-
$$ | San Marco |
Florian is not only Italy's first café (1720), but also one of its most beautiful, with glittering, neo-Baroque decor and 19th-century wall panels depicting Venetian heroes. The coffee, drinks, and snacks are good, but most people—including Venetians from time to time—come for the atmosphere and history: this was the only café to serve women during the 18th century (hence Casanova's patronage); it was frequented by artistic notables like Wagner, Goethe, Goldoni, Lord Byron, Marcel Proust, and Charles Dickens; and it was the birthplace of the international art exhibition that became the Venice Biennale. There's a surcharge for music; those in the know opt for the comfortable back bar.
Piazza San Marco 57, Venice, Veneto, 30124, Italy
Known For
- Prime location on St. Mark's Square
- Beautiful, historic interior
- Hot chocolate, coffee, and quick nibbles
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed early Jan.
-
$ | Cannaregio |
Filled brioche, exquisite chocolates and pastries, such as kranz (a braided pastry filled with almond paste and raisins) and strudel from the Friuli region, and bar service make Dal Mas a great choice for breakfast. It's been a local favorite since 1906.
Cannaregio 150/A, Venice, Veneto, 30121, Italy
Known For
- Savory snacks and drinks
- Handy pit-stop near the station
- Delicious pastries like Pastine di Riso
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues.
-
$$ | San Marco |
Come for breakfast, a predinner aperitivo, or anything in between at this always lively historic coffeehouse—opened in 1775 and taken over by the famous culinary Alajmo family in 2011—in the center of the action on Piazza San Marco. Choose from a wide selection of pastries at breakfast (though the cappuccino and brioche combo is always a classic), pizzas at lunch, and tramezzini all day long, including one with lobster.
Piazza San Marco 121, Venice, Veneto, 30124, Italy
Known For
- Extensive (though pricey) aperitivo
- Celebrity owners
- Prime people-watching
-
$$ | |
It's all about the views at this classic, informal wine bar–restaurant, where tables perched on the water’s edge are often filled with chatty patrons, particularly at lunchtime. The homemade pasta and fish dishes are highly recommended, and although they don't really serve dinner, a filling selection of cicheti is offered in the evening.
Isola della Giudecca 448, Giudecca, Veneto, 30133, Italy
Known For
- Sea bass ravioli, grilled seafood, and baccalà
- Good, affordable wine list
- Superlative views
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
-
$$ | |
Set by the Palanca waterside with lagoon views and clean, contemporary interiors, Majer is a reliable, quality bet at any time of day. Start as early as 7 am for breakfast cappuccino and pastries or arrive later for brunch bites, leisurely pasta lunches, picnic bakes, aperitvo (aperitif) with vino, or dinner dates until 10 pm.
Fondamenta Sant'Eufemia 461, Giudecca, Veneto, Italy
Known For
- All-day snacks
- Sbrisòlona (a traditional crumbly almond cake), biscotti, cakes, and semifreddi (dessert with a texture between ice cream and mousse)
- Grilled seafood and wagyu steak for dinner
-
Recommended Fodor’s Video
-
-
$ | |
This popular breakfast spot close to the Rialto attracts a mix of locals and tourists. Enjoy your pastry and coffee inside the old-time pastry shop or, if you’re lucky, snag a seat outside.
San Marco 4589, Venice, Veneto, 30124, Italy
Known For
- Tasty espresso
- Traditional Venetian pastries
- Friendly, helpful staff
-
$ | San Polo |
Even if this café/wine bar wasn't at one of the city's busiest intersections, on the corner between the Frari and the Scuola of San Rocco, it would be worth the trip. It's small but with an amazing variety of drinks, cicheti, and pastries, plus an energetic and welcoming atmosphere. There's room for only a very few seats inside, but you'll want to be at a table outside anyway, watching tourists, students, commuters, and locals stream past.
San Polo 3028, Venice, Veneto, Italy
Known For
- Central location
- Outdoor dining
- Bustling energy
-
$ | San Polo |
Just because it's noon and you only have enough time between sights for a sandwich doesn't mean that it can't be a satisfying, even awe-inspiring, one. There's no menu at All'Arco, but a scan of what's behind the glass counter is all you need; order what entices you, or have Roberto or Matteo (father and son) suggest a cicheto or panino. Options here are broad enough to satisfy both conservative and adventurous eaters. Wine choices are well suited to the food. Arrive early or at the tail end of lunchtime to snag one of the few tables set out in the calle.
