cam

we will be staying in venice from sept 10-13 near saint marks. we love to walk and explore and would appreciate suggestions for simple yet good dining suggestions. <BR><BR>we have been told of high price/low quality tourist traps in venice. we are willing to walk away from saint marks into the neighborhoods for a more pleasant dining experience. let us know.<BR><BR>cam

Donna

Cam-<BR>wish I could give you the name of a great Venice restaurant, but we weren't able to find one!<BR>Greasiest, poorly prepared, ordinary food we found in all of Italy was in Venice. To top it off, Venice was also the most expensive.

Wayne

Guess I don't fully share Donna's feelings about food in Venice, except for the price, which is indeed very high. There are plenty of good neighborhood restaurants that serve good, basic food at a reasonable price, and there are also several upscale restaurants that are consistently good. My favorite restaurant with decent prices and good food is Da Remigio, but there are mahy others. Since you are there for 3 days, take some time the first day and just wander around the back streets and look into the various little eateries you will see as you walk. You will be able to tell what kind of places they are just by looking at the dishes being served, the kind of people eating, the enthusiasm of the wait staff, and the cleanliness of the place. Note the ones that look good and you probably won't go wrong. For big-name and big-budget restaurants, you find them already discussed in various threads on this site.<BR><BR>It also turns out that many of the little trattorie with a few sidewalk tables serve very good basic dishes such as pizza and spaghetti. I don't think you can go wrong by just exploring a bit.

cheryl

I know it is wonderful to just walk around Venice and drop into any restaurant that looks nice, but there are several places that do have wonderful food. Since I live in one of the most expensve cities in the US, the food in Venice does not seem so expensive to me. Try Da Fiore (not the expensive one, there is another Da Fiore off of Campo San Stefano) D'Igancio has a wonderful lunch that you can eat in the garden, Ai Testiere is marvelous, and although Mascaron has been written up constantly, their lobster pasta is the best! Get away from St Marks, stay away from pizzerias (it isn't Naples) and try all the fresh fish you can eat...you will not find more variety than in Venice!<BR>Mangia bene..<BR>

Jim

Also disagree with Donna. Your first duty is to get as far away from San Marco as you can walk, and start looking for small neighborhood tratorias. There are many with excellent food that won't break the bank. We especialy liked the Taverna San Trovaso pretty near the Accademia. We ate there twice in early June. Never cost more than 45 EURO including house wine, appetizers, primi and secondi, salds, etc. The Quatro Formagi Gnocchi is to die for.

dean

Try da Pinto in the Campo Beccarie across from the fish market. Great grilled seafood and wonderful antipasti for not much money. Very good winelist as well.<BR><BR>Do Mori and Achiugette can be used for a stand up lunch with nice wines for less than $40.00 a couple if you stay away from the highest priced wines. Wonderful food. Achiugette has more seafood while Do Mori is a little more meaty. Do Mori has great sandwiches. They also make a Musetto e fagioli whhich is a pig parts sausage in beans. You can also have a slice of the sandwich made into a sandwich with strong mustard to cut the richness. <BR><BR>Alle Testiere is superb food at around $100.00 a couple. <BR><BR>Alla Frasca and Ca d'Oro (aka Trattoria alla Padova) are both sinple and wonderful for not a lot of money.

Ira

I agree that wandering around the city is a good way to find a small, inexpensive good restaurant.<BR><BR>Once you find one, go back again. They will treat you better.<BR><BR>You might wish to try Ala Madonna on the Grand Canal near the Rialto Bridge.

RnR

With all due respect, Donna, but your take on Venice food reminds me of people who try sex and then report it failed to live up to expectation. My response in both instances - you must have done it wrong. You can bypass Donna on Venice, much as you would anyone negative about the act.

Wendy

I have to agree with Donna. We just returned from Venice and Stresa and found the food really unexceptional. But then again, maybe that was because we had just come from Naples and the Amalfi Coast, where almost every meal was a real treat. One place I can recommend, in the Dorsodoro section which was not all that expensive, is, "L'Incontro." We had excellent pasta and steak there.

Dale

I have recommended L'incontro several times on this board. It is at the edge of Campo Santa Margharita in Dorsoduro. The chef is Sardinian and knows his beef. Almost adjacent is Gelateria Doge, worthwhile, too.

cd

We loved the food in Venice! As we were traveling on a budget, we purchased Frommer's Venice Guide and followed his advice. I remember one small restaurant with only 4-5 tables where grandma did the cooking, great soup! but sorry, do not remember the name. But I believe the above posters to be correct, walk and observe. Have fun!

Brad

My wife and I just returned from an 11-Day Italy trip that included Venice. I found two very good restaurants that are both recommended in the Fodor City Pack guide. One is Il Gatto Nero in Burano and the other one's name escapes me, but it is on Ca d'Oca very close to Ca D'Oro. It is a small restaurant, but the seafood dishes were fantastic.

sandwiches - really!

The sidewalk cafes and stand-up open coffee/wine bars offer prepared sandwiches that you can just point to (delicious roasted vegetables, or hardboiled egg w/ tomatoes, tuna, etc.) to eat-in or to-go (things cost slightly more if you actually sit down at a table). These are all around - even in the heavily touristed areas like San Marcos, although frequented by locals often more than tourists.

carol

I would suggest to go between the Jewish Ghetto and the train station for cheaper food. Farther from St. Mark's or off the Grand Canal will be cheaper.<BR><BR>Walking and exploring is the best way to find a good restaurant. We find some of our favourites by following our nose. We also read the menus that are posted and select our price range and preferred type of food that way.<BR><BR>Food in Venice is different than other areas of Italy. You should be trying polenta, seafood. I tried the polenta with squid served in the black ink and it was very good, if a bit salty.

Louis

Another vote for Taverna San Trovaso, on the canal of the same name, near the Accademia in Dorsoduro. Simple, very good and not expensive by venice standards.<BR><BR>It opens at 19:00. Get there early, because a line starts forming around 18:30. Or go after 21:00.

kavey

Another one here who thinks one can eat well in Venice though agrees it isn't as cheap as other parts of Italy, but then they have a captive market of customers (and if I were a restaurateur I'd charge what the market could bear too) and they have to import the food in on barges.<BR><BR>We ate a number of excellent meals.<BR><BR>One recommendation is la Rivista in the Ca Pisani hotel basement, search for it and read my reviews on this site if you wish.<BR><BR>Kavey

francesca

We found the best restaurants in the Castello district (far from "everything") with the best being Corta Sconta (several postings on this board about it). Reservations a must. Definately avoid St Marco and the Rialto bridge area. Have fun.

BoBo

Apparently there is a Burger King...

Rhonda

For God's sake, take the advice and get away from Saint Marks to eat! We were starving so stopped in a little cafe just off the square. We ordered a pizza with Italian sausage - the "Italian sausage" was a hot dog! Other than that, we found some tasty food in little places all over Venice.

Anne

La Zucca has always been reliable but best to book as they have 2 sittings. First at 7pm-9pm and second 9pm-11pm. Always full. For a less expensive meal try Tre Archi which has great pasta and pizza but coffee expensive.<BR>Go off the tourist beat. Ciao