Food & Traditions
Venetian cicchetti
They are not tapas, not a starter and not a miniature meal. They are simply… cicchetti.
If you walk into a bàcaro and hear someone order “an ombra and two cicchetti”, you are stepping into one of the most ordinary pleasures of Venetian life. These are small bites served at the counter, made to accompany a drink and a pause rather than follow the rules of a full meal.
A bàcaro tradition
Cicchetti belong to the culture of Venetian bàcari and osterie. They are small bites designed to accompany a drink and a pause, rather than a miniature starter with a fixed set of rules.
A bàcaro is not a restaurant
A bàcaro is an informal place where you have an ombra of wine or a Spritz and choose cicchetti from the counter. A restaurant is a seated meal with a different pace and structure. Both are worth experiencing, but they are not the same thing.
What you may find on the counter
Baccalà mantecato, sarde in saor, meatballs, crostini, baby octopus, mozzarella in carrozza, eggs, vegetables and fish: the selection changes from one place to another and often during the day.
How and when to eat them
One or two cicchetti can accompany aperitivo, a mid-morning pause or a small crawl between several bàcari. With an ombra of wine or a Spritz they work perfectly; after five stops, technically, it may have become dinner. 😄
Walk a few calli away
Cannaregio, San Polo, Santa Croce and Dorsoduro offer plenty of good options. You do not have to follow only the most famous addresses around Rialto and St Mark’s: a few extra calli can often bring a more relaxed atmosphere.
Marghera Venice Apartments tip
Do not try too hard to translate cicchetti into tapas, finger food or appetisers. After your first bàcaro, you will understand why in Venice we simply call them cicchetti.
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