Restaurants, cafes, bars, gelateria, cicchetteria & Bacaro
A guide to all our favourite family-friendy cafes, bars, pizzarie, gelaterie, restaurants, trattorie, osterie, bacari & chiccetterie. See the bottom of the page for a description of all the different types of eateries.
Enjoy a plate of cured meats and cheese on the beautiful Campo Santa Margherita, packed with locals. We love this place!
The first place we go when we want to buy cakes or patisseries. Great for a stand up coffee and brioche in the morning.
Wonderful cafe in the backstreets behind San Marco. One of our favourites! Delicious sandwiches & cakes.
Family-run restaurant in the Arsenale area that serves Venetian food with a Sicilian twist. We always enjoy ourselves here.
Grab a bite to eat at this hole-in-the wall near Rialto. This “Venetian Street Food” is delicious and perfect to eat while you stroll.
A huge pizzeria just off Saint Mark’s square. Slightly touristy but decent food. Easy with children or large parties.
If you ask our children for their favourite restaurant they always choose Vecia Gina! Play in the nearby park in Sant’Elena. Then have a pizza on the terrace.
Luckily you can find 3 Rosa Salva cafes around Venice. This one is in front of the hospital and has the same delicious sandwiches & cakes as the others.
This delicious ice-cream shop has stores on Strada Nova, the railway station, Campo San Barnaba, & near Rialto. Great products, open also in winter.
Great little place, just behind Zattere. This “cicchetteria” is a favourite with both locals and tourists, serving wonderful “cicchetti” snacks.
Enjoy a coffee or spritz under the sun in Lido’s main square. This cafe sells a delicious selection of cakes, which are all freshly made on site.
Bored of Venetian food? Head to this elegant restaurant for a taste of Southern Italian food. Kids can run around the square while you relax.
A wonderful place just behind Rialto – one of our regular lunch venues. Chaotic and always crowded with a wide selection of foods that you choose at the bar.
A guide to fast food restaurants around town – just in case you’re bored of the delicious Venetian specialities and the children just want a burger…
One of our favourites. More suitable for older children. Incredible menu & impeccable service. Watch the chefs while you eat in this tiny gem!
A cafe in a greenhouse with lots of grass to play on for the kids. This is a great place near Via Garibaldi to take a break with children.
This wonderful restaurant is family-friendly while also serving delicious, seasonal food. Fantastic menu and charming staff.
If you want a change from Italian food, this is the best place in town for sushi. Either eat there, take away, or order it to be delivered.
A charming, tiny wine bar where you can sit out by the canal and enjoy some of the best “cicchetti” in town. A good place to stop off for a quick glass of wine.
Beautifully prepared Venetian cuisine very close to Rialto. They serve all the classics and are a favourite of both locals & visitors. The seafood antipasto is particularly good.
This is a great place for a light lunch – salads, burgers, cous cous, and wonderful cakes. They have branches in Sant’Agostino, Campo S. Giacomo dell’Orio, Dorsoduro, Ghetto, Via Garibaldi, & Giudecca.
Close to Rialto bridge this historic Venetian cafe has some of the best “tramezzino” sandwiches in town. A wide range of fillings, packed full with fresh ingredients.
Wander away from the crowds in San Marco and in 10 minutes you’ll find this artisan ice-cream store with wonderful flavours (and they have a crepe shop next door).
Hands down our favourite ice-cream in the whole of the lagoon. Near the water bus stop in Lido. We love the cherry cheesecake flavour and the fondant chocolate.
Escape into the lagoon to the incredible island of Pellestrina to enjoy a wonderful lunch in a beautiful garden. Closed during winter.
These two restaurants in town are perfect for families – they have a wide range of food (pizza, pasta, salads, fish) and a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.
Pop to Certosa island during summer for an amazingly cheap and super delicious pizza from a wood-fired oven in a van! Closed during winter.
The perfect summer relax – pizza or seafood on the beach while the kids have fun in the playground on the sand.
Relaxed restaurant with wonderful “antipasto” starters and a good range of food next to a charming canal.
This is the best place to eat with kids on Torcello island. A garden, edible plates, a play area and a few goats too!
This bar is on a charming canal called Fondamenta dei Ormesini. Stop by to choose from their wonderful range of “chicchetti” snacks and hang out on the canal watching the boats.
Right in front of the Arsenal you can take a table next to some stunning statues in the square and enjoy a coffee or spritz. You might even see some Navy recruits passing by in their uniforms.
We love this “chicchetteria” on Via Garibaldi. Though small you can grab a table outside and the kids can play on the street while you enjoy a few of their meticulously prepared “chiccetti”.
Have a peaceful lunch on this farming island in the lagoon – incredible food, fantastic play area for kids, and stunning views.
Get away from the tourists and find this traditional “ciccheteria” in the heart of Castello. Only a short distance from San Marco.
Pellestrina is magical in the summer – escape here for a different perspective of the Venetian lagoon and enjoy a lunch or dinner at Memo.
Close to the major sights. This small, traditional Venetian Osteria serves “cicchetti” as well as more substantial dishes. There’s a small dining room and a few tables outside.
All the locals flock to Sant’Erasmo during summer to swim. Eat here on the deck with fabulous views of the lagoon. For an adventure take their boat service during winter weekends!
This place serves great food. It’s a typical Venetian “osteria” with wooden tables and local dishes. Good place to go if you want to try some of the classic dishes. Scrumptious meatballs!
A super little café in the centre with wonderful cakes. A good place for a quiet sit down and rest on a day when you’re visiting the sights.
Half-way down the island of Lido is this delicious bakery where locals stop off for coffee or a spritz. Wonderful cakes and bread.
On Gran Viale, the main street on the island of Lido. Grab a coffee, spritz or ice-cream and enjoy watching the locals pass by.
Good little bar on Campo Santa Maria Formosa – great for a coffee or evening spritz while the kids play in the square.
Small cafe bar between San Marco & Rialto with fabulous cakes & biscuits made in their bakery. No tables, just standing room only.
A charming little cafe in the Castello district close to San Zaccaria. Their cakes and pastries are beautifully made. Popular with locals.
A very traditional trattoria that serves lunchtime menus for the local workers. Really down-to-earth simple but delicious food.
If you have a babysitter (or grandparents) with you, leave the kids with them and head over to Giudecca for a drink with a fabulous view!
types of restaurants
A Bar is a café that will serve coffee during the day and drinks during the evening. Tavola calda is the term used for a casual type restaurant that serves food that is ready to eat, like a canteen, where you usually queue up at the counter and choose from a primo (pasta dish) and a secondo (meat, fish, cheese or vegetables), then pay at the till before eating. Osteria and Trattoria are the terms for somewhat rustic restaurants, although nowadays there is little difference between these. Ristorante are posher and more formal than the others. A Pizzaria obviously serves pizza…but sometimes you can also find pizza served in other places too. A Bacaro or Cicchetteria is a traditional, typical Venetian bar where locals go for an aperitivo – usually a sprtiz and a few cicchetti (small bite-sized snacks to accompany your drink). A gelateria serves ice-cream!