Venice holidaysAs the Venice Biennale of Architecture kicks off today, we head to Cannaregio and discover a neighbourhood largely unchanged by the city's tourist hordes. Its bars, restaurants and shops are great places to taste local lifeDespite the daily invasion of tourists that flood Venice, some neighbourhoods retain a down-to-earth village feeling, where there are still butchers and bakers rather than mask and glass shops. In the residential quarter around the Ormesini and Sensa canals at the northern end of Cannaregio you can still enjoy a real slice of genuine Venetian life. Here are 10 of the best bars, restaurants and shops to check out.
Al Timon
Al Timon has fast established itself as not just the favourite rendezvous for locals of Cannaregio, but a popular hangout for students and young Venetians from all over the city. The setting is perfect, with tables at the edge the Ormesini canal, and the savvy owner, Alessandro Biscontin, has moored a boat alongside as a floating terrace and impromptu venue for live jazz concerts. Occasionally tourists reserve tables for dinner, but this is a quintessentially Venetian locale, with most people drinking spritz al bitter or one of a fine selection of regional wines by the glass, and snacking on tempting cichetti such as grilled zucchini with pecorino cheese, smoked ricotta and roughly chopped tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, or radicchio topped with gorgonzola, mascarpone and walnuts.
Fondamenta degli Ormesini, +39 041 524 6066
Old World Bookshop
Tucked next to a narrow bridge in the heart of Venice's historic Jewish ghetto, Old World Books is a goldmine of rare books on Venice and Italy, run by eccentric Englishman John Francis Phillimore. Books are in English and Italian, ranging from little-known 16th-century editions to secondhand copies of the latest Donna Leon, sometimes signed by the author herself, who lives nearby. You never quite know who you'll bump into here – visiting poets, philosophers, artists – because John Francis also runs the Casa delle Parole, an active literary society, which sponsors Vapoesia, a series of eye-catching poems regularly exhibited on the vaporettos (water buses).
Campo Ghetto Vecchio
Dodo Caffè
This is the ultimate locals' haunt, from the first building workers who stop off for a caffè coretto con grappa at 7.30am, to mums enjoying an espresso after the school run, grizzled regulars who wander up and down the canal all day, going from bar to bar, and those enjoying the ritual of an early evening aperitivo as the sun begins to set. Dodo himself is a great personality, and he and lively barmaid Cristina make probably the best – and most lethal – spritz al bitter in town. The bar closes early, at around 9pm, but next door the partying carries on late at the funky Profondo Rosso bar, whose owner, Fifo, doubles as a DJ, while just across the bridge is La Bagatela, open till 1am and serving food well after midnight.
Fondamenta degli Ormesini, dodocaffe.it
10 Metri Quadrati
The latest hotspot to open in the neighbourhood, this buzzing bar has become an immediate hit with locals and tourists alike, and is worth visiting soon before it gets discovered by bloggers and guidebooks. The interior – small but not as tiny as the claimed "10 Square Metres" – is more Milan than Venice: sleek white minimalist decor contrasting with wooden beams, and modern art exhibitions decorating the walls. everyone wants a table looking out over the busy Canale di Cannaregio, where there is a nonstop parade of vaporetti, motoscafi (water taxis) and hefty cargo boats chugging past. Apart from the usual spritz, barman Giuliano mixes an array of cocktails, from the classic Martini to exotic fresh fruit mojitos. The bar stays open till well after midnight and serves salads, tasty grilled panini and plates of affetati, sliced ham, salami and local cheeses.
Fondamenta di Cannaregio, +39 041 713241
Anice Stellato
One canal over from the buzzing Ormesini neighbourhood, is this elegant restaurant, out on sleepy Fondamenta della Sensa. Reservations are a necessity as the creative cuisine of the husband and wife chefs has gained a serious reputation, and the place always seems to be fully booked. The menu is a tempting mix of cucina della mamma recipes with original twists, such as scampi in saor profumati allo zenzero – similar to the traditional sarde in saor, but using plump shrimps instead of sardines and adding a zing with grated ginger – or tortellini stuffed with baccalà (salt cod) and chickpeas, smothered with lightly fried courgette flowers. To walk off lunch, two landmark churches are just nearby, Sant'Alvise, with three splendid paintings by Tiepolo, and the towering Madonna dell'Orto, parish church of Tintoretto.
