The most Venetian way of eating is also the simplest: step into a bacaro, order a few cicchetti and an ombra, and eat standing at the counter.
The minimum vocabulary
- Bacaro: the Venetian tavern, often tiny, with a counter full of small bites.
- Cicchetti: small snacks, often on a slice of bread or in a paper cone. Creamed salt cod, sweet-and-sour sardines, meatballs, crostini, vegetables: you choose by looking at the counter.
- Ombra: a small glass of wine. Tradition says the name comes from the shadow of St Mark's bell tower, which followed the wine sellers during the day: legend or history, the ritual remains.
- Giro di ombre: hopping from one bacaro to the next, tasting a little in each.
A few practical rules
- Step away from the main routes. Two or three bridges are enough: prices fall and quality rises. Cannaregio, Castello and Dorsoduro are great starting points.
- Go at the right times. Counters are fullest in the late morning and early afternoon, then again at aperitivo time.
- Be wary of menus with photographs and of anyone calling you in from the street.
- Ask. If you do not know a cicchetto, ask what it is: nine times out of ten the owner will be glad to recommend something.
- Take your time, but do not expect table service: here you order at the counter.
A tour with company
On my Cannaregio tours and private walks I can point you to the right bacaro for your tastes, area and time. It is often the part guests remember most fondly.