Polo 436)
• Wenice (San Polo, calle de le Beccarie 319)
• Diavolo e Acqua Santa (San Polo, Calle de la Madonna 561)
• Sepa (San Marco, Calle de la Bissa 5482)
• Basegò (Castello, Via Garibaldi 1762)

• Vino vero (Cannaregio, Fondamenta de la Misericordia, 2497)
• Cantina Do Mori (San Polo, Calle Do Mori, 429)
• Adriatico Mar (Dorsoduro, Calle Crosera 3771)
• Cantina Arnaldi (Santa Croce, Salizada San Pantalon 35)
• Enoteca San Marco (San Marco, Calle Frezzeria 1610)
• La barrique (Castello, Via Garibaldi 1765)
• Venissa (Mazzorbo, Fondamenta di Santa Caterina 3) per la degustazione dei vini

Here you may find the Google maps with the Restaurants positions

MyVenicExperience foodies Tours

If you are interested in discovering gastronomic Venice, Elisabetta proposes some very special tours:

Sotto el segno dea Fritoa, a different way to experience Carnival in Venice: a walk to discover the Venetian Carnival tradition between history and contemporaneity. A Carnival that fascinates and attracts fans from all over the world, but that many Venetians no longer recognise as their own… and walking with Elisabetta you will discover why. Carnival in Venice also means fritters, but not only… Mammeluchi, Galani, Fritoe col ‘buso’ and without… and of course, following her on this Carnival itinerary you will have the chance to taste these delicacies of Venetian confectionery, learn their recipes and secrets!
Duration: 3 hours
Meeting point: Campo Santa Maria Formosa (in front of Hotel Ruzzini)
The guided walk will end in the Rialto area, market side.
Cost: € 40 p.p.
What is included

• licensed 100% Venetian guide
• tasting of typical Carnival sweets

Bacarata Venexiana, tastes of winter: experience the most authentic Venice with this Venetian bacarata, mingle with the locals, get to know the stories of the innkeepers, be delighted by the most traditional cicchetti and the most genuine local wines as you lose yourself in the sconte, the most hidden calli that only Venetians frequent. Your Venetian guide specialised in food and wine will lead you through this purely Venetian experience, making you feel part of the city and its particular rhythms of life, recounting Venetian life between history and contemporaneity!
Duration: approx. 2.30 hrs.
Meeting place: Campo Santi Apostoli
Cost: 45 Euro per person
What’s included

• 4 typical cicchetti
• 4 “ombre” of local wine
• 1 local wine and food expert guide

For all MyVenicExperience tours, groups are limited to a maximum of 12 people in order to ensure interaction between guide and participants and to offer a real experience, not just a tour and at the same time not disturbing the daily routine of residents.

To participate send an email to info@myvenicexperience.com