Quick bites Venice
How to find a fast, quick, cheap meal or picnic in Venice
<
Rosticceria San Bartolomeo, a cafeteria-like joint near the Rialto.
Cichetti (Venetian tapas)
The quintessential quick bite in Venice is the cicchetti ★★★ (tapas, canapés, & finger foods) at any bar or bacaro. » more
Bars and tavole calde (Italian cafeterias)
Venice also has Italy's standard great take-out venues: The tavola calda (prepared hot dishes sold by weight) and rosticceria (same thing plus roast chickens), as well as modern cafeteria-like dining spots (such as Brek) with lots of options from prepared foods to pizza stations to a hot grill.
Most bars—which, in Italy, are so much more than just a place to get a drink (think of them as cafes)—sell tramezzini, which are like giant tea sandwiches with the crusts cut off, filled with tuna, ham and cheese, tomatoes and mozzarella, etc.
Picnic supplies
The produce barge moored in a Venice canal.
For picnic pickings, visit the famed Rialto market (much of which is fish, but there are produce stalls as well), plus any succession of alimentari (grocery stores), forno (bakeries), and fruttivendolo (fruit and vegetable stand).
The most evocative of the latter is the vegetable barge floating on the Rio San Barnaba canal in Dorsoduro.
There are even hole-in-the-wall vino stores packed with giant jugs of wine they will happily decant into your empty bottle (even a plastic water bottle) for anywhere from €2.50 to €10 per liter.
Avoid pizza!
Do not get pizza slices to take away in Venice; you'll get the wrong impression of Italian pizza, which really only gets good from Rome on south.
You can get decent pizza at the sit-down pizzerie recommended on the main dining page.
Tips & links
General dining tips
- Book ahead: Great Venetian restaurants are few and far between—and everybody knows about them. It pays to reserve your table, at least at dinner. I find that a corollary of Murphy's Law seems to apply. If you prudently book ahead, you are likely to show up to a half-empty restaurant and feel a bit like a fool for having worried about finding a table. If, on the other hand, you just show up at the door expecting to find a free table, the place will inevitably be packed and its bookings full for the evening. For restaurants that I am truly eager to try, I go ahead and book.
- "Pane e coperto" is not a scam: Nearly all Italian restaurants have an unavoidable pane e coperto ("bread and cover" charge) of anything from €1 to €15—though most often €2 to €5—per person that is automatically added onto your bill. This is perfectly normal and perfectly legal (though a few trendy restaurants make a big deal about not charging it).
- Find out if service (tip) is included: Don't double-tip by accident. If the menu has a line—usually near the bottom of the front or back—that says "servizio" with either a percentage, an amount, or the word "incluso" after it, that means the tip is automatically included in the price. (If it says "servizio non incluso," tip is, obviously, not included.)
Even if the menu doesn't say it, ask É incluso il servizio? (ay een-CLOU-so eel sair-VEET-zee-yo)—"Is service included?" If not, tip accordingly (10%–15% is standard).
Don't be stingy about tipping, though. If il servizio is, indeed, already included but the service was particularly good, it's customary to round up the bill or leave €1 per person extra—just to show you noticed and that you appreciated the effort.
- Tourist menus: The concept of a bargain prix-fixe menu is not popular in Italy. Some restaurants do offer a menu turistico ("tourist menu"), which can cost from €8 to €20 and usually entails a choice from among two or three basic first courses (read: different pasta shapes, all in plain tomato sauce), a second course of roast chicken or a veal cutlet, and some water or wine and bread. With very few exceptions, tourist menus tend to live up to their name, appearing only at the sort of tourist-pandering restaurants that the locals wisely steer clear of.
However, a menu à prezzo fisso ("fixed-price menu") is often a pretty good deal, usually offering a bit more choice than a tourist menu.
Then—especially at nicer (and pricier) restaurants—there is the menu degustazione ("tasting menu"), usually far more expensive (anywhere from €25 to €110) that is a showcase of the chef's best, or of regional specialties, and can make for an excellent way to sample the kitchen's top dishes.
- Book ahead: For restaurants that I am truly eager to try, I go ahead and book a table—at least at dinner. I find that a corollary of Murphy's Law seems to apply. If you prudently book ahead, you are likely to show up to a half-empty restaurant and feel a bit like a fool for having worried about finding a table. If, on the other hand, you just show up at the door expecting to find a free table, the place will inevitably be packed and its bookings full for the evening.
