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.
Tip: Stand at the counter; Francesco builds your cicchetti to order. The oyster boards and the smoked-fish crostini are the moves.
Address: Strada Nuova 3689, Cannaregio, 30121 Venezia VE, Venice
Enoteca Mascareta in Venice's Castello is the late-running enoteca run by Mauro Lorenzon, an organic and northeast Italian wine list with cicchetti and cold plates.
Try: Wine flights and cicchetti, late hours
Tip: Walk-in. The bar opens at 19:00 and runs to 2am, one of the few late-night wine rooms in Venice. Daily-changing chalkboard list.
Osteria Bancogiro in San Polo runs a stand-up bacaro on the Grand Canal at the foot of Rialto, the rare canal-front cicchetti counter without tourist menus.
Try: Crostini and ombre on the Grand Canal
Tip: Stand outside on the Grand Canal with a glass of Soave and the crostini board. Upstairs needs a booking, the bacaro takes walk-ins.
Dal Moro's Fresh Pasta To Go near Campo Santa Maria Formosa is the takeaway pasta counter where you pick fresh pasta and a sauce, served hot in a box for EUR 7 to 10.
Try: Takeaway fresh pasta in a box
Tip: Lines run round the corner from 12:00; arrive at 11:00 or after 14:30. Spaghetti carbonara and squid ink with vongole are the moves.
Vecio Fritolin in Venice's Santa Croce since the 19th century is the original fritolin (fried-fish kiosk), selling cartoccio of mixed lagoon fish in a paper cone.
Try: Cartoccio of fried lagoon fish
Tip: The bacaro window does cartoccio takeaway for EUR 12. Inside dining is a separate sit-down room. Walk-in works for the fritolin.
Cantina Do Mori in Venice's San Polo is the city's oldest bacaro, open since 1462 near Rialto, with a counter of francobolli sandwiches and ombre poured all day.
Try: Cicchetti and ombre at the counter
Tip: Walk-in only. Order ombre (small glass of wine) plus a francobolli sandwich. Counter pours stop hard at 19:30; arrive by 18:30 for the best cicchetti choice.
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.
Try: Cicchetti, polpette and sarde in saor
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.
