Bar Hop Venice - Local Vibes

If you're wondering whether you're going to get ripped off trying to eat in Venice, then yes, you might. If you've read about how someone got billed 550 EUR for a pasta in San Marco, yes, it happens. If you walk into any restaurant with a Menu Turistico or one that is in 7 different language, rest assured you're going to either come back with a bad taste or you're going to boast about how you had 'authentic Italian' in Venice.  The trick to eating well in Venice? Do what the locals do!

While I did a few bars during my hop, two stood out. And both are pretty close to the Rialto Bridge, which is a tourist attraction, so you don't have to take a long trek! These bars serve cicchetti or the Venice version of tapas, all with a piece of toothpick stuck to them to make it easy to pick up and put on your plate - for the waiter, not for you.

Cantina do Mori. 

Small and filled with locals, you might even get a few stares when you walk in, like you're invading (what's left) of the local's lunch places. Just one man behind the counters, you wait for him to hand you a plate. You point what you like and he places them on a plate. Order your drink, take your plate and get out of the way! Dishes are priced per piece and my meal with about 10 finger foods cost me about EUR 10. A prawn over avocado bruschetta was my stand out, though every dish I had could be  a stand out on its own. The dried tomatoes over zucchini, the lamb cutlet and the artichokes were all to die for. I did like the sandwich, but that was till I went over to the next local bar. 

All' Arco

If the finger foods at do Mori are to die for, the finger sandwiches are killer at All Arco. My tuna sandwich, the salmon sandwich and even a minced chicken sandwich were all soaked with flavour. All Arco is a little more welcoming and there are more then 3 people manning the counters, but the space to eat inside is smaller than do Mori.  4 finger sandwiches cost me about EUR 8 and with two bar hops, my lunch was done. It was time for dessert, but that is another blog post!

Both these are located close to the Realto Bridge and a quick Google search or GPS will lead you there.