Thread: Affordable, local food in Venice?

Hi everyone, My girlfriend and I will be in Venice this weekend, Friday until Tuesday. She speaks a little bit of Italian and we don't mind leaving the beaten track but we don't have a lot of money to spend. Does anyone have recommendations for simple and cheap lunch or dinner in Venice? We're open to any interesting places, just want to avoid overpriced restaurants, and we can't afford the good and expensive ones at the...

I would make lunch as my main meal where many osteria still cook for working Venetians. Also eat cicchetti. Below are couple of links to earlier posts that will be helpful. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/637154 http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/658705

Eat in relatively non-tourist areas rather than around San Marco and you are likely to find less indifferent food for your desired low price. Osteria alla frasca, osteria san barnaba (da sandro), and anice stellato, are three places where we have had relatively inexpensive and good lunches in venice. alla frasca definitely serves a less expensive daily lunch for local folks, their pasta and fish are both very good but you want to stick with...

Taverna San Trovaso in Dorsoduro serves very large plates of pasta at reasonable prices. They have meat and fish too, and they don't skimp. Ae Oche is an excellent recommendation (they have cheap lunch specials and great pizza and it is definitely not expensive) as is Il Refolo (though I wouldn't call it inexpensive - more moderate.) I love Casa Mia on Calle Oca just off Campo SS Apostoli in Cannaregio - fantastic pizza, and it is...

Venice has a lot of good cheap eats. Just stay away from the San Marco places with multilingual menus. I second all of Shannon's recs. Re tramezzini, my fave tramezzini bars are: - Bar Alla Toletta, Dorsoduro 1191 (near Accademia bridge) - Ai Nomboli, Calle Goldoni 2717, near Campo San Polo. Has about 2 dozens types of tramezzini. My very fave. - Ai Do Draghi Calle della Chiesa between Campo Santa Margherita and Campo S. Pantalon.

Ditto Ae Oche (we went to the one on the Zattere) - wide range of pizzas - I had one with forest mushrooms (see the pizza menu: http://bit.ly/1Ejg70), and a crafty Aperol cocktail for lunch. Try also the places on the Fondamentas of Cannaregio - we had a lot of fun drinking grappa in al Timon, and a good meal in Da Rioba on Fondamenta della Misericordia, including salad with super-fresh walnuts, which tasted like nothing we'd had in the...