We will be in Venice for three nights next June, including our arrival day from L.A. DH, myself and 13 year old boy/girl twins. My daughter has a sophisticated palate, my son not so much.

After studying the boards here, I have narrowed it down to the following:

Arrival evening on Sunday (we are staying at Hotel Bauer), either Trattoria La Fenice or Da Ivo (want to stay relatively close to the hotel).

Monday lunch: looking for a good sandwich shop/pizzeria somewhere between Frari/San Rocco and Accademia.

Monday dinner: La Riviera.

Tuesday lunch: La Zucca or Vecchio Fritolin (this will be after touring Doge's Palace and on way to Jewish Ghetto).

Tuesday dinner: Osteria Alla Botte or whichever restaurant we didn't do for lunch.

Wednesday we take the train about midday to Florence, looking for good recommendation of "take out" such as sandwiches, pastries, that we can take on the train.

pk-I highly recommed TRATTORIA ALLA MADONNA, just by the Rialto fish and vegetable market, on calle della Madonna. This is a universally acclaimed trattoria in Venice, consistently good through the years. You should also do a "bacaro" (wine pub) crawl through the bacari of San Polo, Bancogiro, the almost 600 year old Cantina ai Mori, and Al Merca-all centered around the Campo San Giacometto behind the Rialto market to have your "ombra" (glass of wine) and "cichetti" -the Venetian appetizers which make for a great meal.

As for sandwiches and baked goods to take on the train, the hot and cold buffet at Venice's train station is EXCELLENT-really! I once had their hot lunch buffet when they just put it out, and the food was home cooked fresh and delicious-wonderful pastas and seafood salads. Their sandwiches and pizzas are excellent there as well.

I persoally would choose the Trattoria La Fenice-because so many of Venice's professional class go there for special meals-and they have a lovely outdoor dining terrace as well-excellent food-the President of Italy had his Venetian dinner there this past March. But Da Ivo's is a good choice as well-they do meat there-a Tuscan owns the restaurant, and it's on a small canal as well.

I remember reading somewhere about Trattoria La Fenice having fabulous risottos, so that's a big draw for me right there. What would you substitute out to do the "pub crawl"?

I don't think you have to substitute anything, pk-that's the real point of bacaros-do as the Venetians do-during the "aperitivo" hour (which on weekends, starts in the am with "lo spritz" but weekdays, around 5-8pm-the drink of Venice-prosecco, Aperol or Campari-(Aperol preferred) a slice of orange and an olive-choose a couple of cichetti, have a bit of conversation, and then move on to another bacaro OR take a walk go back to the hotel, and then later have dinner at the trattoria of your choice. Of course, if you are in the Rialto area doing shopping midday, say, I would suggest going to Cantina do Mori (a must-see in Venice, for its age, and atmosphere, excellent cichetti-these are very small places, people crowd in, and out on the campo to drink and talk) but also Bancogiro, because it has sit down tables which are right on the Grand Canal, and their personnel there are very friendly. (Statia and I both like Bancogiro very much).

I have recommended Trattoria La Fenice many times on this board-and they are reknowned for their seafood risottos-but also, my favorite dessert-panna cotta-is excellent here as well. If you like sole, I've never had it better than in Venice-grilled sole-my favorite "sogliola alla griglia" The trattoria is very close-like 5 min. from your hotel.

You may want to rethink your lunch choices, given where you'll be. Alla Zucca and/or Vecchio Fritolin are both around vaporetto stop San Stae, so, it will be around 25-30 min. by vaporetto from San Marco, however, you are going in June, the highest of the high season, so you need to take that into consideration when planning-the vaporettos will be packed to capacity, and you may have to wait to get on the next one going by. These restaurants serve until around 2:30-that's why you may want to go someplace closer to where you are after going to the Doge's Palace, and then taking your time to go to the Ghetto-however, if you want to do those two, just plan for the time-as they aren't the easiest to find right away-even when you know the general direction from the vaporetto stop.

I take it teens are welcome in the bacari?

Any thoughts on where to get lunch between Frari/San Rocco and Accademia/Guggenheim?

Yes, there is no problem for teens-they can get Cokes or water-I'm sure they will really enjoy seeing this most essential of Venetian institutions-particularly the ancient Cantina Do Mori.

I think an excellent spot would be either of two restaurants right on Calle Lunga San Barnaba-the Ca' Rezzonico vaporetto stop-just get off and start walking down this long narrow calle, and you will reach one of my favorite restaurats-AI QUATTRO FERI-excellent fresh seafood, relatively inexpensive, also really good fresh produce-they do good things with vegetables. This place is packed at night, and during lunch, so it's better to go early or later, like around 1:30pm, to get a table.