San Polo 436, Venice, Veneto, 30125, Italy
Known For
- Top-notch cicheti
- Platters of meats and cheeses
- Friendly and helpful service
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Wed.
-
$ | Dorsoduro |
Caffè Ai Artisti gives locals, students, and travelers alike good reason to pause and refuel. The location is central, pleasant, and sunny—perfect for people-watching and taking a break before the next destination—and the hours are long. You can come here for a morning cappuccino, or drop by late for an after-dinner spritz. The panini are composed on site from fresh, seasonal ingredients, and there's a varied selection of wines by the glass.
Dorsoduro 2771, Venice, Veneto, 30123, Italy
Known For
- Relaxing with a coffee
- Evening Aperol spritz or wine
- Chilling with the locals
-
$ | San Polo |
Just over the bridge in front of the Frari church is this old-fashioned place where you'll find an assortment of sandwiches and snacks, but it is the atmosphere, and not the food, that is the main attraction. Established in 1870, it's one of the last Venetian tearooms with its original decor, and while prices are a bit higher than in cafés in nearby Campo Santa Margherita, the vibe and the friendly "retro" atmosphere make the added cost worthwhile.
San Polo 2564, Venice, Veneto, 30125, Italy
Known For
- Lovely historic setting
- Well-made cocktails
- Quality cicheti
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun and Mon. No dinner
-
-
$ | Dorsoduro |
This friendly café and art gallery, located between Campo Santa Margherita and Campo San Barnaba, is a great place to stop for a spritz, or even for a light lunch or dinner. The highlights are the freshly made salads, but their panini and tramezzini (sandwiches) are also among the best in the area. The staff prepare a freshly made pasta and a soup every day—this is one of the very few cafés where the pasta is recommended. The well-stocked bar has a good assortment of wines, and the talented bartenders can even whip up a decent American martini. There's also seating outside, where you can watch the locals making their way between the two major campi (squares).
Dorsoduro 3126, Venice, Veneto, 30123, Italy
Known For
- Tasty sandwiches and salads
- Good wines and cocktails
- Pleasant outdoor seating
-
$$$ | Dorsoduro |
This sleek café is a favorite lunchtime haunt for professors from the nearby university and local businesspeople, when you can easily have a beautifully prepared primo (first course) or secondo (second course), plus a glass of wine, for a reasonable price; there's also a good selection of sandwiches and salads. Unlike most local eateries, this spot is open from breakfast through late dinner, and you can dine well in the evening on imaginative pasta, seafood, and meat dishes. An unusual option is the one-plate "composed" dish that may include boiled and grilled vegetables with marinated salmon and tuna with citrus sauce, or crunchy sauteed vegetables with calamari, shrimp, and octopus.
Dorsoduro 3815, Venice, Veneto, 30123, Italy
Known For
- Imaginative dishes
- Contemporary decor
- All-day dining
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and 2 wks in Aug.
-
$ | San Marco |
On Campo Santo Stefano across from Paolin, Le Café has see-and-be-seen tables outside year-round. It also has bar service, light lunches, and a variety of hot chocolate drinks and desserts.
San Marco 2797, Venice, Veneto, 30124, Italy
Known For
- Tasty hot chocolate
- Appealing breakfast options
- Sandwiches and pizza
-
$$ | Dorsoduro |
If you're hungry but don't know what you want, head to this bar, café, restaurant, and pizzeria for a bite. Here you can sample all types of southern Italian specialties from the Salento area of Puglia, the "heel" of the Italian "boot." Divided into two locations across the street from each other on Calle San Pantalon, the café has some tables inside, while the bakery focuses on takeout. Discover the puccia (POOCH-a), a delicious cross between a pizza and a sandwich that you order by ticking the options on a list of ingredients, or try the homemade pasta dishes, especially the orecchiette ("little ears"), the most famous pasta from the Puglia region. Skip the usual croissant with your cappuccino and try the pasticciotto pastry filled with lemon custard. "Mamafe'" refers to Mamma Federica.
