When in Venice, eat like Venetians

---

NO tourist menus for us! BUt before I forget: wherever you go, if you find a little restaurant you like, just sit at the table there and then, because in Venice it is more than likely that you will never find it again!

Before we left Simon had bought a guide which was the first step in determining where to eat; then online reviews helped us, although some mainly focused on the types of wine you could get.
By my reckoning good restaurants are relatively small, with a select menu, and not expensive (although that may not necessarily be true)
In San Margherita square, there were a variety of restaurants and bars, and it was quite the night life.

We ate twice in a restaurant there mainly because we arrived so late that it was the only place still open. The Antico Capon (Dorsoduro)was a great start to our venetian eating experience. The outdoor setting was the perfect introduction to venetian eating. We were choosing to stay away from pasta, so we ate a lot of fish during our whole time there. The fish varieties were like nothing in Australia; and the manner in whichthey were cooked were also very different to what we get at home. The mussels are smaller, and tastier, and the fish had particular tastes, quite irrelevant to their sauces.

Cantina Da Mori If we hadn't been looking for it, we would never have found it. The guide book gave very general directions. This is a little bar near the Rialto markets, that the fishmongers frequent, and i have to say that i felt like we were intruding. The host was very nice, and offered us a range of cicchetti (tapas like food) that was somewhat varied, and typical of Venice. I just pointed and asked for two of this, and two of that. The only thing i didn't like was the squid head, but i did choose it, so it was my own fault. The wine choices were a bit overwhelming, so i just had the house white. All it had was a doorway and a small wooden sign.

Casin Dei Nobili (Dorsoduro) We walked past this place every day, and we just walked in one night. Full of ambience, locals and old photos. We stayed away from the pizza and pasta, but again had wonderful salads as first course and fish (a specialty of the house) as second course. I didn't take a photo of the sign, but their card is on their small illuminated sign.

Osteria ae Cravate (my favourite) (S. Croce) For the whole trip, this is definately my favourite. The host spoke english, and the menu was written on recycled paper in pen. Not a large menu, which to me means that the food is fresh. He recommended a particular fish dish because it was a sauce from his restaurant, and the fish had just come in that morning. I liked that he was excited about the food they served, and recommended one thing over another.
I liked the decor and the fact there was no muzak. I'll be sending them a tie to add to their collection. We had walked past it the day before, and weren't sure about finding it again.
And finally L'Aquasanta. The Diavolo e l'aquasanta was recommended to be by my travel agant. It took us days to find it, and when we did it was closed for the holidays..... The sign was cute; i guess it'll keep for next

---

Photos

A square with cafe
There was a little cafe here we meant to try, but we could never find the square again!

Casin dei Nobili
A small restaurant around the corner from San BArnaba

Look behind the Rialto Markets
The darkest restaurant we went to was Cantina Da Mori behind the markets somewhere

Osteria ae Cravate
The host was wonderful and full of tales about his food

L'Aquasanta
The restaurant that took the longest to find, and which was closed for the holidays