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Food tours in Venice: what to eat and which tour to book
Venetian food is lagoon food: small fish and shellfish, cuttlefish cooked in its ink, salt cod whipped into a cream, sardines preserved in sweet-sour onions, and polenta rather than pasta at the heart of older dishes. The way Venetians eat it is just as distinct: cicchetti, small snacks at the counter of a bacaro, with an ombra (small glass of wine) or a spritz, often moving from bar to bar rather than sitting for a long meal. The city has a reputation for overpriced, poor food, and around San Marco and Rialto that is often deserved, but a few streets away the bacari are cheap and good.
Use this page to know what to order, which areas are worth the walk and when the Rialto market is open. The tours listed are real GetYourGuide listings, with prices as seen when we checked; confirm current details on the booking page before you pay.
What to eat in Venice
| Dish | What it is | Where to eat it | Typical price* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venetian bar snacks cicchetti | Small snacks at the bar: crostini with salt cod or sardines, meatballs (polpette), fried vegetables, eggs with anchovy. Eaten standing, with fingers or a toothpick. | Bacari in Cannaregio, around Rialto (away from the bridge) and Dorsoduro. | about €1.50–4 each; an ombra of house wine about €1.50–3 |
| Creamed salt cod baccalà mantecato | Dried cod soaked, poached and beaten with olive oil until light and creamy, spread on bread or grilled polenta. | Nearly every bacaro. | about €2–4 a crostino |
| Sweet-sour sardines sarde in saor | Fried sardines layered with onions cooked in vinegar, often with pine nuts and raisins, left to marinate; an old sailors' preserve. | Bacari and trattorias; as a cicchetto or a starter. | about €2–4 as a cicchetto; €10–15 as a starter |
| Cuttlefish in its ink seppie al nero con polenta / risotto al nero | Cuttlefish stewed in its own black ink, served with soft white polenta, or as a black risotto. | Trattorias and osterie; also as a small cicchetto. | roughly €16–24 a plate |
| Thick pasta with anchovy sauce bigoli in salsa | Thick wholewheat spaghetti with a sauce of slowly cooked onions and salted anchovies or sardines. | Traditional trattorias. | roughly €12–16 |
| Venetian-style liver fegato alla veneziana | Thin strips of calf's liver cooked quickly with lots of soft onion, served with polenta. | Trattorias and osterie. | roughly €16–22 |
| Crustless sandwiches tramezzini | Soft white-bread triangles packed with fillings such as tuna and egg, prawns or ham and mushroom; a Venetian bar classic. | Bars all over the city, especially around Rialto. | about €2–4 each |
| Carnival fritters frittelle | Fried dough balls with raisins and pine nuts, or filled with custard or zabaglione; sold in pastry shops from about January to the end of Carnival. | Pasticcerie across the city in the Carnival season. | about €2–3 each |
Where to eat: markets and neighbourhoods
Rialto Market (Pescheria and Erberia)
Venice's fish market under the Gothic loggia of the Pescheria and the produce market (Erberia) next to it, near the Rialto Bridge. Lagoon fish, soft-shell crabs (moeche) in season, artichokes from Sant'Erasmo. Bacari around the market open early for the stallholders.
Cannaregio (Fondamenta della Misericordia and Ormesini)
Long canal-side streets in the north of the city lined with bacari and osterie used by residents and students; the best area for an evening cicchetti crawl.
Campo Santa Margherita (Dorsoduro)
Big university square with bars, a fish stall in the morning and cheap spritz in the evening; bacari around San Barnaba and the Zattere nearby.
Around the Rialto market (San Polo)
The narrow lanes behind the market (Ruga Rialto, Campo Cesare Battisti) have some of the oldest bacari in the city. Busy at lunch and early evening.
Castello (Via Garibaldi)
The widest street in Venice, a residential area beyond the Arsenale with simple trattorias and bars and fewer tourists.
