Open every day
Aciugheta is a wine bar that's popular with restaurateurs and enophiles (neither eat at the adjoining restaurant � wine and snacks are what it's about here). They hang out at the bar in the front room, feasting on cicchetti. Look for first-rate anchovies or peppers stuffed with the anchovies and a caper, and be sure to sample the phenomenal selection of wines by the glass. Host Gianni Bonaccorsi, in a leather apron behind the counter, will help choose something lively. Gianni has a bed-and-breakfast nearby, with a few bargain-priced (if not chic) rooms.

Closed Sunday
Mascaron ("boat" in Venetian dialect) is a casual trattoria that's always crowded with a devoted following of Venetians as well as visitors. Owners Gigi Vianello and Momi de Momi bustle between tables, helping toexplain their handwritten menu, which is not always easy to decipher. It includes octopus salad, pasta (listed by the sauce � mixed seafood, cuttlefish, or clams), grilled or baked fish, and simple desserts (panna cotta or cookies). There is dessert wine to conclude. The house wines are from Veneto, but there's also a small selection of fine wines from Italy's northeastern regions.

Closed Sunday and Monday
Osteria alle Testiere is tiny � one room with nine tables � and always crowded. Headboards (testiere) decorate the walls, hence the name. Owner Luca di Vita recites the menu of daily specials, Venetian classics with a twist. Begin with grilled local scallops (canestrelli) with balsamic vinegar, tuna carpaccio with mushrooms, or clams with ginger. Proceed to pasta with razor clams and vegetables or potato gnocchi sauced with squidlets. Main-course options include a grilled catch of the day or tuna and herbs. Save room for homemade desserts. The wine list is ample.

Closed Sunday
Though it's not a restaurant, you may have the best gastronomic experience of your entire stay at Pantagruelica, a shop with an amazing selection of quality gourmet products. Maurizio Gasparello, assisted by his wife, Silvia, has sourced some of Italy's greatest salumi, artisanal cheeses, pasta, extra-virgin olive oil, bread from wood-burning ovens, wine, grappa, fruit distillates, and much, much more. It's easy to put together some snacks for do-it-yourself cicchetti. Then dine on benches in a quiet campo, the hotel room, or on your train or plane home.

Closed Wednesday and Sunday evenings Marisa is an un-touristy trattoria without a sign, frequented by bricklayers and gondoliers at lunchtime. They come for enormous portions of hearty home-cooking prepared by Marisa Verdolini, served by her daughter Vanda and son Stefano Bianchi. The ambience is no-frills � paper placemats on Formica tabletops. The selection expands in the evening and may include baked pasta or risotto with beef trimmings and main courses such as rabbit, duck, pheasant, hare, or venison, all accompanied by polenta. The house wines are easy and appropriate.