Fondamenta della Sensa, +39 041 720744
Malefatte Boutique
Shopping in Venice often does not go further than Murano glass, Fortuny lamps and carnival masks, but the intrepid fashionista that tracks down Malefatte in Cannaregio will discover one of the Serenissima's most original boutiques. This is the main store in Venice run by Rio Tera dei Pensieri, a work-in-jail cooperative that promotes products made by prisoners in the city's male and female jails. You can pick up beauty products, hand-sewn leather notebooks and sketchpads and its latest hot seller, a series of Freitag-inspired canvas bags at bargain prices. The most popular purchases, though, are their distinctive silk-screen T-shirts and shopping bags graphically imprinted with the Spritz logo.
Calle Zancan, rioteradeipensieri.org
Osteria Al Bacco
Bacco is one of Cannaregio's hidden secrets, tucked away so far along the quiet Canal delle Capuzine that few tourists discover it by chance. But it is one of the most ancient osterie in Venice. This is the place to spend the evening enjoying a long romantic meal, from the seafood antipasti of shrimps, anchovies and baby octopus to spaghetti cooked with black ink squid, freshly grilled sea bass or a plate piled high with a fritto misto of Adriatic seafood. A few tables line the canal outside and the garden is covered with a giant 120-year-old vine, but the best spot is inside the cosy wood-panelled dining room. Roberto Meneghetti is a laid-back host, but on certain evenings he may put on his favourite tango music and wheel one of the customers round the restaurant. Dinner will set you back €40-€50, but there is a well-priced set lunch at €13.
Fondamenta Capuzine, +39 041 721415
Cantina Azienda Agricola
It is easy to walk straight past this hole-in-the-wall bar, but once inside, you'll find the atmosphere is more like a private social club, filled with raucous locals moaning about politics, football and tourists – though everyone is made welcome, especially by the friendly host, Roberto di Berti, who has been running the place for 35 years. This is an authentic bacaro, the Venetian dialect term for inn, where a glass of the excellent house wine is 90 cents, and the tempting cichetti on the counter cost €1.50 and are made using the finest regional products – sopressa salami, prosciutto, asiago and montasio cheeses. This is an all-standing bar – no tables or chairs – and Roberto also has an extensive cellar with around 150 wines to take away, from renowned local producers such as Sirch, Pieropan and Livio Felluga.
Rio Tera' Farsetti, Closes 9pm
Bentigodi
This venerable osteria, at the entrance into the ghetto, has just been taken over by flamboyant Calabrian chef Domenico Iacuzio, who has immediately turned back the clock to when Bentigodi was both an obligatory stop-off for locals on their daily giro d'ombra, or bar crawl, and for foodies looking for a gourmet dinner. Domenico has filled the dining room with his favourite black-and-white photos of Gina Lollabrigida, Marcello Mastroianni and Sophia Loren, as well the lucky giant yellow cash register that follows him every time he changes restaurant. A glass of wine and a tasty polpetta (meatball) will still only cost €2-€3, at the crowded counter, and his menu spans Venetian favourites like insalata di polpo (octopus salad) to raviolo di burrata al pomodoro e basilico (with mozzarella, tomato and basil) from his native south Italy. Domenico's American wife, Stacy, runs a bed and breakfast just round the corner.
+39 041 822 3714, bentigodi.com
Cichetteria Venexiana Da Luca e Fred
Sitting out on the terrace of Luca and Fred's friendly bar is the ultimate spot for people-watching in Cannaregio. You sit right on the busy drag, between the train station and the Rialto bridge, and there is a non-stop stream of tourists heading for the sights, and Venetians now living on the mainland getting to and from work. The Rio Terà is filled with stalls – masks and tacky souvenirs, but also fruit and veg. While there is a menù turistico, locals prefer to come at noon when the dish of the day, usually a delicious risotto, comes out of the kitchen steaming hot. This place also offers some of the traditional cichetti that few bacari prepare today – milza, skewers of pork spleen, and nervetti, veal tendons with onions and vinegar.
Rio Tera San Leonardo, +39 041 716170
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbTEoKyaqpSerq96wqikaKyilsOmuI5rZ2pqX5bCqHuRcmavnZ6esKZ506GYrWWkpMKztdKtqmalmajAbq%2FAp6WaqpWctrA%3D