Eating

The 24 Hour Guide to Eating in Venice, Italy

Italy

It’s mid day in Venice, and the Venetians are congregating in bàcaris, where alcohol is often paired with small plates of crostinis, deep fried seafood balls and mini sandwiches. Forget the overpriced restaurants along the Grand Canal. The heart of Venetian cuisine is in this street food – cicchetti. These bite sized pieces of food are the perfect combination of Italian ingredients served on a toothpick, each ranging from one to three euros. We round up the three places you need to know if you have 24 hours in Venice. 

Look forward to: Cicchetti

Al Merca

Where: Campo Bella Vienna, 213, 30125 Venezia, Italy
What: Panini
For: Cicchetti

Equipped with just a storefront, Al Merca is a haven for the mid afternoon wine and miniature panino. No seating areas? No problem, just blend in with the locals standing in front of the store, with food and drink in hand. The counter is stuffed with panino, some with gorgonzola cheese and others with parma ham. Amongst these, other cicchetti such as deep fried seafood can be found. Take your pick from any of these, but the Italian cheese and prosciutto panino always wins. 

Osteria Alla Ciurma

Where: Calle Galeazza, 406A, 30125 San Polo, Venezia VE, Italy
What: Crostinis
For: Cicchetti

The orders never stop at Osteria Alla Ciurma, and neither does the drinking. A glass of wine starts at €1.50, and ranges from friulano to prosecco. Seating areas are few, but you wouldn’t need that if you’re going for the drinks and finger food. The top item to try? The different types of crostinis. Owner Marco Paola is a whiz at experimenting with crostini toppings, such as stuffed eggplant, baccalà mantecato (creamed codfish) and anchovies. 

Pontini

Where: Fondamenta Cannaregio, 1268, 30121 Venezia, Italy
What: Seafood pastas
For: A sit down restaurant

Of course, it’s not all cicchetti in Venice. Fresh seafood in the Venetian markets always find their way inside this trattoria along Cannaregio. To avoid the queue at Pontini, dinner at 6 pm is essential. Pastas with any kind of seafood are exceptional, as the pastas are doused in a thick seafood stock, the result of a hearty combination  of shellfish and tomatoes. Every bite is filled with the flavours of the sea. 

Lecce Travel Tips from Andrea Di Taranto, Italian Instagrammer of Apulia

Conversations with Locals

Italian Instagrammer Andrea Di Taranto is from Lecce, south of Apulia. Andrea sheds some light on Lecce’s underground river, orecchiette pasta, and the perfect 24 hours plan in the city. 

Photo: Andrea Di Taranto

What’s Italian culture? 

Italian culture is traditions, tastes, colours and scents that run through the region from north to south. Every single place is the result of centuries of history and beauty. To fully understand each place, you must immerse yourself in it to perceive all the feelings that it expresses. This is one of the things that many people don’t know about. 

What do you feel defines Lecce cuisine?

The cuisine of Lecce is very often “humble”, characterised by basic elements found within the cuisine. It consists of common ingredients found in the Mediterranean diet. Products such as oil, flour, tomatoes, beans are put together to create hundreds of very tasty recipes. A very widespread product in Lecce, particularly in Salento, is frisella, a hard salt donut of wheat flour or barley. It is often topped with tomatoes, oil, salt, and also mozzarella cheese and oregano. Among the main courses, you can try orecchiette, a special type of homemade pasta, or the characteristic ciceri e tria. For sweets, the pasticciotto is definitely the most traditional, a sweet pastry filled with custard.

What is the one local dish you feel travellers can’t leave Lecce without trying? 

A dish that should not be missed by the tourist is orecchiette. They are usually made with tomatoes but there are many variations, such as crudaiola (mozzarella, tomato and basil), turnip greens or ricotta.

Where do you love to eat in Lecce?

You can find very nice restaurants in the historical center of Lecce. In addition to eating well, you have the pleasure of being immersed in the quaint little streets of the city.
I really like to eat in different restaurants, but my favourites are Blu Notte, Il Bacaro and I Latini. 

Castro Marina. Photo: Andrea Di Taranto

Photo: Andrea Di Taranto

Name one best kept secret of Lecce

It’s well known that Lecce is a beautiful city, starting from the historical center to the modern area, but not everyone knows that in the basement of Lecce there is a fascinating world. Under the city, there is the Idume river. It is about 7km long and runs through the city. The river runs through the old town of Lecce, peeking in the basements of several ancient buildings.

What is one thing you would recommend travellers do in Lecce? 

It may seem banal, but the simple act of walking in the historical center of the city is one of the most fascinating and exciting things that a tourist might do. Strolling along Lecce’s sun-kissed stone streets and breathing in the smells of the city is a heartwarming experience. 

Photo: Andrea Di Taranto

What if you only had 24 hours? 

If I only have one day to visit the city, I would begin by entering from one of the ancient gates leading to the historical center, walk through all its lanes before reaching the cathedral and the immense piazza to admire the magnificent Baroque architectural style. After that, along the narrow streets, I would go to Piazza Sant’Oronzo where I can admire the ancient amphitheater and the church of Santa Croce. At the end of the day, I would go to the modern area to go shopping in the various shops. 

Centro Storico. Photo: Andrea Di Taranto

What’s your favourite day trip to take from Lecce? 

If I had only one day, my little day trip will be of course a coast to coast of Salento, starting from San Foca and ending at Santa Maria di Leuca. Take some photos and eat a sandwich on the beach! 

