I visited Venice a few weeks ago and had the best time. It’s always been somewhere I’ve wanted to go, however the last few years with the allergies and things, I’ve been a tad cautious to fly off to the land of gluten. However, having visited Rome last year (find my GF DF travel guide for that here) I found Italy was actually really good at the GF game. So without any more rambling, here’s my GF and DF travel guide for the prettiest city you’ll ever see; Venice.
Trattoria da Nino
San Zaccaria, Castello 4668, 30122, Venezia
We stumbled across Trattoria da Nino on the way to the hotel having just arrived in Venice. I have hawk eyes which continually scan for the words ‘dairy free’ and ‘gluten free’ so seeing a sign outside offering GF options, we decided to go that night. My mum’s a good egg and for the weekend ended up eating mainly GF DF so we could share and have a bit of variety. I was all over the pizza and pasta and after an early start that morning (not my forte) I practically inhaled most of the food.
People who aren’t allergic or intolerant to any foods won’t understand, but after we’d spent a few hours on a walking tour of the city, we wandered around trying to find somewhere to eat, but couldn’t find anywhere with gluten free and so we went back here again. I know I know, eating twice at the same time in Italy seems odd- but we knew they had tasty food, were aware of how to handle allergies, and we needed good food quick before we got hangry!
This time we went for the veggie pizza and the scampi pasta- once again, a fabulous meal- you can tell how happy pizza makes me from the look on my face!
Leone
I bought these sweets for the tin as I wanted it for my room to keep trinkets in, so it was a huge bonus to get them home and find they not only were they gluten free, but also dairy free and vegan! Such good sweets if you’re ever in Italy and need a sugar rush!
Osteria Calle 21
Calle 21 SRL, Castello 4304
30122 Venezia
Again with the gluten free sign, we found ourselves drawn into the restaurant and I’m so glad we did! Lobster is my #1 fave and so ordering this was a no brainer. They obviously had the gluten free pasta and the staff were so helpful and offered to switch up the sauce with no fuss to a dairy free sauce. They also had gluten free little breadsticks and also a packet of long breadsticks too that I appear to have eaten before I could get a photo…
These little ‘NutriFree’ breadsticks are definitely worth trying to find in a supermarket if you’re over in Italy; they we’re so tasty and moreish!
The bellini was everywhere around the city and I didn’t realise the cocktail actually originated in Venice- so I had to try one for culture points only, obviously…
Hotel Castello
Corte Sabionera, 4365, 30122 Venezia, Italy
I’ve got to give a huge mention to the hotel we stayed at. When booking a hotel which includes breakfast, I always pack some extra cookies in my bag for when theres inevitabl nothing to eat (cookies for breakfast on holiday are okay right?) Upon arrival I informed the staff about my allergies (via my allergy card; find it here) and on the first day, I saw despite the items being GF, not all were DF, so one member of staff said she’d go out after work and buy some DF GF items I could have for breakfast the next day. I thought it was massively above and beyond for her to do this and the next day had a lovely breakfast of soya yogurt, sesame and raisin bars and oatcakes. I thought the effort to get me food I could eat was amazing and would definitely make me stay at the hotel again again- top hotel recommendation for coeliacs and dairy free-ers!
We became a tad obsessed with coffee over there- a black coffee is just the way to go! I think I had 6 pre 11am so was completely wired the rest of the day.. this was taken in a super cute little Italian cafe we found but there’s obviously amazing Italian coffee shops everywhere.
Stickhouse
Calle dei Boteri, 1700, 30125 Venezia, Italy
I love that in Venice, you never know what you’ll discover so it was pure chance I found Stickhouse. All the fruit sorbets (and I believe also the dark chocolate one too) are all dairy free and vegan and are also naturally sucrose sugar-free as they’re just made with fruit. I had the mango- as you can tell from my face, I was loving life- super tasty!
We also took a gondola ride- before going lots of people said you don’t need to do one and that they’re expensive, however I can’t go to a city famous for something and not partake in it if I can. Venice is famous for gondolas so I HAD to go on one. I’m so glad we did, with so much of Venice only viewable from the water, we saw another side to it. It’s so quiet on the water with only the gondolier’s shouting in their ‘secret’ language so other gondoliers know when they’re coming around the corner. Before we went, we planned to go on the Grand Canal, but seeing how busy it was with the water taxis and many other boats, we spoke to a waiter and he said this route was best- we took it just outside restaurant Osteria Calle 21 (mentioned above) and took that route. For anyone else who isn’t wild about boats, this route was really smooth compared to the choppy water of the Grand Canal!
Baba
Dorsoduro 3755, Calle Pantalón, 30123 Venezia
Our walking tour of Venice began just around the corner, so we popped in here after seeing they had gluten free and dairy free options. It turned out that most of these were meat based with hamburgers or beef burgers which I don’t eat, but the chef came out and was so lovely and asked what I liked and made a custom dish for me and I ended up with all sorts! Veggies, salad and Venetian fish- which If I’m honest I don’t think is for me as It turns out I don’t like anchovies. Never the less, she baked me fresh dairy and gluten free bread and it was a nice selection, taking me away from the carb binge I appear to have to be on. The walking tour was also amazing and I’d really recommend this; it seems the only way to find out a lot about the city as a whole instead of just about one or two landmarks you’ve visited specifically.
Grom
Multiple locations around Venice
I spoke about Grom in my Rome blog, and again made my family walk miles so I could find it. I hoped it would be as good as I remembered, and it didn’t disappoint! In the land of gelato, I didn’t want to feel like I missed out- and I also wanted those with me to feel they could also eat ice-cream without feeling bad that I’d sit there crying, so Grom was definitely on my list of places to visit. I had the strawberry sorbet and the dark chocolate which are both dreamy, I’d fully recommend! The sorbets are dairy free, but if you’re just gluten free- all of the gelato is also gluten free and they’ve been certified by the Associatedzione Italiana Celiachia.
Ristorante Pizzeria Malibran
Cannaregio 5864 – 30131 Venezia
Yes, all I did was eat. I was drawn in by a ‘gluten free’ sign outside and the staff were really helpful with the dairy too. I got the pizza with mushroom and my mum got the plain pasta- we ended up dipping the crusts in the pasta too. The pizza was probably the best one I had, with such a crispy base and the flavours within the sauce both on the pizza and the pasta were second to none. Definately go here if you can- I admit, It was so good I ate far too much and had to pop the button of my jeans and walk home with them unbuttoned… my bad.
I brought a bit of Italian GF pasta back with me!
