Venice Restaurants – How to Avoid the Ripoffs and Eat Well

There’s, another, story of visitors falling victim to ripoff Venice restaurants. This time it was a group of Japanese students who were charged €1,100 for four steaks and fish dishes. So how can you avoid these Venice restaurant ripoffs?

Well, without local knowledge, it’s not easy. A sky-high restaurant bill will not make your visit to Venice memorable if you are on a budget.

A quick search in Italian via Google revealed that Italians want to know how to eat well in Venice without paying a fortune. In short, the answer is to eat in Venice’s bacari.

What Are Bacari?

Bacari, in the Venetian vernacular derives from an expression which means ‘ to celebrate’ according to Italian foodie website Scatti di Gusto.

Today, the word bacaro is used to refer to cheap osterie – basically, these are no frills Venice restaurants. In these eateries, you’ll eat well and not pay over the odds. Italian foodie website Scatti di Gusto has two lists of bacari which it recommends.

While the lists are in Italian, there are names and addresses so non-Italian speakers can use them too. The biggest problem you might face is finding these bacari eateries. Getting lost in Venice, however, is all part of the fun!

While hunting for a bacaro, you’ll probably come across views of Venice you would have missed and work up an appetite.

Click here to view the initial bacari list of 12 eateries and here to see Scatti di Gusto’s other list of 30 bacari cheap eateries. Apparently the first list generated so much interest that another, longer one, was created.

If you have any problems with the language, leave questions in a comment. And if you do visit any of the eateries listed by Scatti di Gusto, let me know how it went.

For those on a budget who are visiting Venice, these lists should prove useful. And if you do try one, the only thing that should surprise you is the quality of the food.

If you are tempted by the view of Saint Marks square or the Rialto bridge, then check that the restaurant menu has prices. If there are no prices or the pricing is unclear, move on, rapidly. A quick search on the web can help reveal whether a restaurant is the real deal or a ripoff.

You can eat well in Venice without being fleeced, I know, I have done.