Ostaria dai Zemei — Restaurant in Venice

Craving a light pre-flight bite, we stumbled upon a gem - Ostaria dai Zemei. This local dive specializes in Cicchetti, Venetian tapas served on bite-sized pieces of bread. Imagine a dazzling display of over 50 toppings, each a symphony of fresh, seasonal ingredients. Choosing just a few proved near impossible!

Thankfully, you can't go wrong here. We ignored the initial decision paralysis and dove right in, starting with five Cicchetti each. Each bite was a delightful explosion of flavor - creamy burrata with sun-dried tomatoes, succulent grilled shrimp with pesto, and delicate artichoke hearts drizzled with olive oil. We quickly realized five wouldn't suffice, and soon found ourselves savoring eight pieces each.

Ostaria dai Zemei offers a true taste of Venice. The lively atmosphere buzzes with locals enjoying this delicious and affordable tradition. With each piece costing only 2.5 euros, it's a budget-friendly way to experience authentic...

TLDR: great food great service gets busy cheap!!! must spend €20 at least to use card

This place was amazing. We were a little hesitant because everything wasn't labeled (in either Italian or other languages) but you gotta try new things. As I began to ask what things were the lady behind the counter was more than happy to break down every ingredient in each piece of food. We ended up snagging 4 QUALITY pieces and had no regrets. Also got 2 glasses of wine. The food was so good we ended up grabbing two more! Then that food was so good we got a Panini TO GO!! The most amazing part is the bill was like €25 (two glasses of wine, 6 mini sandwich things, and a panini)!! Only thing for you to note is that you have to spend €20 at least to use the card. Also be prepared to stand as the place seems to get packed around lunch time but a little clearer...

We were pleasantly surprised by the delicious cicchetti in Ostaria dai Zemei. An excellent Ostaria for an afternoon drink and snack. In a beautiful small room of modest size, this Ostaria is run by zemei (twins) Franco and Giovanni who serve dishes in small snacks with a lot of imagination. We passed this Ostaria many times but to this day we have not used their services. Error. Not far from the city center and from Ponte Rialto, this is a cool bar (called 'Ostaria' in Venetian) where people can have a rest with fast snacks (called cicchetti), little pieces of bread with fish, special local hams, extremely delicious cod and much more. Here we can enjoy an amazing selection of cicchetti and good wine, and above all Spritz Aperol. Everything was extremely tasty. Prices are more than acceptable. The staff is friendly...