The 10 Best Restaurants In Santa Croce Venice

Santa Croce is one of the most central areas of Venice and has a lot of tempting choices when it comes to food. Here we explore the best restaurants in the area, so get your maps out and prepare for a great meal in this beautiful, romantic city.

1. La Zucca

Restaurant, Italian, Vegetarian

La Zucca is not only one of the best places to dine in the Santa Croce neighborhood, but also one in the entire city. This small restaurant makes most of its dishes with zucca, which means pumpkin. So they have a superb array of vegetarian dishes, and excellent choices for meat and fish eaters too. Their inventive menu will please most and the cozy atmosphere will only add to the wonderful experience.

2. Ai Garzoti

Restaurant, Italian

Ai Garzoti is situated close to one of the canals in the Santa Croce area. The cool ristorante pizzeria is small but decorated with care and attention, and every last detail is taken care of to create a delightful ambiance. The food is tasty and served in decent, medium sized portions of great quality, drawing back visitors time and time again. The young staff are lively and kind, and will make travelers’ culinary experience an unforgettable one.

3. Al Nono Risorto

Restaurant, Italian

An authentic trattoria pizzeria, Al Nono Risorto is located at the entrance of a small covered alley, making it a bit of a challenge to find. Al Nono Risorto serves traditional, simple yet tasty Italian dishes, think pasta, pizza and seafood, in a very authentic atmosphere. Another great thing about this locale is the fact that it has outdoor seating in a garden courtyard so visitors will be able to enjoy the nice weather.

4. Ristorante Ribot

Restaurant, Italian, Seafood

Ristorante Ribot welcomes guests daily into their beautiful courtyard and spacious indoor area, where they can try some of the flavorsome concoctions that this great restaurant has to offer. Their curated wine list is up to par with the wonderful dishes, and will be enjoyable even for those with the finest wine palate. The recipes here are mostly fish based, which is an underlying trend in Venice due to the influence of its traditional gastronomy and the proximity to the sea. But there is also usually at least one delicious meat based option.

5. Al Prosecco

Restaurant, Wine Bar, Italian

Al Prosecco is one of Santa Croce’s best bars that serve ciccheti, a typical Venetian snack. So visitors who are not that hungry can enjoy a delicious meal made up of several different crostini, or they can use this restaurant as a starting point for a bacari crawl. The atmosphere is very Italian here, which adds to the cultural aspect of this experience, and the wine selection is excellent.

6. Al Vecio Fritolin

Restaurant, Italian, Seafood, Mediterranean

Al Vecio Fritolin is a cute little venue that serves some exciting and palatable Italian classics in the Santa Croce district. The name of the restaurant comes from the Italian ‘fritolini’, a noun that is used to designate places where Italians can buy fresh fried fish. Establishments like these have existed for centuries. The menu here changes seasonally to accommodate the use of fresh ingredients in order to achieve the best taste possible. Past highlights include baccala mantecato, a Venetian classic of pasta with squid cream, and smoked chicken with radish and sweet corn.

7. Osteria Tre Fanti

Restaurant, Italian, Seafood, Mediterranean

Situated at a five minute walk from the Santa Lucia station, Osteria Tre Fanti is a small and cozy restaurant where diners will feel right at home. The crowd is a mix of tourists and locals who flock here to delight in the marvelous meals that are served by the friendly and attentive staff. To top it all off, the value here is great considering the quality of the ingredients used and the sophistication with which the dishes are presented.

8. Ristorante Ae Oche

Restaurant, Pizzeria, Italian

Ristorante Ae Oche is a pizza lovers’ paradise. Italy has a lot of great pizzerias, there is no doubt about that, but this one has an upper hand on most places in Venice. Few restaurants in the city can say that their menu is as extensive as Ae Oche’s as there are 90 different pizzas from which to choose from. This means that even the most hardened pizza eaters will find something new to try here. What is more, the vast menu does not mean that the quality is lesser than that of other restaurants with fewer options.

9. Trattoria Al Ponte

Restaurant, Italian

Those who are looking for a simple, no fuss meal without any of the frilly extras will undoubtedly be satisfied at the Trattoria Al Ponte. The approach to food is a classic, traditional one: it should be made well with good ingredients and nothing else. Here the chef will not try to distract you with clever presentation or surprising flavor combinations, but merely with the quality and taste of the classic, homemade Italian food.

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