Restaurants in Venice

Great Food and Gorgeous View = it's gonna be pricey.

Try Ai Mercanti. Great food, no view. It is our "we need to celebrate in Venice" go-to place.

Find a restaurant with great food (never mind the view), then go to Piazza San Marco for a pricey drink and perhaps a dance in the piazza. Then take a gondola ride, or if you are on a budget, a vaporetto ride at night on the Grand Canal.

Zoe said it very well. Have a pricey sit down drink at one of the places with music on Piazza San Marco and do a little dancing. Expensive? Yes, but well worth it for a special occasion and then polish the night off with a gondola ride.

I wouldn't call my restaurant recommendation a special restaurant. But, it has good food and wine at fair prices. Impronta cafe near Frari Church. No view, modern trendy clean decor - friendly. You can tripadvisor it for details. It was my favorite place in Venice for quality Italian food. I would definitely eat there again.

Thankyou all for replying. You've given me some options for a special night. Definitely doing the gondola! After travelling all the way from Western Australia, we're not going to pass up that experience! I'm so excited about the whole trip and just can't wait to set foot in Italy.

I can highly recommend a couple of places on this list. In particular, celebration worthy are Osteria Marina (great food, no view, lovely dining room); La Zucca (reserve well in advance, great food, now view, but cute); Ai Artisti (beside a canal, great food; we ate there in winter but I think they have outdoor canal-side seating in nice weather). I want to try Vini da Gigio. Just haven't gotten there yet! Alla Palanca and Impronta Cafre are to casual for your celebration, IMO.

Don't confuse the Ai Artisti on Fondamenta Tolletta (as a place for a good meal) with the Ai Artisti bar nearby in Campo San Barnaba (as a place for a good spritz, and my favourite bar in Venice).

We had a great meal at Trattoria da Giorgio ai Greci! It is on a small canal walking distance east of St. Marks. We sat canal-side and had the flounder for two, excellent. The fish was displayed to us before and after preparation, then de-boned at our table. Also, check out a cicchetti bar. It is a memorable experience. We found one near the Rialto bridge.

Laurel---we dined at Vini dal Gigio with friends when we were in Venice for a month in 2013. Everyone but me was disappointed with their meal, and thought it was overpriced. We are not inexperienced diners when it comes to Venice, so this was a surprise. The German couple at the table next to us was very upset over the quality of the food, and argued with the waiter, which did not help enhance the experience for us. Maybe it was just an off night. . . . I hope so.

This is our favorite. It is near Rialto bridge, but had no view and a tiny dining room, but was nice. Try a chichetti crawl by visiting different places. Each chichetti pub has their specialties, fried, sandwiches, etc. My favorite is Osteria al Portego. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g187870-d1034685-Reviews-Osteria_al_Portego-Venice_Veneto.html Their Tiramisu is amazing!

You guys are so informative! We're going to be spoilt for choice! Hoping it won't be too cold in The first half of October and we can enjoy some outdoor dining even if it's during the day. I'm so looking forward to this trip. We're flying into Rome then heading to Naples, Sicily, back to Rome, then Florence, Milan, Como and then finally Venice. Going to do a few day trips, but just trying to work out tours online. Has anyone used viator?