HANNAH SHARES

This post has been a long time coming. We moved away from Vicenza over six months ago, and are definitely missing all of our favorite places there. This little town in Northern Italy will always hold a special place in our hearts! If you ever find yourself visiting Venice or Verona, Vicenza is certainly worth at least a one-day stop. You won’t find it crawling with tourists, and you’ll be immersed in the every day life and beauty of what it is like to live in a small Italian city.

Bars (what we would call cafés!)

Casa Magrin – Our favorite in Vicenza. Lucy and I came here every Thursday morning before heading to the market. We often all went together Saturday mornings, too. Owned by the Magrin family – Daniele and Tiziana, and their daughters, Ana and Valentina. Ana always made Lucy and I pancakes to share and she often had special treats for Lucy. Most caffes don’t have a full breakfast menu (only pastries), but Casa Magrin has good breakfast options. Also a nice spot to sit for a spritz in the afternoon or evening!

Pigafetta – Hands down the best cappuccino in Vicenza, specifically their cappuccino pistacchio. Also the oldest in Vicenza!

Gran Caffe – We sat here a lot for spritz during aperitivo. Good spot for a cappuccino in the morning.

Magazzino del Caffè – My favorite brioche, con crema!

Pasticceria Bolzani – Amazing pastries but also one of the best cappuccinos in Vicenza.

Garibaldi Vicenza – Also a full service restaurant, but we mostly came here for caffe and breakfast in the mornings. It’s right in Piazza Signori, and has a glassed-in patio that they open up in the summertime, so it’s a great option for summer and winter. Nice to sit at for aperitivo, too!

Caffe Natura – Nice spot to sit outside, yummy açaí bowls and salads for lunch in the summer.

Il Salotto dei Signori – Brand new caffe that just opened right in Piazza Signori. Really beautifully decorated, a couple of comfy tables outside to enjoy an espresso or salame cioccolato.

Restaurants

TiraTardi – One of my favorites in Vicenza. The menu is pretty extensive, which is unusual for traditional Italian restaurants, at least in our experience. But, that means they have something for everyone. It’s owned by an Italian couple, the woman is both hostess and waitress and her husband is the chef. They always make a great pasta a bianco for Lucy and they have really interesting, delicious desserts. Both Michael and I love their spaghetti aglio e olio with shrimp. It’s a super simple, spicy pasta, but something about it makes it probably my favorite dish in Vicenza. Great gnocchi and salmon, too! I love sitting on their patio when the weather is nice, as it sits in an alley just off Piazza Signori.

Osteria Bertoliana – A hidden gem right in the center of Vicenza. It’s located in a back alley behind Gran Caffe and is a quiet little spot with a spoken menu. The amazing owner and chef creates the menu daily based on seasonal selections. His menu always includes some strange sounding combinations, like veal tongue or chicken liver ragu (ha! doesn’t sound too appetizing), but everything is always fantastic. The last time we visited he had a boar tenderloin from an animal his friend had hunted the weekend before. My favorite thing that’s always on the menu is the ricotta gnocchi. We like to sit outside in the front but they also have a little courtyard with tables in the back.

Angolo Palladio – Right in the center of the city, this is a really popular restaurant with lots of outdoor seating. We ate here the first night outdoor dining opened for dinner when restrictions started lifting in February 2021. Our first meal out in Vicenza and we plan to eat their the Sunday night before we fly out. Our favorite dishes are the black truffle gnocchi, bigoli with duck ragu, spicy linguine with prawns, tagliata steak, and the lamb chops. Ok, everything is delicious. Great pizzas, desserts, and wine list!

Antico Guelfo – I think this tops the list as my favorite restaurant in Vicenza. Really good traditional Italian restaurant. Great cheese selection, pastas, and their braised beef cheek with potatoes is always a hit. Their menu is seasonal, so there is always something new to try. One of our last meals here was a steak that was probably the best we’ve had in Italy.

Al Fiume – Beautiful restaurant right on the river (literally, Al Fiume translates to on the river!). Everything on the menu is good, but their spicy spaghetti with lime and prawns is phenomenal. Don’t knock it until you try it. Really yummy desserts, too!

