Where to Eat in Mestre, Venice: Restaurants & Cicchetti Bars
5 min read · Updated 7 June 2026
One of the quiet advantages of staying in Mestre is the food. Away from the tourist menus of the island, the mainland’s bars and trattorie cook for locals — which means better value, fresher plates and a more relaxed atmosphere. Here is how to eat well in Mestre.
Start with cicchetti and an ombra
Cicchetti are Venetian small plates — crostini, fried seafood, polpette (meatballs), baccalà mantecato (whipped salt cod) — eaten standing at the bar with an ombra (a small glass of wine) or a spritz. Mestre has plenty of bàcari serving them, and grazing your way through a few is the most authentic, affordable way to eat in the Veneto.
Veneto dishes worth ordering
Look for regional classics: risotto (often with seafood or seasonal vegetables), bigoli in salsa (thick pasta with an onion-and-anchovy sauce), fegato alla veneziana (calf’s liver with onions), and fresh fish from the lagoon. Pair them with a local wine — a Veneto Soave, Valpolicella or a glass of prosecco from the nearby hills.
Where to look
The pedestrian centre around Piazza Ferretto is a good starting point for bars and casual dining, with side streets hiding family-run trattorie. As a rule, walk a block or two off the busiest tourist routes, look for handwritten or Italian-only menus, and choose places busy with locals — a reliable sign of quality and fair prices.
Eat in some nights, too
Eating out every meal adds up. One of the perks of an apartment with a kitchen is buying fresh produce, cheese and wine from local shops and markets and putting together an easy dinner at home — a relaxed end to a long day in Venice, and a real saving over restaurant meals on the island.
A base in the heart of it
All’Arco Apartment is in Carpenedo, Mestre, within easy reach of the centre’s bars and restaurants and with a full kitchen for nights in. Two bedrooms, space for up to five, and Venice about ten minutes away by train. Check availability and book direct.
Stay near Venice for less
All'Arco Apartment is an 85 m² two-bedroom apartment in Mestre, sleeping up to 5 guests — about 35 minutes from the heart of Venice, with parking and a full kitchen. Book direct for our best rate and free cancellation.
Check availability