Osteria Al Cicheto is another delightful little place in the Cannaregio area in Venice. Cicheto also known as cicchetto and cicchetti are small, traditional Venetian snacks. We started with several. Our waitress chose for us from a glass case at the front of the restaurant. From the left they included prosciutto, anchovy and blue cheese, tiny snail-like critters, and fried croquettes. The snail things were chilled and marinated in olive oil and lemon. We used toothpicks to remove them from the shells and pop into our mouths. They were fantastic and fun to eat. The croquettes were filled with tuna, meat and eggplant, one of each. All were delicious.
We attempted to order the house wine but our waitress suggested that in Venice it is best not to order the house wine. She specified that this fine elsewhere in Italy but not recommended in Venice. We ordered a bottle that she suggested and it was very good and reasonably priced.
For our next courses Trey had the caprese salad with buffalo mozzarella and I had a trio of Venetian specialties: octopus, a chilled white fish with pickled onions, and Baccalà Mantecato-a mild, creamy whipped salt cod spread.
We finished with possibly the best plate of pasta on the trip. I feel like I’ve said it before, but this was seriously good. Spaghetti with clams. The clams were so fresh the whole dish tasted like the ocean (in a good way!). Simple, clean and delicious.
We skipped dessert at the restaurant, regrettably, but did grab some gelato on the way back to the hotel!