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Italy is famous for a wide variety of delicious food! On our first trip to Italy, we visited Venice and Florence and definitely looked into what food to eat and where. Nurture Happiness Today FOODIE shares eight foods to try in Italy, specifically in Venice and Florence. We also included some of our recommended places of where to get the food from. Of course not all the amazing Italian delicacies are in the list below (e.g. tiramisu, cannoli, arancini from Sicily).
We hope you enjoy these foods to try in Italy – some you likely familiar with, and some could be new foods to try…enjoy your foodie adventures!
Cicchetti
Ciccetti are small snacks served in Venice, offered by many stores and bars around the city. It is one of my favourite Italian foods we discovered while researching what to eat in Venice. Actually, it was the first thing we wanted to eat after landing!
Cicchetti is essentially a small snack, such as meat, vegetables, or seafood served on a small piece of bread. The variations are endless and the delightful snacks definitely brought us much foodie happiness!
Recommendation: All’Arco -we headed to this specific, famous cicchetti shop and ate outside standing up, with a glass of wine, which was common in Venice! All’Arco did not disappoint…delicious!
For guided Venice food tours, check out these options:
Spritz in Venice
This alcoholic beverage is served all over Italy, traditionally served before a meal as an aperitif. The drink is bright orange in colour and widely available in Italy, with not too much alcohol content (11%). Often made with Aperol or Campari, Spritz is a classic Italian cocktail that is refreshing.
Gelato
Gelato is probably not new to most people. However, it is worth noting that is does matter where you have gelato in Italy! Like ice cream, gelato is not the same in terms of quality and taste everywhere. There are some artisanal shops that make gelato from high quality ingredients or serve modern flavours.
Gelato is a definitely food to try in Italy, from a high quality shop! Some shops do have long lines to taste their delicious creations and you can taste the difference!
Recommedation: Suso – we waited in a long line for their famous gelato in Venice and savoured each bite!
Squid Ink Pasta
Squid ink pasta is typically blackish in colour and has only a very subtle difference in flavour than traditional pasta. It has only a faint hint of seafood flavour, but the colour certainly adds to the presentation of the dish. Although squid ink pasta is now available outside of Italy at some Italian and gourmet grocery stores, we still wanted to have it in Italy as it is regarded as a traditional dish in many parts of the country.
Florentine Steak
One of the most popular dishes in Florence, we saved our Florentine Steak dinner for our last night in Florence. There are several popular restaurants known for their Florentine steak so be sure book a reservation if there is a particular restaurant you would like to try. It is definitely a food to try in Italy, specifically in Florence!
Limoncello
Limoncello is one of Italy’s most popular liqueurs, traditionally served after dinner, as it is also a digestive. Traditionally made from lemon peels, limoncello is used in drinks, dishes, and desserts. We also bought some gourmet chocolate made with limoncello as some souvenirs for those at home.
Figs
It wasn’t until we were in Florence that we realized how popular figs were in Italy. Figs were in season when we visited in September and were ripe and delicious. We ate the figs raw, often served with an accompaniment like cheese, nuts, or ham.
Panini/Sandwich
Sometimes we just want to grab an easy meal or street food, particularly when travelling. In Italy, there are many sandwich shops available to grab a quick bite. However, there are also many gourmet shops that serve amazing sandwiches prepared with quality ingredients. This sandwich shop was memorable and we had to share…
Recommendation: Ino – we were the first in the line that formed when Ino opened. It is still one of my favourite sandwiches to date! It was a savoury, delicious, and memorable meal from a local sandwich shop whose passion for their food you can taste!
Website: www.inofirenze.com/
There are so many delicious foods to try in Italy that we could not possibly include a complete list! This was just a very short list of foods from our first trip to Venice and Florence! Of course, we will continue to enjoy new foods and restaurants and sharing them with you! Enjoy your foodie adventures!
For more foods to try in Italy, these are some guided tours, many with food and drink, from Florence, Italy, with reviews, shared here:
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For more articles, be sure to take a look at Nurture Happiness Today‘s other features on travel, food, and inspiration for happiness:
- Nurture Happiness Today TRAVEL and RESORTS & HOTELS
- Nurture Happiness Today FOODIE
- Nurture Happiness Today – inspiration for happiness such as quotes, speeches and lifestyle posts.
