Venice’s culinary tradition is very ancient and includes oriental flavours (ginger, nutmeg, saffron, cloves and cinnamon) that are not usually found in dishes from other Italian regions. The Venetian table also offers the diversity of landscapes from the Veneto region, with its cattle pastures, farmland, mountains and coastlines that provide excellent products: meat, cheese, fish, seafood, polenta, rice, etc.
Generally speaking, the cuisine is fresh and light, as it contains no heavy sauces.
Fish, perhaps the star dish, is cooked on a grill or boiled with herbs, be it carp, cod or sardines. It comes from the Adriatic and the rivers and lakes of the region. Typical hors d’oeuvres are prawns, calamari, octopus, Murano crab and sardines in saor (fried and in brine with onion, oil, raisins and pine nuts).
Other classical recipes include a wide variety of soups and polenta, which is accompanied by different products, such as Venetian- style liver (with onion). The most outstanding meat dish is veal carpaccio covered with Parmesan and guinea fowl with peverada. Biscuits, cakes and pastries, such as bussulai with cinnamon, the ovalshaped baicoli, mandolato with crunchy almond nougat, and tiramisu are the perfect culmination to any feast.
Veneto wine, generally soft and fruity, is excellent, be it white or red. The ideal accompaniment to an appetiser of capers, anchovies, olives and seafood cocktail is a glass of wine (ombra), normally enjoyed at wine shops (bacari).
After dinner, why not also try a typical grappa, eau de vie made from grapes, juniper berries or plums, or sgroppino, a liqueur of lemon sorbet, vodka and prosecco, sparkling Veneto wine.
If you want to eat well in Venice, you need to be careful, as prices tend to be very expensive. To avoid any unpleasant surprises when it comes to paying, you need to remember that the quality/price relationship improves the further away you go from Saint Mark’s Square.
In cheaper restaurants, the price of a meal of more than one course plus a drink may be around 30 euros per person, while in more upmarket ones it may be 50-80 euros a head.
Many restaurants - especially in this world economic moment – have a set-price tourist menu, but the quality is usually worse than that of a two-course à la carte meal.
It is more than advisable to reserve a table in the high season.
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