WHERE TO EAT IN LECCE


Blu Notte
Where: Via Marino Brancaccio, 2a, 73100 Lecce LE, Italy
For: Fresh fish and seafood 

Il Bacaro
Where: Via Giuseppe Parini, 14, 73100 Lecce LE, Italy
For: Steaks

I Latini
Where: Via Giuseppe Palmieri, 46, Lecce LE, Italy
For: Truffle dishes

 

WHERE TO GO IN LECCE


Idume
Where: Via Degli Amici, Lecce, Italy
For: Lecce’s underground river 

Piazza Sant’Oronzo
Where: Piazza Sant’Oronzo, 73100 Lecce LE, Italy
For: The amphitheater and the church of Santa Croce

Milan Travel Tips from Marianna Zuliani, Milanese Foodie & Blogger

Conversations with Locals

Marianna Zuliani is a Milanese girl about town and food blogger. This fashion graduate gets the lowdown of where and what to eat in Italy’s fashion capital. Marianna reveals what a real Italian breakfast is (sorry no eggs here), where to shop for vintage Hermès, and why she thinks Starbucks in Milan will work. 

Photo: Marianna Zuliani

What’s Milanese culture to you? 

Milanese culture is many things to me. It’s a city rich in culture from its past and from its present time, a coexistence of different, sometimes opposite things that, when put together, creates something strong and unique.

What do you feel defines Milanese cuisine?

That’s kind of a tricky question, because Milanese cuisine is characterised itself by some typical and famous dishes like saffron risotto, ossobuco and cotoletta alla milanese, but to me the Milanese cuisine is something else.

I think that in Italy, Milan is the most developed city from every point of view, as well in the kitchen. Here, you can find great international cuisine and the best of Italian nouvelle cuisine.

What is the one local dish you feel travellers can’t leave Milan without trying? 

I think that travellers should not miss the typical risotto allo zafferano with ossubuco. It’s a risotto made with saffron and sliced veal shank. I’m not a fan of Milanese traditional cuisine but this dish is really good. 

Where do you love to eat in the city?

I have a few different places on top of my lists. I like to eat chefs’ cuisines. Among my favourite places there’s Essenza, a beautiful restaurant where you can eat delicious dishes made by the chef Eugenio Boer, and chef Matias Perdomo’s Contraste, where you can eat very good and unique dishes that you’ll never forget. If I want to go for something more simple and traditional, I choose Giacomo Bistrot, a little elegant bistrot that makes Italian dishes, my favourite pizza at Dry, or some angus fillet at El Porteño, an Argentine restaurant. And lots of aperitivos, my favourite is definitely at Pandenus.

What’s a typical Italian breakfast for you? 

The typical Italian breakfast is definitely “cornetto e cappuccino” at the bar, that means croissant and cappuccino. Croissants can be with jam, cream or chocolate, and the cappuccino can be also an espresso or a macchiato, it depends on what you prefer, but definitely this is the real Italian breakfast. 

Photo: Marianna Zuliani

Photo: Marianna Zuliani

Name one Italian dining etiquette most travellers miss

Of course! Do not cut spaghetti and do not eat them with a spoon. Don’t even think about putting pasta on a slice of bread – I saw someone doing it once and I was really upset! Just eat the dishes as the waitress serves you and you will enjoy it at its best. 

What about your favourite shopping places? 

There are a few vintage shop where I love to go – Vintage Delirium and Mania Vintage, which carries Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Hermès bags and some very nice jewelry! 

Photo: Marianna Zuliani

What’s your favourite day trip from Milan? 

My favourite day trip from Milan is definitely to Bergamo. It’s a really lovely town close to Milan, more or less 1 hour by car. I love the part of the city called Bergamo Alta, a middle aged village built up on hills. I suggest that you visit it and stop for lunch or dinner at Baretto di San Vigilio, a lovely restaurant accessible from a funicular. 

How do you think the new Starbucks opening in Milan will score? 

I definitely think that Starbucks will easily survive in Italy. I don’t even know why they took so long to open it here. Primarily, Milan is an international city with lots of tourists and locals that would love to have Starbucks in town. I know – Italians say that our coffee is the best in the world, and that’s okay, but Starbucks sells a different product from our coffees. You go to Starbucks to have a chai latte, or a frappuccino, or a pumpkin spice latte, and so on. All these things that we do not have in our cafès in Italy. 

Plus, a lot of cafes here are very ugly, at least to me, and all of them are far away from the concept of a cafè like Starbucks. Let me explain – there is no place here where you can go, order your coffee and sit down to work with a laptop, read a book, or simply take your time, and I think we need that kind of places. I also think that Starbucks will do a better job and serve better coffee than many Italian cafès. For all this reasons, I think that it’s great that Starbucks is opening and that it will definitely survive.

WHERE TO EAT IN MILAN


Essenza
Where: Via Marghera, 34, 20149 Milano, Italy
For: Risotto

Contraste
Where: Via Giuseppe Meda, 2, 20136 Milano, Italy
For: Course meals

Giacomo Bistrot
Where: Via Pasquale Sottocorno, 6, 20129 Milano, Italy
For: Traditional Italian cuisine

Dry
Where: Via Solferino, 33, 20124 Milano, Italy
For: Pizzas 

El Porteño
Where: Viale Gian Galeazzo, 25, 20136 Milano, Italy
For: Angus fillets 

Pandenus
Where: Corso Concordia, 11, 20129 Milano, Italy (and more)
For: Aperitivos
 

WHERE TO GO IN MILAN


Vintage Delirium
Where: Via Giuseppe Sacchi, 3, Milano, Italy
For: Vintage shopping

Mania Vintage
Where: Via Fratelli Bronzetti, 11, 20129 Milano, Italy
For: Vintage shopping