7 Best Restaurants in Venice, Italy

This is the most famous restaurant in Venice for the city's working class; if you can get a table for lunch, you'll eat, without any choice, what Marisa prepares for her local clientele—generally, enormous portions of excellent pasta followed by a hearty roast meat course (frequently game, more infrequently fish), for an inexpensive fixed price. Dinner is a bit more expensive, and you may have some choice, but not much; for the authentic “Marisa experience,” go for lunch. In good weather, you'll have a better chance getting in, because tables are set up along the fondamenta. Reservations aren't really taken, and locals and steady customers are given preference for seating. Don't be put off by the occasionally gruff service—it's part of the scene.

Longtime restaurateur Gianni Bonaccorsi (proprietor of the popular Aciugheta nearby) has established an eatery where he can pamper a limited number of lucky patrons with his imaginative cuisine and impeccable taste in wine. Ridotto means “small, private place,” which this very much is, evoking an atmosphere of secrecy and intimacy; the innovative menus tend toward lighter but wonderfully tasty versions of classic dishes. Ask them to recommend a wine from the excellent cantina.

In a simple yet charming setting with beamed ceilings and terrazzo floors, a sister and brother team oversee their "New Venetian Cuisine," where local ingredients are used to prepare reinvented traditional dishes, often with Japanese influences. It's tasting-menu only, with seven or nine courses (or a less expensive three-course option at weekday lunch), and wine pairings from their extensive list are a recommended treat.

Although the lavish interior has been updated by designer Philippe Starck, this restaurant above the famed café of the same name is still steeped in Venetian ambience and history (it was where Turkish coffee was introduced to the city in the 1700s). When the Alajmo family (of the celebrated Le Calandre near Padua) took over, they put their accomplished sous-chef from Padua in charge of the kitchen, resulting in the addition of dishes—best sampled with a tasting menu—that are complex and sophisticated, with a wonderful wine list to match. Downstairs, the simpler Quadrino (located next to the café)—with impeccably restored neo-rococo wall paintings—serves more traditional Venetian fare and some of the best martinis in town. As for Quadri itself, the prices, cuisine, and decor are all alta, so beware. Be sure, also, to book one of the few tables with a Piazza San Marco view.

Stroll across the bridge from Burano to the islet of Mazzorbo to see some of the Venetian islands' only working vineyards, amid which sits this charming restaurant where seasonal dishes incorporate vegetables, herbs, and flowers fresh from the garden and fish fresh from the lagoon, served in seven- to nine-course tasting menus (there's also a more casual osteria). To accompany your meal, pick out a local wine like the Dorona di Venezia, made with the island’s native grape. If all the food makes you sleepy, stay the night in one of the lovely guest rooms.

A charming new concept in Venetian eateries, diminutive CoVino offers a fixed-price, three-course menu, from which you'll choose among several traditionally inspired antipasti, secondi, and desserts with innovative—and satisfying—twists. At this Slow Food presidio, you can watch the cook construct your sliced tuna dressed with Bronte pistachios and eggplant; Bra sausage "imported" from the Piedmont alla Valpolicella with tiny green beans; or perhaps even fresh gazpacho. The wine selection is passionately created; if you're looking to be more adventurous on this front, ask enthusiastic owner Andrea for his take. Cash only, for now anyway.

It doesn't get any more Venetian than this. At Marisa, a beloved Cannaregio institution, don't expect a menu, tourist or otherwise: what Marisa cooks—whether meat, wild game, or fish—you eat. Expect an abundant, five-course, prix-fixe meal of expertly prepared Venetian comfort food. The pasta and gnocchi are always fatto in casa (homemade). Primi might include tagliatelle with sugo del masaro (duck sauce), risotto di caroman (with mutton), or perhaps a zuppa di funghi, soup made with fresh mushrooms. Salmì di cervo (stewed venison) or fagiano ripieno arrosto (stuffed roast pheasant) are possibilities for secondi di carne, and on fish nights frittura mista. In temperate weather ask to eat canalside—but be on time or lose your table.