Pier Dickens ★ 3.9
€€DorsoduroDaily 11:00-02:00
Pier Dickens has run an English style pub on Campo Santa Margherita since 2001, with the Ca' Foscari student square at the door, a long beer list.
Tip: Campo Santa Margherita is the student bar square; Pier Dickens runs latest of the campo lineup. Pizza by the slice keeps the crowd until close. Cash speeds the bar.
Caffè Rosso ★ 4.0
€DorsoduroMon-Sat 07:00-01:00, closed Sun
Caffè Rosso has run on Campo Santa Margherita since the late 1800s, the bright red awning a landmark of the student square, with an old percolator still.
Tip: Stand at the inside bar for a three euro spritz; outside seating carries a markup for the square view. Cash and small bills speed the cycle.
Imagina Caffè ★ 3.9
€DorsoduroMon-Thu 07:00-21:00, Fri-Sat 07:00-01:00, Sun 14:00-22:00
Imagina Caffè runs out of a former Ponte dei Pugni art gallery a step off Campo Santa Margherita, with rotating exhibitions on the walls, a long aperitivo.
Tip: The Friday and Saturday late close is the catch; midweek the cafe shuts at 21:00 with the rest of the square. Spritz and tramezzini run cheap.
Molocinque ★ 3.8
€€MestreWed, Fri, Sat 23:00-04:00
Molocinque sits in a converted 1930s warehouse on Via dell'Elettricità in Porto Marghera and runs as the Venice metro area's biggest commercial dance room.
Tip: Historic Venice itself has no real clubs; Molocinque is the cab ride on the mainland past the causeway. The Wed midweek slot is calmer than the Friday and Saturday peaks.
Tag Club ★ 3.7
€€MestreFri-Sat 23:00-04:00, event nights
Tag Club is a small underground room on Via Giustizia in Mestre, running electronic and techno line ups alongside the occasional live jazz set and themed.
Tip: The room is intimate by club standards; the line ups skew toward visiting DJs over commercial sets. Mestre station is a short walk so the last train is sometimes catchable.
Venice Jazz Club ★ 4.6
€€DorsoduroMon, Tue, Thu, Fri 19:00-23:00, sets at 21:00 and 22:15
The Venice Jazz Club is the city's lone dedicated jazz room, a small Dorsoduro space near Ponte dei Pugni that programmes two live sets a night Monday.
Tip: Tickets include a welcome drink; arrive by 20:30 for the 21:00 set to claim a table near the band. The room is closed Wednesday and Sunday and through most of August.