Venice is a unique city, but not the easiest one for eating gluten-free. The local specialty is cicchetti: small bites served at the counter of bacari (Venetian wine bars), with a glass of wine or a spritz. Most of them sit on a slice of bread. There is no gluten-free bakery in the historic center either. Luckily, Venetian cooking is about seafood and rice, and several restaurants are trained in gluten-free cooking.

For general advice (pasta, pizza, supermarkets, useful phrases), read my guide to gluten-free Italy first.

I have not tried these places myself yet: I picked them among those recommended by celiacs, and checked in October 2026 that they were still open. If you go, tell me about it through the contact page or tag us on Instagram (@lesglutons)!

Venetian food: what can you eat?

  • Risotto al nero di seppia (black risotto with cuttlefish ink) ✅ check the stock
  • Risi e bisi (rice and peas) ✅
  • Polenta ✅, often served grilled as a side
  • Baccalà mantecato (whipped salt cod) ✅ when served on polenta, 🚫 on bread
  • Fegato alla veneziana (liver and onions) ⚠️ sometimes dusted with flour, ask
  • Sarde in saor (sweet and sour sardines with onions) 🚫 the sardines are usually floured before frying
  • Frittura di pesce (fried seafood) 🚫
  • Bigoli in salsa (thick pasta with anchovy sauce) 🚫
  • Polpette (meat or fish balls) 🚫 breadcrumbs
  • Tiramisu, born in the Veneto region 🚫 unless gluten-free

Eating cicchetti gluten-free

Three Venetian cicchetti on bread, including baccalà mantecato

A bacaro crawl is one of the best things to do in Venice, and it would be a shame to miss it. In most bars, ask what can be served without bread: baccalà on polenta, marinated seafood, cured meats or cheese. Two places are known among celiacs:

  • Vino Vero (Cannaregio): a wine bar by the canal, serving gluten-free cicchetti on rice cakes.
  • Enoteca Al Volto (near the Rialto): gluten-free cicchetti, a little smaller than the regular ones. Call the day before so they can prepare them.
As in Greece or Croatia, the easiest solution is to always carry gluten-free bread in your bag, so you can enjoy spreads and cicchetti toppings. You will find packaged gluten-free bread in the city's supermarkets.

Two spritzes by the Grand Canal in Venice

Pizzerias and restaurants

OKE, an AIC-trained pizzeria on the Zattere

Formerly called Ae Oche, this pizzeria is trained by the AIC, the Italian Celiac Association. It sits on the Zattere, the long sunny waterfront in the south of Dorsoduro, looking out to Giudecca island. Not the whole menu is gluten-free, but gluten-free pizzas are made following the AIC rules. Takeaway is available.

Dorsoduro 1414, Zattere - vaporetto Zattere - Google Maps

The same group has another pizzeria, Ae Oche San Giacomo, in the Santa Croce neighborhood, with gluten-free pizza to eat in or take away.

Al Giardinetto da Severino, a gluten-free menu

This Venetian restaurant in the Castello neighborhood is not entirely gluten-free, but it has a separate gluten-free menu and takes celiacs seriously. It is a few minutes' walk from St. Mark's Square.

Castello 4928, Salizada Zorzi - Google Maps

Malibran, north of the Rialto

This restaurant and pizzeria, attached to a hotel, offers gluten-free pizza, pasta and dessert. It is in a quieter corner of Cannaregio, just north of the Rialto Bridge.

Cannaregio 5886 - Google Maps

Venice addresses are a puzzle: houses are numbered across a whole sestiere (district), not by street, which is why you get addresses like "Cannaregio 5886". Use the map link rather than looking for street signs.

Gluten-free gelato

At Grom, the gelato is gluten-free, and the cones are made with gluten-free wheat starch, which is fine for celiacs (but not for people with a wheat allergy). There are several shops in the city: Campo San Barnaba (Dorsoduro), Campo dei Frari, and on the Strada Nova (Cannaregio).

My tips for Venice

  • Book, and be wary of restaurants with a tout at the door and a menu translated into ten languages: they are rarely the ones who care about gluten-free.
  • Groceries: the supermarkets in town (Coop, Conad, Despar) have bread, cookies and snacks. There is no gluten-free bakery in the historic center.
  • Picnics are banned on steps, bridges and the busiest squares, like St. Mark's Square, and you can be fined. Choose the gardens (Giardini della Biennale) or quieter waterfronts instead.
  • Spritz, the Venetian aperitivo, is gluten-free, and so is prosecco, made in the region.
  • Day trips to the islands (Murano, Burano, Torcello): there are far fewer options there than in the center. Pack a gluten-free lunch, or plan to eat back in town.

If you are also visiting the mountains up north, read my Dolomites guide, about two hours' drive away. And for the rest of Italy: my guides to Rome, Florence and Milan.

Photos: cover, a gondola on the Grand Canal: Eden, Janine and Jim ( CC BY 2.0 , Wikimedia Commons ); cicchetti: Benreis ( CC BY-SA 4.0 , Wikimedia Commons ); spritz: Gunther H.G. Geick ( CC BY-SA 4.0 , Wikimedia Commons ).

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