Food tours in Venice compared
Every tour below is a real listing on GetYourGuide or Viator, checked on 2 Oct 2026. Prices move with season and group size, so treat them as a guide and confirm on the booking page.
| Tour | Length | Price* | Group | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venice: Cooking Class with Tiramisu and Pasta Making | 3.5 hours | from €75 per person | — | Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients. | Check dates |
| Venice: Rialto Market Food and Wine Lunchtime Tour | 4 hours | from €98 per person | — | Morning people who want to see where locals shop and taste produce at the source. | Check dates |
| Venice: Cicchetti Street Food and Sightseeing Walking Tour | 2.5 hours | from €46 per person | — | First-timers on a budget who want to try many cheap dishes in one go. | Check dates |
| Venice: Guided City Highlights and Street Food Tour | 2.5 hours | from €48 per person | — | First-timers on a budget who want to try many cheap dishes in one go. | Check dates |
| Venice: Yummy Cooking Class In Venice | 4 hours | from €138 per person | max 6 | Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients. | Check dates |
| Venice: Home Cooking Experience with Unlimited Wine | 2 - 3 hours | from €69 per person | — | Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients. | Check dates |
Venice: Cooking Class with Tiramisu and Pasta Making
On GetYourGuide · run by 'MORE di Nicolò Gemin
- Length
- 3.5 hours
- Price
- from €75 per person
- Rating
- 4.8 ★ from 173 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Included
- Professional chef guide Hands-on cooking class All ingredients for pasta and tiramisu Family-style meal with the dishes prepared Workshop digital contents Mineral water One bottle of wine x 3 people Oil tasting on our…
- Suits
- Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients.
- Starts
- Calle S. Pantalon, 3707, 30100 Venezia VE, Italia
Venice: Rialto Market Food and Wine Lunchtime Tour
On GetYourGuide · run by Food Raphael Tours and Events
- Length
- 4 hours
- Price
- from €98 per person
- Rating
- 5.0 ★ from 391 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Included
- Guide Walking tour Food and wine tastings Tips
- Suits
- Morning people who want to see where locals shop and taste produce at the source.
- Starts
- Meet your guide outside the Church of San Giacomo di Rialto.
Venice: Cicchetti Street Food and Sightseeing Walking Tour
On GetYourGuide · run by Francesca Tours
- Length
- 2.5 hours
- Price
- from €46 per person
- Rating
- 4.9 ★ from 179 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Included
- Tour Guide Tastings Gratuities Drinks
- Suits
- First-timers on a budget who want to try many cheap dishes in one go.
- Starts
- Meet the guide at Campo San Bartolomeo next to the statue. The guide will be holding a sign stating "Street Food Tour".
Venice: Guided City Highlights and Street Food Tour
On GetYourGuide · run by Pink Umbrella Tours
- Length
- 2.5 hours
- Price
- from €48 per person
- Rating
- 4.8 ★ from 148 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Included
- Expert Guide Food Tasting Gratuities Drinks
- Suits
- First-timers on a budget who want to try many cheap dishes in one go.
- Starts
- Campo san Bortolomio
Venice: Yummy Cooking Class In Venice
On GetYourGuide · run by CITY TOURS CO LTD
- Length
- 4 hours
- Price
- from €138 per person
- Rating
- 4.9 ★ from 147 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Group size
- max 6
- Suits
- Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients.
Venice: Home Cooking Experience with Unlimited Wine
On GetYourGuide · run by Timonfaya Travel Lanzarote
- Length
- 2 - 3 hours
- Price
- from €69 per person
- Rating
- 5.0 ★ from 140 reviews (on 2 Oct 2026)
- Suits
- Travellers who want to cook the dishes again at home; easiest option for dietary needs, since you control the ingredients.
Some links on this page are partner links. If you book through them TonyPlan earns a small commission — the price you pay is exactly the same.
Street food, sit-down or a cooking class?
Street food
Venice's version of street food is cicchetti at the counter: cheap, quick and best between 11:00 and 13:00 or from 18:00. There are few takeaway stalls, and the city has rules against eating sitting on bridges, steps and monuments in the San Marco area, so eat in the bar.
Sit-down meals
Trattorias and osterie serve lagoon fish, risotto and polenta dishes. Prices are higher than elsewhere in Italy. Reserve for dinner, check the coperto (cover charge) on the menu, and expect many places to close one day a week. Restaurants with picture menus and touts near San Marco are best avoided.
