Cicchetti

The tavern counter

Cicchetti are central to social life in Venetian taverns and bars, known as bacari or osterie. These foods are rarely cooked at home. Instead, they are laid out behind glass cases along the counter throughout the day. Customers gather on their feet around the bar, picking up bites with their fingers or wooden toothpicks. While visitors often join in, it remains an everyday habit for locals. People might stop for a quick single bite or assemble an entire meal by choosing several different small plates together.

Bites and toppings

The dishes served on cicchetti counters come in many varieties. Common options include miniature crustless sandwiches known as tramezzini, halved hard-boiled eggs, and small bowls of olives or vegetables. Other popular choices feature slices of crusty bread or polenta topped with seafood, cured meats, or cooked vegetables. Taverns also prepare tiny portions of classic full-course recipes. Because the portions are small, diners can sample a wide range of local flavours in a single visit without ordering a formal sit-down dinner.

Wine in the shade

Eating cicchetti almost always includes a modest pour of regional white wine, known locally as an ombra, which translates to shadow. This name dates back to historic wine sellers who unloaded their barrels at the Riva degli Schiavoni waterfront. They set up temporary stalls beneath the towering bell tower of Saint Mark's Basilica to keep their casks cool. As the sun shifted across the sky, merchants moved their carts around the square to remain inside the cool shadow cast by the tower.

How Cicchetti is kept

Diners enter a bacaro or osteria and head to the counter, where an assortment of freshly prepared bites is on display. Guests select items directly from the display case, which the server hands over on small plates or napkins. People eat standing at the bar or outside along the canal, using toothpicks or their hands. Most order an ombra, a small glass of local white wine, to drink alongside their food. Customers chat with friends, eat a bite or two, and often visit several different bacari over the course of an outing.

When and where

Venetians eat cicchetti throughout the day. Taverns are busiest during the late morning before the midday meal, at lunchtime itself, and again in the late afternoon for a snack.

This custom is rooted in the city of Venice in northern Italy. It takes place inside traditional taverns known as bacari and osterie, especially around busy counters and waterfront alleyways.

What Cicchetti means

The word cicchetto traces back to the Latin ciccus, which translates to a small amount. The custom reflects an informal, communal way of dining where the setting and social atmosphere matter as much as the food. The accompanying glass of wine, called an ombra or shadow, recalls the historical practice of merchants following the shade of Saint Mark's bell tower to protect their wine from the sun.

Questions people ask about Cicchetti

See also

TurrónA festive Mediterranean nut-and-honey confection shared at Christmas and local feastsChristmasA festival of Jesus's birth, kept on 25 December with gifts, lights and shared mealsValentine's DayA Christian feast day and cultural celebration of love kept on February 14 in many countries.Christmas treeA decorated evergreen or artificial tree placed indoors to mark the Christmas season.

Good reading and sources

• Cicchetti on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-04.