The prices, with their sources, are in the box just below. In Venice an ordinary spritz is a bar drink, ordered standing with a cicchetto on the side, and the bacari that pour it sit at the lowest level of our price scale. Pay rooftop prices and you are paying for the view. Below are the bacari and bars where we stop for one.
The short list
8 places, in the order they appear below.
- 01Arcicchetti BakaroA standing spritz on the evening circuitPrice level: €Campo dei Tolentini
- 02Bacaro QuebradoAn aperitivo that turns into dinnerPrice level: €Santa Croce
- 03Osteria Ae ForcoeA quiet spritz in a back courtyardPrice level: €Salizada San Canzian
- 04Osteria Al SqueroSeafood cicchetti facing the gondola workshopPrice level: €Dorsoduro
- 05Do DraghiA drink that stretches into severalPrice level: €Dorsoduro
- 06BacarinoGluten free cicchetti on polentaPrice level: €Cannaregio, north of Rialto
- 07QuasiProntoMozzarella in carrozza at the counterPrice level: €Near Rialto
- 08Skyline Rooftop BarOne slow drink with a lagoon viewPrice level: €€€€Giudecca
How much does a spritz cost in Venice?
At the bacari in this list, very little: a spritz here is priced as a daily habit. The bill only climbs when you move somewhere grander. A hotel rooftop on Giudecca sits at €€€€, and there the money goes on a panorama over the lagoon.
To drink it the Venetian way, find a bar with people standing around it and a tray of small bites on top. Use the table to match a stop to your evening.
Where do Venetians drink a spritz with cicchetti?
At a bacaro, on their feet. The habit is a spritz in one hand and a cicchetto in the other, taken quickly on the way through the evening before moving on. All three bacari below pour spritz, and each gives you a different reason to stay put or keep walking.
Arcicchetti Bakaro, on Campo dei Tolentini, is the Venetian aperitivo at its most everyday. It’s busy and informal, and people drink standing, outside or in. Make it your first stop and let the crowd decide whether you stay for a second round.
Arcicchetti Bakaro
Hours: Mon–Sat 11:00–21:00 · Sun 11:00–16:00
Address: Campo dei Tolentini, 183/A, 30135 Venezia VE, Italia
In Santa Croce, Bacaro Quebrado is where an aperitivo tends to run long. Start with a spritz and cicchetti such as baccalà mantecato or sarde in saor. The daily pasta specials can then carry you into dinner. Leave room for the tiramisu.
Bacaro Quebrado
Hours: Mon–Sun 11:00–22:30
Address: Calle Larga dei Bari, 1107A, 30121 Venezia VE, Italia
At Osteria Ae Forcoe, take your spritz or prosecco to the small courtyard at the back, a calm spot away from the counter. Order the baccalà mantecato on polenta with it. We think it’s the best thing the kitchen makes.
Osteria Ae Forcoe
Hours: Mon–Sun 11:00–00:00
Address: Salizada S. Canzian, 5905, 30121 Venezia VE, Italia
Where to drink a spritz in Dorsoduro
Here we have two quite different stops for the same drink. One is a tiny standing-room bacaro with seafood cicchetti and a canal in front of it; the other is a historic bar where a spritz opens a longer evening. Both are among the cheapest stops we cover, so doing both in one night won’t strain the budget.
Across the canal from Osteria Al Squero is the Squero di San Trovaso, the city’s old gondola workshop. There’s only room to stand. Take your glass outside with a bite of sardines in saor or salmon with pink pepper, and eat watching the boatyard.
Osteria Al Squero
Hours: Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00 · Sat 10:00–15:00 · Sun closed
Address: Dorsoduro, 943, 30123 Venezia VE, Italia
At Do Draghi, order wine, a spritz or something simple and settle into the conversation; the bar has been going a long time and feels very local. People come in for one glass and leave after three. Keep the rest of the night free.
Do Draghi
Hours: Mon–Sun 18:00–02:00
Address: Sestiere Dorsoduro, 3665, 30123 Venezia VE, Italia
Where can you get a drink and cicchetti near Rialto?
Both serve cicchetti on polenta, and both are cheap. Bacarino is a couple of bridges north of Rialto, in Cannaregio, and is entirely gluten free. QuasiPronto is also close to Rialto, and the thing to order there is mozzarella in carrozza. Either works as a quick stop if you’re already in the area.
Everything Bacarino serves follows a certified gluten free protocol, which is why the cicchetti come on polenta and not bread. The bites are assembled to order, so celiac travellers should mention it before ordering. Anyone else might swap the usual spritz for the ombra of the day.
Bacarino
Hours: Mon–Wed 11:30–22:30 · Thu 11:30–20:30 · Fri 11:30–22:30 · Sat 11:30–23:00 · Sun 11:30–22:30
Address: Cannaregio, Salizada S. Giovanni Grisostomo, 5755, 30121 Venezia VE, Italy
QuasiPronto is a new bar formed when two established Venetian places joined, Bar Filovia and the cicchetti bar Bacarando. Filovia’s tramezzini made the move as well. For the mozzarella in carrozza, regulars point newcomers to the squid ink version filled with baccalà mantecato.
QuasiPronto
Hours: Mon–Sun 10:00–23:00
Address: Campiello Riccardo Selvatico, 5666, 30121 Venezia VE, Italy
Is a rooftop drink in Venice worth the price?
Only if the view is why you came. Skyline Rooftop Bar, at the Hilton Molino Stucky on Giudecca, costs far more than any bacaro here, and the money buys a panorama over the city and the lagoon. One cocktail or glass of wine at aperitif hour, drunk slowly, is enough for an evening up there.
Keep it for one night of the trip and spend the others at the bacari.
Skyline Rooftop Bar
Hours: Mon–Sun 16:00–01:00
Address: Giudecca, 810, 30133 Venezia VE, Italia
Plan these stops by evening, not by address. The bacari work best as a chain of short stops: pick two or three in the same part of town and walk between them, with a glass at each and a bite where there’s food. Check each card for opening days before you go out. Several of these places change their hours through the week.
