Venice offers palate-tickling food from light bites to hot meals. All over the city you will find bars serving Cichetti, small portions of food, with an ombra, a small glass of wine. Most Venetians eat it before lunch or as a substitute for a meal. Find a crowded bar and make your way to the counter and choose the tidbit you fancy. Typically it could be a square of mortadella on a toothpick, or a tomato stuffed with rice or a deep fried ball of rice stuffed with an olive. Cichetti are eaten standing and washed down with the ombra.

Other light meals include triangular sandwiches called tramezzini with fillings of tuna, shrimp or prosciutto. Panini stuffed with variations of meats, cheese and vegetables are also popular. Most Venetians have pizza or calzone for lunch. A fuller meal at a bar could be Cichetti, pizza, pasta, and salads. Lovers of seafood will love Venice; most menus have a wide variety. A popular non-fish dish is Fegato alla Veneziana - liver and onions over a bed of polenta and roast chicken or grilled meats will also find place on the menu.

Not only can you can enjoy a hot meal, most local restaurants serve a full a la carte lunch or dinner. You will enjoy a wonderful meal of your choice at Taverna San Trovaso, quite close to the Squaro di San Trovaso. Excellent pizzas, home made gnocchi al quattro formaggi and grilled fish specialties such as fried seafood platter await you in this tavern on the banks of a canal. Its low vaulted brick ceiling and wood paneled walls that are lined with wine bottles create a typical Venetian ambience. It’s good place to try local specialties if you are brave enough to eat cuttlefish in its own ink. You could of course stick to the tourist fare, known as menù turistico that includes wine, an ample frittura mista (assortment of fried seafood), and dessert. Their popular four-course menu starts with a fresh antipasto of seafood followed by pasta and a fish entrée. It also includes side dishes, dessert and wine.

An Italian dining experience known to a select few requires advance booking. Antiche Cantine Ardenghi is expensive but authentic and offers Venetian meals cooked by the owner’s wife for just a handful of guests each night and served in a rustic dining room, decorated with vintage photographs of Venice. You will be plied with delicious seafood and house wine, followed by biscuits, grappa and coffee - all as much as you can consume. The music is nostalgic, with tracks of Perry Como and Sinatra playing in the background and if your lucky, the host will serenade you while you eat!

A popular Venetian fish restaurant with a difference is L'Anice Stellato in the Cannaregio on Fondamente de la Sensa. Their pastas are flavored with spices from the Far East! The specialties of the house are their fantastic fish dishes. Do not miss the steak like swordfish grilled rare then doused with hot oil, juniper and thyme to finish the cooking. The bronzino with sweet paprika sauce is outstanding. Complete your meal with a local delight, the scroppino - a wonderful Venetian concoction of Prosecco, lemon sorbet and vodka.

About The Author

Orson Johnson writes for href="http://www.holiday-velvet.com/">Holiday Velvet, a website providing
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