Dorsoduro 3743 and 3755, Venice, Veneto, 30123, Italy
Known For
- Cappuccino
- Puccia (cross between a sandwich and pizza)
- Takeout snacks and pastries
-
$$ | Dorsoduro |
This small eatery hides a historic secret: indoors are the visible underground remains of three medieval brick vats that were used for dying cloth, discovered during renovation work years ago. A menu for the whole family varies from cicheti (appetizers) to pasta to dessert. It's a fine place for a coffee or spritz under the umbrellas outside.
Dorsoduro 3426, Venice, Veneto, 30123, Italy
Known For
- Historic past
- Fine setting for a coffee or spritz
- Umbrella-covered outdoor seating
-
-
$$ | Dorsoduro |
It wasn't long after this lovely little wine bar (not, as its name implies, a restaurant) appeared across from Squero San Trovaso that it became a neighborhood—and citywide—favorite. The Venetian owner has created a personal vision of what a good bar should offer: a variety of sumptuous cicheti, panini, and cheeses to be accompanied by just the right regional wines (ask for his recommendation). You can linger along the fondamenta outdoors, and there are places to perch and even sit inside, in front of a sunny picture window that brings the outside view in.
Dorsoduro 943/944, Venice, Veneto, 30123, Italy
Known For
- Tasty cicheti
- Good veggie options
- Pretty canal views
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
-
$$ | San Polo |
This small corner bar/café is a vibrant spot full of personality with a remarkable menu, thanks to the highly enterprising Simone Lazzari and his nephew, Devis. Along with a selection of tempting, original cicheti, it serves more classic Venetian bites, such as sarde in saor (marinated sardines), baccalà mantecato (salt cod), seppie (cuttlefish), and nervetti (boiled beef cartilage with raw onions). There are also more substantial plates of food that will fill you up, even if you are seated on one of the high stools at the small tables. Their specialty is boiled octopus. It's not cheap when you add up the cost of all those delectable bites, but flavor and originality make it worthwhile.
San Polo 255/A, Venice, Veneto, 30125, Italy
Known For
- Neighborhood staple
- Cicheti
- Boiled octopus
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
-
$ | San Polo |
You can see straight into the kitchen that churns out delectable pastries at Targa every morning. Beside the ever-present croissants are Venice's best kipferl (here pronounced kee-fer); their version of the Austrian cookie is reimagined as a flaky croissant filled with marzipan and dusted with powdered sugar. During Carnival, Targa turns out thousands of Venetian frittelle and shards of crisp galani, and they claim to be the only shop that makes mammaluchi, an extraordinary deep-fried cylinder of moist dough loaded with raisins and rolled in sugar. Targa always has a wide choice of cookies and assorted savory little pizzas to munch while sipping your spritz.
San Polo 1050, Venice, Veneto, 30125, Italy
Known For
- Cookies and pastries
- Frittelle (fritters or fried doughnuts) during Carnevale
- Pizzas
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
-
$ | Dorsoduro |
Nono ("grandfather" in Venetian) Colussi starts every day at 4 am in the pastry shop he began in 1956. Working with granddaughter Marina in the kitchen and daughter Linda at the counter, he turns out classic Venetian delicacies such as fugassa, a soft and sweet raised cake, and krapfen, a sweet roll filled with pastry cream. Each item is made fresh every morning. He uses his own decades-old sourdough for leavening, and is now also making some gluten- and lactose-free products. Take away a bag of his classic Venetian cookies such as zaletti or baicoli, made from scratch over some 30 hours from start to finish, or jar of natural fruit jam.
Dorsoduro 2864/A, Venice, Veneto, 30123, Italy
Known For
- Zaletti cookies
- Family business
- Fresh pastries, made with love
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon.
-
$ | Santa Croce |
Besides the usual selection of small pastries and drinks, you can enjoy a piece of crostata di marroni (chestnut tart) or spicy cookies made with chili at one of the tables along a quiet canal.
Santa Croce 784, Venice, Veneto, 30135, Italy
Known For
- Relaxed atmosphere
- Cookies and small bites
- Canal setting
