Osteria Al Tappo - Vin e Cicheti. — Restaurant in Venice

I can't believe how lucky I was to walk past this place on a Sunday at midday, think 'those look like really special cicheti!' and go in on a whim! I got in just before the rush and sat at the counter bench with a greedy plateful of delicious cicheti. This was my first experience of Venetian cicheti and I don't think it will ever be bettered. I had a crostino topped with lardo, and another with bacalá, and another with gorgonzola and an anchovy (all one euro 50 each) and a small bowl of delicious baby octopus in tomato-y sauce for 5 euro (worth it!). Each thing was like angels dancing in my mouth. After that, I had to go back to the counter and have some more - fiore di zucca stuffed with delicious things (mozarella? other things too), a small piece of frittata with silky red pepper on top, and a polpette made from lemony tuna. Everything was absolutely superlative, and this has to be my most memorable meal in Venice - one I'll be thinking about fondly for years to come! The ambiance was delightful too - it was sunday so lots of bright young things had come out to meet friends, drink wine and eat small delicious things. There's a really nice little patio at the back but I preferred the ambiance in the main shop.

I'm sure there are indifferent, sad and tired cicheti places in Venice - surely though, this has to be one of the...

Went here in search of a tapas style restaurant (smaller portions of different food items to get a good variety) and was let down by the experience. Everything pictured was just over 50 euros and I would say it was not worth the price because we both left still hungry. We came for dinner at around 6pm and at that point it was clear that most of the good dishes were already sold out, so options were limited. They also had very little variety for vegetarians.

The wait staff was friendly, but if you are feeling hungry and in search of something to fill you up, probably treat this restaurant as a good way to eat some (expensive) appetizers before heading to your actual dinner. Also, the tables for 2 outside were completely poor design and forks were slipping through the slats and falling...

The hosts are enormously friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful with recommendations for the rest of town.

I came back after a week and they remembered me, offered suggestions based on my tastes, and helped recommend restaurants.

The wine itself is fantastic. They only buy in small batch from Italian vendors that the owner visits during the off-season, and the hosts can tell you about each one.

My recommendation would be to try both their favourite wine at the time, and then based off that experience, ask them to recommend one they think...