ARTBEAT Gourmet Tips

The kitchen celebrates the best the sea has to offer: fish and seafood bought daily fresh at the nearby Rialto market, prepared with that unpretentious mastery that defines true Venetian cucina. No frills, no staging – just produce, craft and passion.

The Trattoria da Mauretto, hidden in a narrow alley near the Ponte del Borgo, is among the oldest and most authentic fish restaurants in Venice. Almost exclusively local guests, daily-fresh catch, a frittura mista of incomparable quality – and a menu that hangs only in the window. The best insider tip on the Lido.

A table with a view of the Venetian skyline. The family-run place lies right on the water; the seafront walkway becomes the natural extension of the dining room. On the plate fresh seafood and home-made pasta – prepared with the kind of care only family hospitality can produce.

Set among the colourful houses of Burano, the Trattoria al Gatto Nero has been an institution of Venetian lagoon cuisine for over 50 years. The Bovo family serves with passion and down-to-earth honesty whatever the lagoon and the sea around Burano have to offer: hand-made bigoli in salsa, risotto di gò, crisply fried gobies and the famous fish stew from the daily catch. The atmosphere is warm and unpretentious – once you've eaten here, you come back.

Right on the canal since 1954, under an old pergola – fresh fish, home-made pasta, vongole from the lagoon. After the meal, stroll through the Venissa estate and walk over the bridge to Burano. The best restaurant that few tourists know.

Fried specialities, bigoli in salsa, seppie al nero — on the terrace overlooking the canal.

In a charming Liberty-style villa, on the canal near the Gran Viale, Luca and Caterina serve high-quality Venetian fish cuisine. Home-made pasta, daily-fresh fish, a legendary fritto misto.

The family atmosphere and the excellent cuisine have been appreciated by tourists and locals alike for decades.

For over a hundred years the trattoria has been the uncrowned queen of Burano – a family legend and one of the best dining addresses in the lagoon. Lucio Fontana left a painting here as thanks for the hospitality, Charlie Chaplin and Robert De Niro sat at these tables. The walls tell stories no guidebook knows. In the kitchen the sea reigns with unbroken passion: the legendary risotto di gò – a lagoon classic that few master so well –, pasta with vongole and fresh fritto misto, prepared by the Barbaro family with the same devotion for four generations.

Since 1929 the heart of Malamocco with views of Venice – four generations of Venetian culinary tradition, once the regular haunt of Hugo Pratt. Fresh fish, legendary fritto misto, spaghetti alle vongole in the cosy summer garden.

Honest home cooking, tables right on the canal, very good value for money. At lunchtime a fixed menu — what the cook cooks is what you eat.

Off the Gran Viale, in a quiet residential area of the Lido, this warm-hearted place awaits with genuine Venetian fish cuisine. A must-try: the Tecia – seafood pasta with spiny lobster, prawns, calamari and mussels.

Al Notturno in Lio Piccolo is the ideal destination for an excursion into the northern lagoon: a simple, very authentic fish restaurant in the middle of the landscape, surrounded by fields, water and great calm. Perfect for a break on a cycling trip after spotting flamingos and other birds in the salt meadows. On the plate comes whatever the lagoon gives that day – freshly caught fish, seafood and vegetables from the surrounding area, usually without a printed menu. Important: closed on Mondays, reservations strongly recommended.

Trattoria alla Madonna is one of the classic addresses for traditional Venetian fish cuisine, just a few steps from the Rialto Bridge. Since 1954 the restaurant has been serving freshly caught fish, seafood and simple, down-to-earth dishes in a plain, lively trattoria atmosphere – popular with tourists and Venetians alike.