Restaurants in Venice? Suggestions for 10 euros per person?

Well this doesn't float everyone's boat but we do a "bedspread" picnic for lunch or dinner. Shop at the local supermarket. Bread, cheese, salami, deli yummies, bottled water, bottled WINE so tasty. You can have a feast for very little and rest your tootsies while you're at it. This means we have more money for a nice lunch or dinner out. I always travel with: zip lock bags (assorted), knife/fork/spoon, two plastic tumblers, corkscrew/bottle opener, two plastic plates (cheaper the better as you'll ditch them when you leave). There are plenty of reasonable places to eat out, well, reasonable by Venice standards. Just walk around.

Monique What Marie said! Great option where ever you are in Europe. Or make it a picnic! Although this is harder to do in Venice. I have sometimes used the "breakfast" area in the hotel to eat my pick up meals. Always figure it is easier to ask forgiveness than be denied. But must keep the area clean. If they have already set up the tables for breakfast (with linens, coffee cups, and glassware) then I think you should pass on this option. Did Marie mention Swiss Army knife or similar? Packed in checked bag. Must have! Bobbie

I have nice inexpensive favourite restaurants throughout Venice but Venice is not as inexpensive as €10 per person for a meal, at least not at little tratts, oens, or restos. I can't recommend any in that price band. Sorry. It needs to start at about €14 to €20 pp.

It's hard to get a restaurant meal at 10 euros per person, mainly because of the cover or service charge. I tend to switch between DIY picnics or take-away, and 'proper' meals. Brek (an Italian chain), near the train station, is the only place I can think of for cheap meals. It also has good sandwiches. I also liked Frary's, a Lebanese-Greek place opposite the Frari church - weekday set lunches from 12 Euros. And bringing a Swiss army knife is definitely a good idea!

I always mark on my map where good looking bakeries are when I see them. I have stumbled across a couple in Venice that were fantastic and the base for a super lunch or late dinner back at the hotel. I've cracked the eating cheap code in many cities but in Venice... a picnic is about the only way. Even if you don't need it at the moment note where any good groceries and bakeries are on your map while walking around. Its valued information that will save you $ later.

If you do picnics, you'll have to buy your Swiss army knife once you're in Europe. I took along the RS plastic picnic set but on the way back TSA took away the completely plastic corkscrew.

Do remember that, in Venice, outdoor picnics are illegal except in the small park near the tourist office.

The talk about picnics in Venice for this traveler who will be there in the latter part of October, well, this brings up the weather, average of 50's day time temps, is that going to make it enjoyable to do much picnicking? And then there's Nigel's point about it being illegal in most places in Venice. Indoor restaurants in Venice will cost more than 10 euros per person, on average. Venice is expensive.

Since you are planning on staying in Lido, you may have better luck eating cheaply. No recommendation as I have never eaten in Lido but I have shopped at the open market on Tuesdays. Oh, and there are a couple of foodtrucks with some yummy looking food that you buy by weight. There is also the Rotisseria just off Campo Bartolomio at the food of the Rialto Bridge (San Marco side). They have tables.

Try this place. We ate (on two occasions) at one of the downstairs tables rather than their upstairs dining room. You can also eat standing at the counter, many local people came in ate one dish standing and then left. The people on the next table ordered and paid for each dish at the counter as they ate! We were served at our table by one of the counter staff and paid at the end. Food was tasty and there was a good range to choose from. Prices 5 to 15 euro per dish and are listed on a big board behind the counter. Rosticceria S.Bartolomeo in calle de la Bissa No. 5424 | Campo San Bartolomeo

Let's not miss the point that Marie from San Diego suggested a "Bedspread" picnic. Very cozy, PJ-clad, mini-fridge-adjacent room picnics are a great respite from extended hours of walking on cobblestones. Also, if the weather is warm enough, I'd be willing to wager that it's not illegal to enjoy a picnic spread, replete with copious swigs of wine, from the comfort of plushly cushioned seats in a privately chartered gondola. (Please note: Monique should disregard this last suggestion as a gondola ride would quite possibly use up her entire meal budget for a whole week.)

The Italians have a saying about Venice that goes something like "Se spenda tanto e se magia male"; You spend a lot and you eat badly. That said, my usual advice to people about eating in Venice is to avoid the restaurants and go for the panini (sandwiches) or pizza by the slice that are everywhere in the city. They are cheap (around 4 euros), filling and delicious. If you have to eat in a restaurant and are determined to keep costs down, a pizzeria is probably your best bet. Pizza in Venice is not as good as the rest of Italy and costs a few euros more but it's still pizza and you can get one for around 10 euros in most places. You will inevitably find that costs add up quicker than expected in Venice.

The only thing that even resembled a decent Italian meal we had in 2 weeks in Italy was at a little place in Vernazza. I hate to say it, but we found the price of food in Italy so incredibly high for such inexcusably low quality, that we sought out some American staples, McDonald's, Burger King, and Subway. All of these fine establishments offer a fine meal for 6.5 euro. We also did a supermarket in Venice (near Santa Maria Formosa). My advice for dining in Italy? Unless you want to cough up 60-100 US dollars for food you wouldn't pay 10 US dollars for in the US, find supermarkets, take outs, and American Chains. I know people will likely be offended, but the food was by far and away the most disappointing part of our trip.

supermarkets, take outs, .... This sounds like my best choice. Thanks for the sharing. I have been to Italy before, its my 2nd time but I did not recall the $$ for meals and I was concerned about eating not the best for lots. I like small take out salads etc...I hope the markets have that similiar to "Whole Foods." Any favorite Trattoria? In Venice?
Grazie!

Monique, you will still be doing incredibly well to do trattorias in Venice for under €10. Our favourite is "ai Artisti" in Dorsoduro near Campo S Barnaba, at Dorsoduro 1169a. Its on Fondamenta della Toletta, closed Sunday. But I think they start at about €12 or €13. They do a wonderful seasonal ravioli - only 2 or 3 pieces of perfection for about €16. The tops was a pumpkin one. Yumm. The view's not bad either. The problem you may run into is that supermarkets don't really exist in Venice. There are small groceries about but I can only think of two small supermarkets. There is a small Coop near the landing stage at P. Roma that sees a lot of tourists, a very small one near Gesuiti, one near S. Marina, one near S. Giacomo dall'Orio, one in Guidecca, and one near S. Aponal. Except for the last and first, it is highly unlikely that a first time visitor would come across any of these as they are truly off the beaten path. There was another small supermarket, can't remember the name, midway along rio téra Lista di Spagna. There must be groceries on Lido as so many people take self catering holiday lets there, but I don't know any.

The Coop at Piazzale Roma is probably the easiest to find. If you keep walking along Lista di Spagna towards Cannaregio, after the Ponte delle Guglie there's another small supermarket/deli and further up the road after a small bridge there's a small Coop too. I remember cafes/bars that also serve salads or a pasta of the day for about 5 or 6 euros but the pasta is of the precooked-then-warmed-up-in-microwave variety. I also use the guest dining areas in the B&Bs I stay in for simple take-out meals, the owners have been good about that. Just make sure to clean up well and bag all the trash and wrappers - wet wipes are very useful.

I suggest checking out a food forum site such as chowhound.com. You can see what people are saying about particular food establishments by city. There are a lot of well informed regular posters on this site, some of whom live in the cities themselves and some are just frequent travelers. Just as you might have done a bit of research on choosing the right hotel and which sights you wanted to visit, the same accordance should be extended to the restaurants you pick. Good food can be had, but you might just need to do a bit of homework to find it. Tourist traps abound but so does wonderful cuisine if you know where to look.