10 Best Restaurants for Inexpensive Dining in Venice

If cities like Rome and Florence have a reputation for being expensive when it comes to eating out, Venice often surpasses them. The city of canals has countless attractions and, although food is part of them, sometimes it is very difficult to enjoy a good Italian meal without leaving a good part of the budget.

To avoid the tourist traps it is interesting to book a gastronomic tour of Venice. In addition, I have compiled a short list of inexpensive places to eat well. In general, there are four categories:

• Trattorias (traditional home cooked restaurants).
• Bacari (similar to tapas bars and very typical of Venice).
• Osterias (offering set menus and casual dining).
• Fast food restaurants (in this case, pizzas and pasta).

Students, Venetians and tourists all agree that Bacareto da Lele is one of the most popular restaurants in Venice, the place to include in your food tour of Venice. This unanimity explains why its small space is always packed with people looking for a good meal for a very cheap price.

To get there you have to go a bit further away from the main monuments of Venice. Specifically, it is located on the corner of Piazza Campo del Tolentini, in the Santa Croce district. Its culinary offer, although tasty, is not too sophisticated, as it consists of various types of cicchetti and paninis.

It is traditional to accompany the meal with a good house wine, although more and more Venetians are opting for a spritz as an aperitif. In addition to the prices, the restaurant is noted for its owner's excellent service. The service is extremely efficient in spite of the crowds of customers. Of course, you will usually have to sit down to eat on one of the benches near the canal.

Practical information

• Address: Fondamenta dei Tolentini, 183, Santa Croce.
• Opening hours: Monday to Friday, between 6am and 8pm. Saturdays only open until 2pm.
• Main dish: It's very difficult to choose between their cicchetti, so try a few. Another highlight is their authentic homemade spritz.

Bar Puppa is a classic among Venetians to include in a gastronomic tour of Venice. The place to go when you want to eat good fresh pasta at a very good price.

To get there you have to go to the Cannaregio neighbourhood, considered the least touristy and most authentic in the city. The service is outstanding and the food is homemade. Note that this restaurant includes the so-called coperto, which could be considered a "service". It is usually charged separately in many places in Venice and adds 10-15% to the bill. One of the most important things to remember in Venice is to keep this in mind.

Much of the menu is offered as a set menu, with a plate of pasta or pizza, drink and coffee for around €15. There is also a hamburger menu for around €12. If you decide to come here, you may have to use one of Venice's transport services, but trying some of the risotto, spaghetti carbonara or frutti di mare is well worth the trip.

Practical info

• Address: Calle della Spezier, 4800.
• Opening hours: between 9am (breakfast available) and 11pm.
• Main dish: Definitely their spaghetti al frutti di mare.

Just for its location, very close to St. Mark's Square, this place deserves to be on your gastronomic tour of Venice to eat cheaply in Venice. And if you add the quality of its pizzas, Pizzeria L'Angelo becomes an almost obligatory visit after touring the Doge's Palace.

With a fairly extensive menu of homemade wood-fired pizzas, around 30 different kinds, its prices are very reasonable, with the cheapest ones being around 6 or 7 €. The service is very good and orders are delivered very quickly. On the downside, if you arrive at the height of rush hour, queues can be almost an hour long.

When ordering you should know that there are several sizes: medium (for one person) and family (for two). Unfortunately, there is no place inside to sit down to eat, so customers usually go to a square to sit down quietly.

Practical information

• Address: Calle de la Mandola San Marco.
• Opening hours: from 11 am to 10 pm.
• Main dish: Personally, I'd go for their spicy peperoncino pizza, but they are all very good thanks to the quality of the dough.

In one of the most atmospheric areas of Venice, the area around the Rialto Bridge, you'll find Bacarando in Corte Dell Orso, one of the most popular places in the city.

The only problem, apart from the difficulty of getting a seat, is finding it, as it's located in a hidden alleyway. If you manage to overcome this difficulty, you will find a good variety of traditional Venetian food. Although it is well located for some tourist attractions, most of the clientele are locals, especially university students. Live music performances are sometimes organised.

The restaurant offers two dining options:

• Cicchetti (the equivalent of tapas): if you choose the first option, you can choose between several of their cicchetti at a very reasonable price. The traditional option is to accompany them with their wonderful spritz.
• A la carte seated in their lounge: those who prefer the traditional restaurant format will not be disappointed either, but they should be aware that they will be charged for the service or coperto.

Practical information

• Address: Corte de l'Orso San Marco.
• Opening hours: opens at 10.30 am and does not close until midnight.
• Main dish: Their lasagna of the day is great.

A loyal local clientele is the best sign that Trattoria Alle Lance offers highly estimable dishes for below average prices in Venice. The restaurant is located very close to the Grand Canal, in the train station area, in a hidden alleyway.

In addition to the à la carte menu, the trattoria offers two different set menus:

• The first is around €12, to which you have to add the coperto.
• If you prefer, you can opt for a more expensive one, around €15 or so, with more elaborate dishes.