Cooking classes
Cooking classes in Venice are fewer than in Rome or Florence; most teach fresh pasta and tiramisù, and some include a Rialto market visit and lagoon fish. Classes in private homes are common. Check whether Venetian dishes are actually on the menu.
How much to budget for food
| Style | Per person, per day* |
|---|---|
| Budget (street food, markets) | €30–45 (bar breakfast, cicchetti lunch, simple dinner) |
| Mid-range (one sit-down meal a day) | €60–90 (cicchetti crawl plus a trattoria dinner with wine) |
| Splurge (tasting menus, wine) | €150+ (top restaurant or tasting menu) |
Vegetarian, halal and gluten-free
Vegetarian & vegan: Workable. Many cicchetti are vegetable-based (grilled vegetables, artichoke hearts, cheese), and risotto with seasonal vegetables is common. The classic dishes are fish-based, and fish stock is often used in risotto; ask.
Halal: Hard in the historic centre; there are only a few halal places, more of them in Mestre on the mainland. Fish and vegetable dishes are a practical alternative; check for wine in sauces.
Gluten-free: Italy has good coeliac awareness, and polenta is naturally gluten-free, so many Venetian dishes (seppie with polenta, fegato with polenta, risotto) can work. Cicchetti on bread and fried items do not. Look for 'senza glutine' and the AIC listings.
Food scams and tourist traps to avoid
- Very high bills at restaurants near San Marco and the Rialto Bridge, with fish priced by weight, cover and service charges and extra items you did not order; several cases have made the news. Read the menu and prices before sitting, ask the price of anything sold by weight, and walk ten minutes away from the main sights.
- The café orchestra surcharge on Piazza San Marco: sitting at the historic cafés when the musicians play adds a per-person music charge to already high prices. If you want the experience, accept it as a one-off; otherwise drink your coffee standing at the bar inside for much less.
- Microwaved 'lasagne' and pizza sold as local food at takeaway counters on the main routes between the station and San Marco. Eat cicchetti in a bacaro instead; it is cheaper and actually Venetian.
- Table-service prices: the same drink costs much more sitting down than standing at the counter. Stand at the bar as Venetians do, or check the price list for 'al tavolo' prices first.
Top tours & activities in Venice
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Staying near the markets saves time and taxi money — most food tours start in the old centre.
Common questions
When is the Rialto fish market open?
The fish market usually runs Tuesday to Saturday in the morning, roughly from 7:30 until about midday, and is closed on Sunday and Monday. The produce stalls next to it open more days of the week. Go before 10:00 to see the best of it. Check current hours, as they shift on holidays.
How does a cicchetti crawl work?
Walk into a bacaro, point at what you want on the counter, order an ombra (small glass of house wine) or a spritz, eat standing up and pay at the bar. Have two or three cicchetti and move on. The best hours are late morning and the aperitivo time from about 18:00. Cannaregio and the Rialto area are good starting points.
Do I need to tip in Venice?
Tipping is not expected. Most restaurants charge a coperto (cover charge, often €2–5 per person) and some add a service charge of 10–12%, which must be on the menu. If neither is added and service was good, leaving a few euros is fine. Food tour guides appreciate €5–10 per person.
How much should I budget for food per day?
Venice is pricier than most Italian cities. On a budget, about €30–45 covers a coffee and pastry, cicchetti for lunch and a simple dinner. Mid-range, with a cicchetti crawl and a trattoria dinner with wine, plan on €60–90. Top restaurants start around €100–150 per person before wine.
Do I need to pay a fee to visit Venice?
The city has charged day-trippers an access fee on designated busy days in recent years, payable online in advance; people staying overnight in Venice are exempt but should register. The days and rules change each year, so check the official Comune di Venezia access-fee site before you travel.
Should I book restaurants?
For dinner at well-known trattorias and osterie, yes, especially at weekends and from spring to autumn; many are small and fill up. Bacari do not take bookings. Many restaurants close one day a week, often Sunday or Monday, and some close in January or August.
* Prices are approximate, gathered on 2 Oct 2026 from menus, markets and the booking pages linked above. They change with season and exchange rates.