Eating in Venice, Kastelruth, Verona, Menaggio, & Milan

Our favorite place in Venice was Osteria Mocenigo in the Santa Croce district. Salizada San Stae 1919. Get off the vaporetto at San Stae and just walk down the street. Reservations accepted and preferred, but several times I heard the proprietor say to people "Do you have a reservation? No? Sit down!"

Another we enjoyed was Mura San Stae. Go down the same street until you can turn left, turn left, cross the little bridge, and there it is. Again, reservations preferred. This time of year they might be required. We were there in mid-May.

There's another Mura in Venice, related. Mura San Paolo, I think. It gets good reviews but we didn't try it.

One more: La Rivista, near the Accademia Bridge. We dropped in for a drink before meeting someone at the bridge, and stayed for a very good lunch.

You might find restaurants in italy that use apps like Resdiary, or Quandoo. Or sometimes you're able to book through the website on the restaurant. Once I was in Italy for a few days I felt more comfortable getting on the phone and asking for a "prenotazione". Everyone was always very nice.

If you don't want to overthink it, it's also not hard to open up Google maps in some of the smaller cities you're going to and just look for a highly rated restaurant and check their menu online. I do like to book a couple of reservations before arriving in a new city.

Good luck!

Check out dining apps The Fork and Quandoo to see if they work in Italy. I think they will work. I agree with using the Italian Castelrotto .

We had a wonderful dinner at Saal Stuben in Kastelruth...excellent food.

Ciao, WB,
In St Marks Piazza we had lunch at Cafe Florian that has been in Business since the early 18th Century with indoor and outdoor seating and chamber music. Just like you would envision a European cafe/bistro. Food and service was excellent.

We were in Venice with teenagers for a few days in late May and dined at a variety of restaurants. All were great! I tend to book reservations in advance when available and used a combination of OpenTable, The Fork and emails to the restaurants to confirm reservations.
Ristorante La Piazza, San Marco, 615, 30124 Venezia (booked via Google/The Fork), great food and a lively atmosphere; we sat at a table just inside the restaurant that looked out on the street through an open archway so it was a nice place to watch passersby.
Ristorante Marciano, Calle Larga S.Marco, 367 A/B, Venezia, (accessed the restaurant's website and emailed a reservation request, then received a confirmation from the restaurant by email). wonderful traditional menu and personal staff. We struck up a conversation with another family a table away, which made the evening even more fun.
Gio’s at The St. Regis Hotel (booked on OpenTable). Pricier than we would normally choose but we sat on the outdoor patio on a beautiful day and enjoyed a gorgeous view of the Grand Canal. I took my favorite picture of my son here so it will always be special.
Have fun!

Thanks everyone! I've made a few reservations and bookmarked other recommendations. Very helpful!!! As always, I find this forum to be so useful.