Top Venice culinary tours & experiences
Italian dining phrases
English (Inglese) |
Italian (Italiano) |
Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun |
Good day |
Buon giorno |
bwohn JOUR-noh |
Good evening |
Buona sera |
BWOH-nah SAIR-rah |
Good night |
Buona notte |
BWOH-nah NOTE-tay |
Goodbye |
Arrivederci |
ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee |
Excuse me (to get attention) |
Scusi |
SKOO-zee |
thank you |
grazie |
GRAT-tzee-yay |
please |
per favore |
pair fa-VOHR-ray |
yes |
si |
see |
no |
no |
no |
Do you speak English? |
Parla Inglese? |
PAR-la een-GLAY-zay |
I don't understand |
Non capisco |
non ka-PEESK-koh |
I'm sorry |
Mi dispiace |
mee dees-pee-YAT-chay |
|
|
|
Where is? |
Dov'é |
doh-VAY |
...a restaurant |
un ristorante |
oon rees toh-RAHN-tay |
...a casual restaurant |
una trattoria
un'osteria |
oo-nah trah-toar-RHEE-yah
oon ohst-air-EE-yah |
I would like to reserve... |
Vorrei prenotare... |
voar-RAY pray-note-ARE-eh |
a table for two |
una tavola per due |
oo-nah TAH-voal-lah pair DOO-way |
...for 7pm |
per le sette |
pair lay SET-tay |
...for 7:30pm |
per le sette e mezzo |
pair lay SET-tay eh MET-tzoh |
...for 8pm |
per le otto |
pair lay OH-toh |
|
|
|
I would like |
Vorrei... |
voar-RAY |
...some (of) |
un pó (di) |
oon POH (dee) |
...this |
questo |
KWAY-sto |
...that |
quello |
KWEL-loh |
chicken |
pollo |
POL-loh |
steak |
bistecca |
bee-STEAK-ah |
veal |
vitello |
vee-TEL-oh |
fish |
pesce |
PEH-shay |
meat |
carne |
KAR-neh |
I am vegetarian |
sono vegetariano |
SO-no veg-eh-tair-ee-YAH-no |
side dish [veggies always come seperately] |
cotorno |
kon-TOR-no |
dessert |
dolce |
DOAL-chay |
and |
e |
ay |
...a glass of |
un bicchiere di |
oon bee-key-YAIR-eh dee |
...a bottle of |
una bottiglia di |
oo-na boh-TEEL-ya dee |
...a half-liter of |
mezzo litro di |
MET-tzoh LEE-tro dee |
...fizzy water |
acqua gassata |
AH-kwah gah-SAHT-tah |
...still water |
acqua non gassata |
AH-kwah noan gah-SAHT-tah |
...red wine |
vino rosso |
VEE-noh ROH-so |
...white wine |
vino
bianco |
VEE-noh bee-YAHN-koh |
...beer |
birra |
BEER-a |
Check, please |
Il conto, per favore |
eel COAN-toh pair fah-VOAR-eh |
Is service included? |
É incluso il servizio? |
ay een-CLOU-so eel sair-VEET-zee-yo |
Venice links & resources
- Airport transfers: By land (to Piazzale Roma)
- Atvo.it (shuttle bus: €6)
- Actv.it (city bus: €6)
- Venice rail station
- Venezia Santa Lucia: Grandistazioni.it, Fondamenta S. Lucia (in the NW corner of the city)
- Vaproetto to San Marco: 1, 2, N
- Driving/parking
- Asmvenezia.it (Piazzale Rome garage: most central, €23–29; S. Giuliano lot: farthest, €12)
- Veniceparking.it (Tronchetto garage: fairly central, €21)
- Car resources
- Emergency service/tow: tel. 803-116
- Highway agency: Autostrade.it (traffic info, serivce areas, toll calculator, weather)
- Italian automotive club (~AAA): Aci.it
- ZTLs: Ztl-italia.blogspot.com (lightly outdated, but handy, links to cities' traffic-free zones)
Walks & Day tours
Longer tours
Share this page
Search ReidsItaly.com