The Taste of Travel: Venetian cicchetti and carnival sweets

Venetian eating is built on small portions. Cicchetti are bar snacks served in a bacaro, a traditional wine bar: a slice of bread topped with salt cod, a skewer of seafood, fried olives, small sandwiches. They are meant to be eaten standing at the counter with a small glass of wine, and moving on to the next bar.

At Carnival time the sweets come out. Frittelle are fried dough balls, sometimes filled with custard or flavoured with raisins and pine nuts, and galani, thin ribbons of fried pastry dusted with sugar, are sold in pastry shops throughout the season. These are sweets of the season, and bakeries sell out on the busiest days.

To eat well, step away from the main squares. Prices near St Mark's are higher, and menus in the busiest places can be aimed at passing visitors. Ask where locals go, look for short menus, and be aware that restaurants can add a cover charge or service fee, which should be listed on the menu. If you are vegetarian, fish is common in the lagoon cuisine, so ask what is in each dish.