Osteria All'Arco near Rialto Pescheria in Venice's San Polo is the Francesco and Matteo Pinto father-and-son bacaro, the local benchmark for cicchetti from market fish.
Tip: Walk-in only. Closes after lunch; arrive 11:30 to 13:00 for the fish-market cicchetti at their best. Sarde in saor and baccala mantecato are obligatory.
Address: Calle Arco 436, San Polo, 30125 Venezia VE, Venice
Cantina Do Spade in Venice's San Polo near Rialto is one of the city's oldest bacari, mentioned in Casanova's memoirs and now run with a counter of fried lagoon cicchetti.
Try: Cicchetti, fried lagoon fish
Tip: Combines a stand-up bacaro counter with a small dining room. Try the fried moeche when in season (spring) and the polpette al sugo year-round.
Bacareto Da Lele in Venice's Santa Croce near Piazzale Roma is the canal-side bacaro the students fill on the Tolentini church steps, ombre and panini under EUR 2.
Try: Mini panini and ombre
Tip: Walk-up window only; sit on the church steps with your panino and ombra. Most ombre are EUR 0.80 to EUR 1.50, panini EUR 1 to EUR 2. Cash only.
Al Merca in Venice's San Polo is the tiny walk-up window in Campo Bella Vienna near Rialto where locals stop for the canonical ombra and a mini crostino.
Try: Spritz, ombre, panini and crostini
Tip: No interior space; everyone stands on the campo with their drink. Open early evening for aperitivo, closes hard at 20:00. Spritz EUR 3.50, crostini EUR 1.50.
Osteria al Squero in Venice's Dorsoduro is the canal-side bacaro across from the Squero di San Trovaso gondola yard, where you stand outside with spritz and cicchetti.
Try: Cicchetti by the canal
Tip: Sit on the canal-side bench across the rio from the gondola workshop. Spritz EUR 3.50, cicchetti EUR 2.50. No tables, no bookings.
Al Timon in Venice's Cannaregio on Fondamenta degli Ormesini is the canal-side bacaro with a wooden barge for outdoor seating, the locals' canonical aperitivo strip stop.
Try: Cicchetti, grilled meat skewers
Tip: The moored barge in the canal is the seat to claim. Grilled meat skewers and the bar's cured-meat boards run later than the cicchetti window at most bacari.
La Cantina on Strada Nuova in Venice's Cannaregio is Francesco Zorzetto's small bar with thirty wines by the glass and freshly shucked oysters from the lagoon.
Try: Fresh oysters, cicchetti, ombre
Tip: Stand at the counter; Francesco builds your cicchetti to order. The oyster boards and the smoked-fish crostini are the moves.
