Heading to Venice Italy and want to eat like a local while you’re there? We’ve got an amazing slow travel experience you have to try! We’ve heard it before — if you really want to get to the heart of a culture, try the food, right? And what better way to experience Venice, one of Italy’s most beautiful cities. We love trying traditional foods wherever we go around the world like we did in Bologna for example, because when you eat with locals —where they eat — practically guarantees you an authentic view of whatever culture you’re exploring. But wouldn’t it be great to dine with a local family in their home, on a meal prepared by them? It’s a simple thing, and a perfect experience for your Italy bucket list? That’s just what we did in Venice, Italy — who says you can’t slow travel Venice! After a full day spent exploring the island of Sant’Erasmo, Venice’s Garden of the Doge, we were invited to the home of a local professional chef and his wife, a local painter and Venetian mask artisan, for a late dinner of traditional Venetian food.

Traditional Food is The Heart of a Culture

If you think about it — sitting down to an authentic dinner is just about as cultural of an experience as you can get anywhere. It’s the time when people relax and unwind. The dinner conversation enlightens you as to what’s happening in the local community: politics, art, pop culture, the economy, and a host of other issues. But when you break bread with locals, you also find commonality in other things too like their traditions, and even their children and family. Then of course, there’s the food.

Arriving to Dinner By Boat

We’d had an absolutely amazing day walking the quieter streets of Venice and then bicycling and exploring the island of Sant’Erasmo visiting local food and wine producers with our local guide Lorenzo. Later we capped off the afternoon with a boat ride back through the outlying canals of Venice. We watched the sun set over the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute while bobbing along comfortably in our traditional wooden boat as we watched the crowds near Piazza San Marco climb over each other for a photo op. We saw so much of Venice that day without ever once setting foot in the tourist traps with shoulder to shoulder crowds.

We arrived at Nino and Nini’s home at 9:00pm as scheduled after Marco tied up the boat and we walked across a quaint little bridge to their front door. For the next three hours — yup, three hours — we dined, and chatted, and savored, and chatted and savored some more. Because when you dine in Italy, it’s never a quick meal, or a meal that’s eaten on the run like grabbing pizza or gelato. No, that’s a snack. Dinner is a time to savor each bite and celebrate with family and friends. And you break out the good stuff at the end to toast the day.

Eat Like A Local in Venice

You could argue that there’s no such thing as Italian food. As with many countries where geographic variations in size, climate, terrain, and other factors yield traditional foods that are unique region by region, Italy also has distinct regional foods. Food that’s typically Italian in one area may not be available in a neighboring region because it’s out of season, or the climate isn’t right to produce it. The foods in Venice were very different from other areas we’ve eaten in Italy. Check out our dinner menu in the gallery below:

TIP: The Dinner Hour in Italy

Italians eat dinner much later than some other countries around the world. In the US, we tend to eat dinner around 6:00 or 7:00pm, just when Italians are enjoying Aperitivo – their version of Happy Hour. Many Americans who come to Italy think Aperitivo is dinner time, so they gobble up the free goodies that come with ordering cocktails or wine, and think they’re done for the night. And they probably are. But go out to a restaurant a few hours later and you’ll see dinner in full swing. So if you really want to enjoy dinner in Italy, pace yourself! 😉

If you love having authentic food and cultural experiences like this, you can add this special piece of local culture to your Venice itinerary by arranging a dinner date with Nino and Nini at their lovely garden home in Venice. Whether you’re in Venice for a day, or 5 or 6 days, most Italy trip itineraries include Venice as a stopover, and dinner with Nino and Nini could easily be arranged. Follow the link below to contact the Italian Days company. We loved their food tour in Bologna (just an hour from Venice and makes an easy day trip from Bologna), and were also impressed with their Venice tours as well.

Want to Go?

Cost:

The cost of our all-inclusive dinner was $50 USD per person – which we felt was an excellent value. The addition of spending the evening with good company in a lovely Venetian setting was free! (Cost may vary depending on the menu and your additional tour activities).

Want to Go?

Contact Lorenzo, our local guide and Italian Days Sales Manager in Venice, for more information on how you can arrange this slow travel tour.