Matino

Venice has so many strong points that we have never heard much about its gastronomy: we all know its romantic canals, its elegant carnival or the famous St Mark’s Square, but what about its gastronomy? Venetian food could be described with three words: varied, traditional and delicious. Most dishes are prepared with fish, meat and vegetables, but we can not forget that the Italian main dish is pasta.



It’s true that eating out can be expensive in Venice, but you can also eat out at a good price if you know how and where: avoid the central areas (close to the Piazza San Marco and the Rialto Bridge) and you’ll surely find a place with more personal attention with authentic and cheap food. Avoid the tourist menus, which often do not include drinks or desserts as that usually inflates the bill. The best solution is to eat in the trattorias, “the younger brothers” of the restaurants that are cheap but very good. Another alternative is to eat portions of pizza, which are sold on street stalls for a more reasonable price.

One of the most famous dishes is “Cicchetti” which is a kind of “tapas” similar to those eaten in Spain. Among the most common there are: meatballs, fried vegetables, hard-boiled eggs with anchovies, fried crab, small octopus with polenta, sobrasada sausage with polenta, dried tomatoes, toast with cod and the famous sardines with pickled onions and vinegar. They are usually accompanied by a glass of wine.

Besides the “Cicchetti” the Venetian cuisine offers delicious specialties such as risottos made with lobster, cuttlefish, fish and rice. But the most appreciated risotto is the “Risi e Bisi”, rice with peas and ham. All kind of pasta, such as spaghetti with clams or sepia ink, the “bigoli in salsa (fat spaghetti) with anchovies and onions and the famous” Pasta e Fagioli (beans), are also very traditional. Fish is another Venetian specialty: St. Peter’s fish, eels and the monkfish dishes are very common. If you prefer meat, the Venetian liver is the best option, stew with lots of onion.

Among the most common beverages there is the wine, as this is a wine producing country. The most important wineries are: the Cantina de Vino già Schiavi in el Ponte of San Trovaso and Do Mori in Rialto. Among the red wines the most famous are: the Prosecco and the Valpolicella; among the white wines, the Custoza al Amarone. You must also try the Bassano Grapa or the “sgroppino” (Prosecco and lemon sorbet).

If you are still hungry and feel like dessert, you should know that Venice is famous for its “patisserie”: cakes, ice cream and candy masses. The superb tiramisu, the “zaeti” (biscuits prepared with polenta flour and raisins) or bussola buranelli (butter cookies shaped like a screw) are emblematic Venetian desserts.

Now that you know what to eat and where to go, you just have to worry about accommodation. The cheapest alternative is to rent Apartments in Venice. You’ll enjoy the best comfortable apartments at an affordable price.