Venice Restaurants

If you use the Graffiti Wall and look at the Mouthwatering Italy link, you'll find some recommendations. This article from Gourmet Magazine might help.
Lastly, friends rave about Corte Sconta's soft shell crabs. It's about a 5 minute walk west of Piazza San Marco, Calle del Pestrin.

Sorry, here's the link: http://www.gourmet.com/magazine/2000s/2000/01/venice

We're in Venice right now (the last night here), and tonight we ate at Antica Birraria La Corte, which we found in both Let's Go and Rick's book. It was excellent. I'm not sure that I would call it inexpensive, but nothing in Venice seems to be. But, it was very good. It's in Campo San Palo, a bit off the beaten path (but, extremely close to our hotel, Ca' Angeli).

I'm compiling a ton of notes and photos about Venice, Rome and Florence based on my trip in June, which will include some restaurant reviews. I have more info on Florence and Rome restaurants than Venice, but I do have a couple which I'll include below. When my writeup is done I'll post the link here - but for now, here are some reviews on Venice restaurants:

Bar Americano - It is right beneath the clock tower. As you stand in the square and face the clock tower, it is there at the right corner of the archway. Confusing store - you go to one counter to get something and they send you to another to get something else and a third to pay for it . . . and they're not very pleasant. I had a pastry here and it wasn't very good. I wasn't nearly as impressed with this place as their own employees were. Skip this place. You can do better.

Castello Pizzeria - Risterante - Birreria. 5356/5357 30122 Venezia, 041 52.10.717. Simple little place but we really liked the food. We had what became our usual fare: Spaghetti with boglonese (or Ragu) sauce, mushroom and ham pizza (E8.60). They had a special here, the spaghetti with salad and your choice of pork or chicken breast for E13.90. The house wine was decent too.

Trattoria Conca D'Oro Pizzeria - Overpriced place north of St. Marks and Doge's palace - we stopped by here for a quick lunch and it was a mistake. 12% service charge and E1 cover charge per person and E5 sodas . . . we had the usual, pizza and spaghetti which was decent, but not as good as Castello Pizzeria. Service was very slow, but they were nice. Meal ended up costing a lot more than it should have, even by Venice standards.

One of the other posts recommended these restaurants in Venice:
Alla Patatina
S. Trovaso
La Zucca
Ai Frati
Not sure anything about them though...

I enjoyed Taverna S.Trovaso Di Cassan Giorgio & C. Snc in Dorsoduro - very good and inexpensive restaurant a very short walk from the vaporetto stop at Accademia. Turn right as you leave the stop and keep veering. Once you get to a small canal head down to the first bridge and you will be in front of the restaurant. It is super popular so best to book.

Also there are several restaurants along the waterfront in Fondamente Zattere al Ponte Longo and Zattere a Gesuti. I didn't get the name of the one I ate at but again a very good meal and quite reasonably priced. I just tried one that I liked the look of.

This is a great resource for recommendations - there are many posts in inexpensive restaurants in all 3 cities.

http://www.chowhound.com/boards/58

We ate at Ristorante Al Giandinetto, in Rick's book. Good food, about 85E for 4 of us to eat. We also ate at Trattoria de Giorgio ai Greci. It's canalside, but food was disappointing.

Inexpensive but good place for dinner our hotel told us about - "Vino Vino" Wine Bar and Restaurant. We sat near some people from Australia who had discovered it and ate there 4 nights in a row. They do not take call in reservations. You have to go and put your name on the their list. I did a google search and they are listed on the internet. Type in.... Vino Vino wine bar Venice Italy --- google to see some reviews. Their website is .... http://www.anticomartini.com/vinovino_eng.htm

We are looking forward to doing Rick's Pub Crawl.

Casin dei Nobili in Dorsoduro. Our RS tour group ate there our last night in Venice. The chocolate dessert item (souffle?) was perhaps the best thing I have ever eaten. (Other than the dry rub ribs at Rendezvous in Memphis)

Just returned from Italy. In Venice we had a great dinner at Restorante ai Due Vescovi near St. Marks and Restorante Laguna Blu also near St. Marks (sorry I don't have the addresses). In Florence our hotel recommended Gionnino in S. Lorenzo - Borgo S. Lorenzo 35/37r phone055 212206. It was very good and the waitress (Sabina) was fantastic! CipollaRossa Osteria via dei Conti, 53r, Tel. 055 213210 was another great "local" place.

I agree with eating at Casin dei Nobili in Dorsoduro. My hubby took a picture of my face as I had my first bite of the chocolate souffle, which was the most incredible dessert I have ever had. We ate there the first time on a RS tour and then went back twice, just so I could have dessert each time. We are going back to Venice in October and this will be the first place we go for dinner!

Good restaurants in Venice or Florence will be easy to find if you just walk a few blocks away from the tourist areas. There are many piazzas that tourists never enter and there will be good and inexpensive restaurants around them. You should use this tip when looking for restaurants - If the menu is in Italian and locals are eating there, then that will be a good place.

This restaurant is AMAZING. We just went there 3 nights ago, on our last night in Venice. The gnocchi with salmon for two was truly one of the greatest things I've ever eaten (my husband, too), and the mussels were superb... it was all so good!!

Generally had trouble finding good inexepensive restaurants in venice. There is an excellent inexpensive osteria in Murano in a piazza about 5 blocks from the church. I found a couple of decent trattorias by walking and looking, generally any place with 5 language menus and price fixee meals stinks

Venice:
Al Giardinetto da Severino, Ruga Giuffa, Castello 4928 (Rick's book) in Venice was terrific - not the easiest place to find (the address has it on one street while the entrance is on another) but we really liked it. Inexpensive has a different meaning in Venice - but we ate at "off the beaten track" places (Castello area, for example) and really liked it. One of our favourite places in Venice was Osteria Anice Stellato, Fondamenta de la Sensa, Cannaregio (telephone +39 041 720 744).

Florence:
Our favourite place in Florence is Osteria de'Benci (Via de'Benci 13r). A little off the beaten track once again, but outstanding food and, depending on the weather, a great patio. Near the Arno so great for a walk afterwards.

Enjoy!

I'll second what a couple others have said and recommend Al Gradinetto in Castello as well. Our hotelier recommended it. I didn't realize it was in Rick's book too. That definitely qualifies it. On note of advice is you're trying to save a few Euros by ordering Aqua di Rubinetto (tap water). Don't expect it to be cold. Tap water is usually begrudgingly served at room temperature, and I'm convinced that although they may make great gelato, the Italians have not yet discovered ice!