Venice, Shortlisted

Hi all,

Happy New Year! For our first shortlist of 2025, we’re heading to the last city I visited in 2024: Venice! In a year that was absolutely packed with travel, the trip to Venice was a very welcome last minute add-on to a few November weeks spent in Rome (find that shortlist here!). I hadn’t been back to the city since a very short trip with my parents in 2004 and it was a dream to visit 20 (!) years later / I will be sure not to let that much time pass between visits again. Just as I focused a large portion of this most recent trip on cicchetti (little bar snacks or small plates, traditionally served all day at taverns known as bacari), so too have I focused this shortlist. There’s also, of course, some excellent full-on restaurants as well as shops, stays (we stayed this trip at the truly lovely and ideally located Hotel Violino D'Oro) and more included for you below for your next trip.

Thank you, as always, for being here, have a beautiful rest of your January, and see you next month!

xR

[eat | drink]

Harry's Bar Cipriani | a classic that absolutely holds up. The drinks are pricey but the experience of sitting at the bar and watching the bartenders making frothy bellini after bellini is such a vibe. If it’s your first time, order one yourself for the full experience — they were invented here. If it’s not or you’ve already had a bellini, get a bloody mary, a negroni sbagliato, a martini or do what I did and slightly confuse the bartender by asking them to make your (my) current favorite drink: equal parts amaro and sweet vermouth served on the rocks (basically a bastardized Milano-Torino / make it at home with my recipe here). They will make you an excellent version and you could tuck one of the olives they give you into the glass if that’s your thing. Also, even if you’re not hungry, order at least one pierini sandwich. It’s a ridiculously rich ham and cheese sandwich that you will absolutely want / need a second / third order of

Adriatico Mar | a very small, very perfect bacaro right on the canal with natural and biodynamic wines and great cicchetti. There’s also a small dock where you can arrive by boat and/or enjoy a glass of wine in nice weather. (They also have larger dishes if you’re interested in something more substantial)

Vino Vero | great selection of natural wine by the bottle + glass (+ cicchetti!) You place your order at the counter then grab a standing spot in the tiny space or step outside to take a seat by the canal. Make sure you get the mortadella + pistacchio pesto as well as the cicoria + ricotta + soppressata if they have it. The baccalà is also great