Venice may not have reputation as one of Italy’s culinary hot spots. True, the proliferation of by-the-slice pizza joints and fixed-price tourist menus is astounding. But by digging deeper and choosing restaurants off the tourist trail you can find some authentic, reasonably priced gems.
One of Venice’s great gastro gifts is cicchetti, or tapas-like morsels and crostini that are washed down with local wine in a tradition called the ombra, or appertivo. You’ll find these displayed 
on the counters of many bars, usually making their appearance mid-morning and mid-afternoon (the bars in the back streets around the Rialto Market are a good place to look).
on the counters of many bars, usually making their appearance mid-morning and mid-afternoon (the bars in the back streets around the Rialto Market are a good place to look).
From the lagoon, seafood and fish is another one, and prawns, octopus and squid can generally be considered local. Again, the restaurants and bars around the Rialto’s Pescheria (fish market) are a good bet for seafood. In fact choose whatever you have seen in abundance at the market that day as its bound to be fresh.
A handful of Venice’s other islands have small agricultural industries, as does the rest of the Veneto. By knowing what’s in season, it’s difficult to gone wrong with a plate of simply prepared vegetables. Watch out for the radicchio di Treviso, a bitter, purple endive that makes its appearance around late autumn (an event celebrated in Treviso by blanketing the town’s main piazza with the vegetable) and artichokes and white asparagus in spring.
By doing a little homework on local ingredients, then choosing a simply-prepared dish such as grilled vegetables and fish or a risotto, you can certainly eat well in Venice. Wine of course is good all over Italy, Venice included. But whilst here choose a local variety, such as a crisp, white soave white or cherry-flavoured bardolino red.