The other trattoria along this same calle is LA BITTA. I don't eat meat, but if you do, as well as eat duck and rabbit, you will like this place-it is also very popular with the locals, and they have very fresh produce as well (the fruit and vegetable barge is stationed in the San Barnaba canal just on the other side of the calle). These places open at noon, and quit serving at 2pm. Both of them excellent, well-prised local Venetian eateries. After you finish lunch you can keep on walking this calle all the way to San Sebastiano, to see the absolutely stunning and vibrant Veronese frescos on the wall and particularly the ceiling.

ttt

I don't know if we will want a full lunch as well as full dinner (our stay at the Bauer includes breakfast, which I have heard is quite large), so what about gelateria/sandwich shops on our way to Accademia?

At the foot of the Accademia bridge, there is a pizzeria. I haven't eaten there myself, but posters here and in other travel forums have written well of it.

I think it makes a bit more sense to have your Tuesday lunch standing at the bar at Alla Botte, and then have Tuesday dinner at La Zucca or Vecia Fritolin. Alla Botte is on the way from the Doge's Palace to the ghetto, and you can stop in a couple of other bars for cichetti as well. There are all kinds of places on the way.

I like Zerlina's suggestion of the Accademia pizzeria - it really has a stunning setting - but if you want something faster, go around the corner to Gia Schiavi for some crostini.

Riviera is wonderful but fairly expensive. Fantastic, fresh as the ocean seafood in the most gorgeous setting right on the Giudecca canal.
We loved this restaurant so much we went there twice in our 4 days in Venice, once having the degustation menu and once ordering a la carte.

Enjoy!

Pkdof-the best gelateria on the Zattere (the waterfront area of Dorsoduro, walking behind the Accademia)is NICO'S -one of the two or three best gelateria in Venice.

I think I was the first to recommend Vecio Fritolin-which is located in Santa Croce, a couple of minutes away from la Zucca, it is very popular, good "frito misto" (mixed fried fish) lightly done, (hence the word "fritolin&quot. Most everything here is house made, and the trattoria Vecio Fritolin is a real favorite of the Italian tour guides, as well as the French financier Francois Pinault-this restaurant caters to Pinault's Palazzo Grassi cafe.

Here is the website for Vecio Fritolin:

http://www.veciofritolin.it/index_flash_en.php

Osteria Alla Zucca

http://www.lazucca.it/


And my favorite: Trattoria alla Madonna at Rialto:

http://www.ristoranteallamadonna.com/eng/locale.htm

We returned from Venice just last week. We had a really great meal at alla Madonna. I had never been before, and always avoided it because of the lines and also because I thought of it as another Rialto tourist restaurant. I was very wrong. I had a great meal there and the coda di rospa was so good I could have eaten another. We picked it clean. I had tiramisu that was good; avoid the chocolate cake.

I also loved La Zucca, but ordered wrong. I had the pumpkin flan for a first course. It was good and very rich, but I liked the pumpkin lasagna better. Then I ordered the lamb that came with braised fennel. The fennel was very good but the lamb was a bit of a miss. I would probably order fish or vegetables next time.

Both places were very good and not expensive. You may want more upscale meals than these, but they were both quite good.

Tuscan, I'm glad you went to alla Madonna-the Venetians I know (even the servers from other restaurants) all recommed this trattoria-because the seafood is so fresh, and it is a charming, best of Venice kind of place. I'll be looking forward to hearing about your trip.

Pkdof-if you want to know where the very best pizzeria is in Venice-it is right there in San Marco, about 5 minutes from your hotel, just past La Fenice, on calle de la Mandola-(ask the hotel to show you how to get there) it's called ROSA ROSSA-made to order, very fresh ingredients-you will NOT find better pizza in a city that is not at all known for its pizza, by any means-excellent fresh pastas as well, and inexpensive.

Here's another vote for Alla Madonna. I couldn't imagine going to Venice and not going there.

As much as any Venetian restaurant could be considered a down-home Venice "institution" then I think alla Madonna could be so considered. It's always packed for a reason.

hi,

a question for all you experts - is it necessary/possible to book at the places mentioned?

regards, ann

Definitely book at La Zucca if you are going there.

No, I disagree, it depends on when you are going, Ann-my friends live 5 minutes away from La Zucca and Vecio Fritolin, and I passed both of these places plenty of times this past March in the early evenings and it was not full. If you are going at the height of the tourist season, and at night, I would say it is advisable to book ahead, otherwise, tourist season or no, if you get there at 7:00, when both these places open you'll have no problem whatever.

Now, if you want to eat later, say around 8-8:30ish, when Venetians and other Europeans typically dine, then I'd say you may want to make a reservation, particularly on a Friday or Saturday, and I say that more for VF, as it is very popular with the "chic" crowd-(because it is Pinault's favorite restaurant-Pinault-the French tycoon and luxury goods owner of LV, YSL and other French megabrands is Salma Hayak's prospective FIL) than La Zucca, because this past March I did not see it as full.

Girlspy, you're gonna have to quit giving our favorite place away. It might start getting crowded one day!