Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 041 71 51 76; Fondamenta Rio Marin 821, Santa Croce; 6pm-2am Mon-Sat; Ferrovia)
Jazz provides
a backbeat to buzzing conversation until the wee hours, and local musicians have been
known to break into jam sessions around midnight. Off-duty mailmen once had the run of
the marble bar - hence the name - but now the hipper half of Santa Croce vies for seats
along the canal and the unconventional
spritz
served with an olive.
ANTICA OSTERIA RUGA RIALTO
( 041 521 12 43; Ruga Rialto 692, San Polo; 6.30pm-midnight; Rialto)
Seafood salads and classic
fritto misto e pattatine
(fried lagoon seafood and potatoes; Venice's answer to fish and
chips) earn this
osteria
(pub) a loyal following, but drink is the common bond by night's
end. The back room doubles as a gallery for local artists, and the occasional live-music set
fills the narrow alleyway with revellers.
PUB
BAGOLO
( 041 71 75 84; Campo San Giacomo dell'Orio 584, Santa Croce; 7am-midnight; Riva de Biasio)
Leave
it to Venice to invent a family-friendly happy-hour spot: kids play tag in the medieval
campo
, while parents recover over house
prosecco
and feed tots from big bowls of not-
too-fancy pasta. Mood lighting indoors and candlelit tables outside on the
campo
rekindle
the romance, with
cicheti
, cocktails and occasional live folk-rock and jazz acts.
BAR
CAFFÈ DEL DOGE
MAP
CAFE
GOOGLE MAP
( 041 522 77 87;
www.caffedeldoge.com
; Calle dei Cinque 609, San Polo; 8.30am-8pm Mon-Sat, 9am-1pm
Sun; San Silvestro)
Sniff your way to the Doge, where dedicated drinkers slurp their way
through the menu of speciality imported coffees from Ethiopia to Guatemala, all roasted
on the premises. The decor is more laboratory than classic Venetian cafe and the looped
video ad seems like hype, but these beans have earned an international following.
GUIDED BAR CRAWLS
Why drink alone? To help visitors navigate Venice's vast
cicheti
menu and confusing backstreets,
Venice Urban
Adventures
(
www.urbanadvantures.com
; cicheti tour €52) offers intimate tours of happy-hour hot spots led by
knowledgable, enthusiastic, English-speaking local foodies. Tours cost €52 per person (with up to 12 parti-
cipants), covering
ombre
and
cicheti
in five (yes, five)
bacari
and a tipsy Rialto gondola ride. Departure points
vary seasonally; consult website.
