Within ten minutes you can stand at a bacaro with cicchetti or eat Venetian classics in a palazzo garden. There’s a tramezzini counter that has been open since 1938, and hand-made pistachio gelato to finish. Here are the nine places we would send you.
The short list
9 places, in the order they appear below.
- 01Magna Bevi TasiDaily cicchettiWalk from the Piazza: 5 minCastello
- 02Bacaro RisortoGamberi in saor and a spritzWalk from the Piazza: 6 minBehind San Zaccaria
- 03Rosticceria GislonA fast counter lunchWalk from the Piazza: 7 minSan Marco
- 04Al Giardinetto da SeverinoDinner in a palazzo gardenWalk from the Piazza: 7 minCastello
- 05Al MascaronOld-school seafoodWalk from the Piazza: 9 minCastello
- 06Osteria Enoteca San MarcoWine with seasonal dishesWalk from the Piazza: 3 minCalle Frezzaria
- 07Al GrillA meat dinner on the waterWalk from the Piazza: 5 minSan Marco
- 08Pasticceria Marchini TimeBreakfast pastriesWalk from the Piazza: 6 minSan Marco
- 09Gelateria GallonettoPistachio gelatoWalk from the Piazza: 6 minCastello
Where can you eat cheap cicchetti near St Mark’s Square?
Walk east into Castello or towards Rialto and the counters change. Magna Bevi Tasi is a family bacaro in Castello with prices well below the San Marco average, Bacaro Risorto is a tiny counter behind San Zaccaria run by two Venetians, and Rosticceria Gislon has worked the lanes towards Rialto since 1938. All three are within seven minutes’ walk of the Piazza.
Magna Bevi Tasi loosely means “eat, drink and be quiet,” and the family who run this Castello bacaro take the name at its word. There are no frills. The counter changes every day, and prices sit well below the San Marco average. Regulars mention the shrimp cicchetti and the bruschetta, but the tray moves daily, so ask the staff what’s fresh.
Magna Bevi Tasi
Hours: Mon–Wed 08:00–00:00 · Thu 09:00–17:00 · Fri–Sun 08:00–00:00
Address: Campo Santi Filippo e Giacomo, 4520, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
Bacaro Risorto is a tiny counter behind San Zaccaria. Two Venetians run it, and most of the customers are locals. Order the gamberi in saor: prawns, sweet and sour.
Bacaro Risorto
Hours: Mon–Sun 08:00–01:00
Address: Campo S. Provolo, 4700, 30122 Venezia VE, Italia
Gislon is half bacaro, half rosticceria, and has worked the lanes towards Rialto since 1938. You can have fried food, tramezzini or full dishes standing at the counter, or take them away, for noticeably less than a sit-down lunch nearby. At lunch the staff keep the line moving fast. If you want time to study the counter before you choose, come just before or after the rush.
Rosticceria Gislon
Hours: Mon–Sun 09:00–21:30
Address: Calle de la Bissa, 5424/A, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Where can you have a proper Venetian dinner near San Marco?
For a sit-down meal of Venetian seafood, head into Castello. Al Giardinetto da Severino, about seven minutes from the Piazza, cooks lagoon classics in the fifteenth-century Palazzo Zorzi, with an inner garden for warm weather. Al Mascaron, about nine minutes away, is a historic osteria for baccalà mantecato and squid in black ink.
Al Giardinetto da Severino cooks lagoon classics inside the fifteenth-century Palazzo Zorzi, and the dining room has vaulted ceilings and a frescoed fireplace. In warm weather, though, ask for a table in the inner garden under the vine pergola. Keep to the classics here: sarde in saor, fried lagoon crabs or a seafood risotto.
Al Giardinetto da Severino
Hours: Mon–Sun 12:00–23:00
Address: Salizada Zorzi, 4928, 30122 Venezia VE, Italia
Al Mascaron is a historic osteria that has held on to its old Venetian look, and it suits people who want things done the old way. Start with the baccalà mantecato, salted cod whipped with olive oil until it spreads like cream. Then have the squid in black ink, and leave the rest to the wine list.
Al Mascaron
Hours: Mon closed · Tue–Sat 12:00–14:30, 19:30–23:00 · Sun closed
Address: Castello, C. Longa Santa Maria Formosa, 5183, 30122 Venezia VE, Italy
Is there anywhere good to eat right next to Piazza San Marco?
Yes, if you step a street or two back from the square. Osteria Enoteca San Marco, on Calle Frezzaria about three minutes away, cooks seasonal Venetian dishes and keeps more than 300 wine labels. Al Grill, about five minutes away near La Fenice, is a steakhouse and wine bar with a private pier over the water.
Osteria Enoteca San Marco feels like an osteria but runs with the polish of a modern enoteca, cooking seasonal Venetian dishes such as fresh pasta and grilled seafood. Start with the cod mousse on polenta and let the staff choose from more than 300 wine labels. With a list that long, they will do better than a first-timer’s guess.
Osteria Enoteca San Marco
Hours: Mon–Sat 12:30–22:30 · Sun closed
Address: Calle Frezzaria, 1610, 30124 Venezia VE, Italia
Al Grill is a steakhouse and wine bar near La Fenice, and Venetians come here when they want a long meat dinner instead of another plate of fish. The fiorentina and tomahawk are sold by the kilo. There’s also picanha, lamb ribs with rosemary and Iberian pork ribs, with carpaccio or tartare to open. Book a table on the private pier over the water, not the inside room, and tell the staff how many of you are sharing so they can pick the cut. Late in the evening the room fills with people coming out of the theatre.
Al Grill
Hours: Mon 12:00–01:00 · Tue 18:00–01:00 · Wed–Sun 12:00–01:00
Address: Per S. Marco, 1659B, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
Where to get pastries, coffee or gelato near San Marco?
Two counters, both six minutes from the Piazza, cover the sweet side of the day. Pasticceria Marchini Time in San Marco does espresso with puff pastry and leavened breakfast breads in the morning, and Gelateria Gallonetto in Castello has made a short list of flavours by hand since 1985.
Marchini Time, in San Marco, is on one of the city’s busiest crossing points. Come for a fast espresso or a proper pastry. Mornings start with puff pastry and leavened breakfast breads, and those go first. Later the counter moves on to classic pastries, sandwiches and an aperitivo spread, so by afternoon you’re mostly choosing from the classic case.
Pasticceria Marchini Time
Hours: Mon–Sat 07:30–20:00 · Sun 08:00–20:00
Address: Campo S. Luca, 4589, 30124 Venezia VE, Italy
The family at Gallonetto in Castello have made a short list of flavours by hand since 1985. Try the pistachio first: it sets the standard, dense and tasting of real nuts. Have it in the thick, crunchy cone, which is worth the walk by itself.
Gelateria Gallonetto
Hours: Mon–Tue 10:30–23:00 · Wed 10:30–23:30 · Thu 10:30–23:00 · Fri 10:30–23:30 · Sat 10:30–00:00 · Sun 10:30–23:30
Address: Salizada S. Lio, 5727, 30122 Venezia VE, Italia
All nine at a glance:
Every place here is within ten minutes’ walk of the Piazza. You can fit a counter lunch, a gelato and a sit-down dinner into one day without crossing the city. Book the restaurants ahead, especially if you want the pier at Al Grill or the garden at Al Giardinetto. The counters are easier outside the main lunch hour.
