Cicchetti and wine bars in San Polo in Venice

In a nutshell: from All'Arco's baccalà mantecato to the €1 glasses at Bacareto da Lele, San Polo's bacari are the district's glory - and its restaurants run from Osteria La Zucca to two-starred Glam. Back to the overview.

Cicchetti and wine bars

San Polo's bacari are the district's glory. The pocket-sized All'Arco - made famous by Stanley Tucci's food show Searching for Italy - enjoys a devoted following among cicchetti hunters, built on produce carried across from the market stalls each morning by the Pinto duo, father Francesco and son Matteo: the gamberi in saor - prawns done in the local sweet-and-sour manner - are perfectly balanced, and their baccalà mantecato, a whipped salt-cod cream beaten for 48 hours, is impossibly smooth. Seconds are easy - hand your empty plate and glass back at the till and order again. Al Mercà is a broom-sized bar on the market's fringe, pouring local wines beside freshly made mini panini; Cantina Do Mori claims to be the city's oldest bacaro, famous for its polpette - meatballs - and cheese plates; and Cantina Do Spade, around the corner, pairs excellent cicheti with sit-down seafood dishes. Over by the university, Bacareto da Lele, a bar no bigger than a closet, draws bureaucrats and students with €1 glasses of raboso and tiny paninetti; get there before 12:30pm to dodge the queues, then join the crowds sipping on San Nicola da Tolentino's steps - architecture fans should also check the entrance that Carlo Scarpa designed for Iuav University beside it. For a deeper wine flight, Vineria all'Amarone is run by sommelier Johann Depietri, who pours roughly two dozen wines in single glasses and curates themed flights - push the boat out with the Super Reds, keep things fresh with the whites, or plunge into Amarone, the heavyweight of Veneto reds; add matured cheeses and cured meats to match, or even an olive-oil tasting, and buy your favourites next door with a 20% discount for shipping home. Stappo is a modern natural-wine den whose list is full of invention, with a charming courtyard; Cantina Arnaldi pours seventy-plus wines of natural and local origin plus craft beers, with parmesan and salami made in-house; Al Prosecco does natural-process wines on its pretty square; La Bottiglia pours niche wines and beers with cured meats at canalside tables near the Frari; and Brillo Parlante is an authentic neighbourhood spot for spritz and bar bites.

Restaurants, pastries and gelato

At the top end, Regina Sconta is a modern room championing under-the-radar winemakers; reserve a table; Antiche Carampane turns market produce into Venetian classics close to Ponte delle Tette; Wisteria sets its star-rated tasting menus in a garden tangled with wisteria; and Glam is the city's sole holder of two Michelin stars, and a garden graced with magnolias frames its imaginative flavours. Midrange standouts include hugely popular Osteria La Zucca - the menu turns over daily, so book a table - family-run Bacarretto with its short Sicilian menu (sfincione, pasta alla norma), and easy-going Frary's for Levantine and Mediterranean cooking with vegan options. On the cheap side: Antico Forno is a tiny pizza takeaway by the bridge, Majer sells mouthwatering panini and pizza in slices, and Bar Ai Nomboli fills crusty rolls with local cheeses, roast vegetables and salami near the Frari. For sweets, minuscule Pasticceria Rizzardini, trading since 1742, has barely changed - its sagging terrazzo floor worn by generations of regulars; the counters hold vini steeped in prosecco, crunchy nutty croccanti, a chocolate-laced strudel venezia, and the celebrated fiamma éclair with its featherlight zabaione filling. Enjoy your sweet on the piazza of Campo San Polo just outside. Pasticceria Targa bakes fragrant pastries, among them the Carnevale treat mammalucchi - fried dough with custard and raisins. For gelato, Gelato di Natura by San Giacomo dall'Orio is superb - go for its fig-and-walnut - and Gelateria Alaska rewards the adventurous with everything from artichoke to celery and ginger on the board.