Bear in mind that the portions are very generous, to the point that many people have enough with the first course. They also have a good selection of wine at very good prices. On the other hand, the trattoria has won over its customers, both locals and tourists, for its excellent service. If you have any questions, just ask, and the staff is always ready to help and advise you.

Practical information

• Address: Calle Priuli Dei Cavalletti 108, Cannaregio.
• Opening hours: between 10 am and 11 pm.
• Main dish: The spaghetti with cuttlefish is unbeatable.

Osteria Al Bottegon is a true institution in the city, a traditional family-run place just minutes from the Accademia Bridge, one of Venice's most interesting bridges.

Its off the beaten track location has arguably allowed this osteria to remain virtually immune to the passage of time. It is characterised by a friendly and relaxed atmosphere in which to enjoy its extensive menu of more than 60 types of cicchetti.

Each of these tapas costs around 2 € and you can accompany them with the other great speciality of the house: wine, as it offers an extraordinary selection of regional wines. The downside to this good work is that it's going to be quite difficult to find a free seat. If you're not lucky or patient, you can always order the food to take away.

Practical information

• Address: Fondamenta Nani, 992, Dorsoduro.
• Opening hours: 8.30 am to 8.30 pm.
• Main Dish: It is difficult to decide on just one dish. As they are small you can try a selection consisting of smoked tuna cicchetti with parmesan, baccala alla vicentina and dried tomato cicchetti.

If you leave St. Mark's Basilica and you are not convinced by the restaurants in the area around St. Mark's, you will find a place very close by where you can eat the best pasta at an incredible price. We are talking about Dal Moro's.

It only serves takeaway food, but that hasn't stopped it from becoming one of the city's classics and a place you can't miss on your gastronomic tour of Venice. The reason for its fame, apart from the price, is the quality of its fresh, homemade pasta. The way it works is simple:

• First: choose which type of pasta you want from the eight varieties on offer.
• Second: select the sauce (four cheeses, squid ink, pesto, tomato and garlic...).
• Finally, pick up the order served in a box and enjoy your meal.

The staff at the restaurant are extremely friendly. They tell you where you can sit down to eat, as Venetian regulations prohibit you from doing so in some places. Although it's best to follow the recommendations, it's not difficult to find a bench in a square to enjoy your meal.

Practical information

• Address: Calle De La Casseleria.
• Opening times: opens at 12 noon and closes at 5 pm.
• Main dish: The spaghetti with Genovese pesto is really delicious.

The city of Venice has countless attractions and if you're in the Dorsoduro neighbourhood you must visit Trattoria Ai Cugnai dal 1911, a quaint eatery that offers great quality dishes at a great price. The restaurant's speciality is pasta dishes with fish, although you will also find different options.

On a curious note, if you have booked a gondola ride, you may find yourself here with your gondolier, as this is one of the places where they go for lunch. In fact, this group is given preference when it comes to receiving a table.

The atmosphere is very pleasant, the service is friendly and always ready to help. The restaurant has two dining areas. If you go to Venice in summer or spring, you can enjoy an indoor terrace located in a courtyard. In bad weather, the restaurant has several tables next to the bar.

Practical information

• Address: Calle Nuova Sant'Agnese, 857
• Opening hours: from 12 noon to 3pm and from 6pm to 10pm.
• Main dish: The fish lasagna is worth a try, but leave room for the tiramisu for dessert.

As soon as you enter Bacaro Quebrado, you will realise that this is a special place. The atmosphere inside, which is quite small, and on the terrace, is great, which is helped by the cheerful attitude and politeness of the staff.

The restaurant is located near Santa Lucia station, a bit out of the tourist centre, but the area is easy to reach by vaporetto.

Given its size, it is difficult to find a seat, but I recommend you be patient, as the rewards are well worth it. The menu is made up of a good variety of tapas, pickled fish and pasta. All with such a pronounced homemade touch that you'll feel like you're eating in any house in the city.

Practical information

• Address: 1107a Calle Larga dei Bari.
• Opening hours: 10.30 am to 11.30 pm.
• Main dish: In addition to their great desserts, their lasagna and the fabulous gnoquis with salmon and prawn sauce are outstanding.

Although they are not restaurants in the strict sense of the word, no visitor should leave without trying their famous and delicious ice creams, including those travelling to Venice in winter. Among the many in the city, be sure to include Suso Gelatoteca, near the Rialto Bridge, on your gastronomic tour of Venice.

If you've come back tired from a trip to Murano, for example, there's no better way to recover than by popping into this place. Its artisan ice creams are considered among the best in the city and the prices are very reasonable.

Suso offers a wide variety of flavours and has named his creations Opera or Bellini. Bear in mind that the portions are very generous, especially the ice creams served with cream and wafer.

Practical information

• Address: Calle della Bissa, 5453.
• Opening hours: open from 11am to 7.30pm.
• Main dish: The walnut and fig ice cream and the nutella ice cream are great.

And if you're in Venice for a few days and one day you feel like a change of scenery, here's another suggestion for an American food menu with a reservation at the Hard Rock Cafe in Venice, where you can enjoy various types of burgers and sandwiches from the legendary bar with live music.