by Bradley
Venice has their own version of tapas and they are called cicchetti. When you walk around Venice make sure you stop into a few restaurants and see if they have a standing bar/food on display. You always stand for cicchetti or take it on the go, its small bites of food for real cheap and you'll also want to get an ombra. Ombras are small glasses of wine, also cheap. This style of dining is great for trying a lot of different things at a lot of different places!
On our cicchetti crawl we ended up stopping at 3 different places. It was lunch time, and the hours were a little weird at some places that we tried to go to; they just weren't set up for cicchetti yet. I'd suggest wandering around at dinner time to have the most options open!
On our cicchetti crawl we ended up stopping at 3 different places. It was lunch time, and the hours were a little weird at some places that we tried to go to; they just weren't set up for cicchetti yet. I'd suggest wandering around at dinner time to have the most options open!
Osteria Ai Promessi Sposi
The first stop on the crawl we ended up sitting down for a real lunch since we were hungry! Katherine asked and they served her cicchetti at the table since I was eating a meal off the menu, that was nice. Katherine got an octopus and potato salad, a classic combination. The octopus was cooked perfectly and the portion size for the cost was amazing! I ordered off the real menu because they had multiple dishes with asparagus, I got orecchiette pasta and it was loaded with asparagus and the sauce had much asparagus flavor itself! This area of Italy is known for growing asparagus but the most well known is nearby in Bassano Del Grappa. Needless to say we were off to a good start, both having some of our favorite foods.
The first stop on the crawl we ended up sitting down for a real lunch since we were hungry! Katherine asked and they served her cicchetti at the table since I was eating a meal off the menu, that was nice. Katherine got an octopus and potato salad, a classic combination. The octopus was cooked perfectly and the portion size for the cost was amazing! I ordered off the real menu because they had multiple dishes with asparagus, I got orecchiette pasta and it was loaded with asparagus and the sauce had much asparagus flavor itself! This area of Italy is known for growing asparagus but the most well known is nearby in Bassano Del Grappa. Needless to say we were off to a good start, both having some of our favorite foods.
Trattoria Ca' d'Oro
At our second stop we got a plate of shrimp and some ombras. The shrimp was tasty and yet again I surprised by the value of what you got versus the cost. I did think the shrimp had too much salt, they tasted good but made me thirsty! The other item we tried was by shear chance, we saw all the locals getting this fired ball thing and the restaurant kept running out and bringing new platters from the kitchen only to sell out in minutes. We ordered a couple and they were awesome! We didn't know what to expect, they looked like hush-puppies or something but they were fried meatballs, delicious!
At our second stop we got a plate of shrimp and some ombras. The shrimp was tasty and yet again I surprised by the value of what you got versus the cost. I did think the shrimp had too much salt, they tasted good but made me thirsty! The other item we tried was by shear chance, we saw all the locals getting this fired ball thing and the restaurant kept running out and bringing new platters from the kitchen only to sell out in minutes. We ordered a couple and they were awesome! We didn't know what to expect, they looked like hush-puppies or something but they were fried meatballs, delicious!
Cantina Do Mori
Our last stop was at the oldest cicchetti bar in Venice, it was good but unfortunately my least favorite. Their food was good but didn't blow me away and they were by far the most expensive, we got a small plate of assorted things and 2 ombras and it was 17 euros. I did like that atmosphere of this place though; it did not have an actual dining area like the others, they were only open for cicchetti, and they had huge jars of wine that gave this place a unique feel. My favorite was a toothpick that had a cocktail onion, a piece of meat and a pepper.
Our last stop was at the oldest cicchetti bar in Venice, it was good but unfortunately my least favorite. Their food was good but didn't blow me away and they were by far the most expensive, we got a small plate of assorted things and 2 ombras and it was 17 euros. I did like that atmosphere of this place though; it did not have an actual dining area like the others, they were only open for cicchetti, and they had huge jars of wine that gave this place a unique feel. My favorite was a toothpick that had a cocktail onion, a piece of meat and a pepper.
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