Pizzeria Vesuvio – We didn’t stop in here until summer of 2022, and then we were there every single Friday night after! Great pizza and a wonderful family who runs the restaurant. Our favorite pizza is the Inferno, and we always finished the meal with sorbetto (traditional Italian lemon sorbet) topped with limoncello. This pizzeria was truly Lucy’s second home. Once we got about halfway there she would realize where we were going and could lead us the rest of the way, right in the door and down the steps to the back patio to “our table”.

Il Molo – We only went here once, but it is a great spot! More of a “foodie” date night spot, but with really good seafood. Fun to sit outside in the summer.

L’Oca Bianca – We liked coming here for things other than Italian food. They have the traditional Veneto dishes, but also lots of different cuisines. Has a really neat old atmosphere inside.

Enoteca Veneta – La Proseccheria – Nice spot to sit outside for a glass of prosecco and charcuterie.

Specialty Shops

Il Ceppo – A historic gastronomia and bistro started by the Boscolo family over 50 years ago. Our go-to spot to pick up meats, cheeses, and yummy food from the counter. They have a great wine selection and once a month they do dinners and/or aperitivo events catered to Americans in their wine cellar.

Gastronomia Colombara 1957 – Another great spot to pick up meats and cheese just around the corner from our apartment.

Pane Latte da Odone – Yes, another spot for meats and cheeses! An Italian man owns this little shop on the corner of our street and we have seen him daily since we moved in. We call him “the cheese man”.

Panificio Gemo – Great bakery to stop for bread and other treats. There is always a line out the door!

I Macellai Vicenza – Our favorite butcher shop in Vicenza. By far the best selection of meats, but they also have great wines and other fresh products like eggs, pasta, sauces, and more. If you spend 40 euro, you get a free item, and we always opted for fresh eggs to make homemade pasta!

Bottega Vicenza – We have walked by this little bottega a hundred times and never stopped in. We recently went for the first time with an Italian friend and loved it! They have a counter inside you can order fresh little bites (mostly seafood) from and sip on a glass of wine. It’s right in Piazza Signori, so the perfect spot to sit and enjoy aperitivo.

Il Mercato Campagna Amica – I am really sad that we didn’t know about this place sooner. We have walked by this indoor market many times and never knew what it was. It’s in a really unsuspecting building and you can’t see in from outside. We happened to stop in one Saturday morning and I immediately wished I would have gone every weekend we’ve been here. It’s a small indoor food market with about 20 local vendors, each with their own booth. They are only open Saturday and Sunday mornings, but you can find lots of fresh seasonal produce, meat straight from the farmers, fresh dairy products, honey, spices, fresh bread, and more!

NaturaSì Silene Bio Bottega e Cucina – Right across the street from the market above, this is an organic store, sort of a Whole Foods vibe. Some fun local food finds a little different than the typical grocery store around here.

Bottega Faustino – We just recently discovered this little spot tucked behind Corso Palladio. Fun to sit and have a glass of wine or spritz, served with a bag of popcorn instead of the typical bowl of chips.

Gastronomia A Tavola Con Alessandro – A great deli counter and wine shop. They also have the best flavored taralli, an Italian cracker/breadstick that are usually savory but sometimes you can find sweet glazed flavors, too. They have a great wine selection in the back with wine from all over Italy and France.

Pasticceria Venezia – I often see this referred to as the best pastry shop in Vicenza. Stop in for caffe, brioche, or pick up chocolates or cakes.

Enoteca Wineshop Vicenza – Great little wine shop with a knowledgable owner.

Bibe Market – Wine shop and liquor store with the biggest selection and best prices in town.

Gelato

Capo di Latte – Our favorite gelato in Vicenza. They have their classic flavors and then typically a rotating menu of seasonal flavors. My go-to combo is frutti di bosco con cioccolato torino (wild berries and milk chocolate).

Cremarelli – Another great gelato spot, right in Piazza Signori. They have a great orange cinnamon flavor!

Gelateria Brustolon – On the opposite side of downtown from us, but we stop here when we are going or coming from Parco Querini. They have a window you can order from on the street.

There are tons of gelato shops around, we’ve tried them all, these really are the best. Vaniglia is good if you aren’t downtown, but the rest of the ones downtown aren’t great in my opinion.

Wineries

There are literally hundreds of wineries in our region, and thousands throughout Italy, but these are just a couple of our favorite ones to visit locally.

Fondo Rubro – We first discovered Fondo Rubro when they partnered with Il Ceppo to host a wine dinner featuring their wines. The young couple who runs the winery started producing wines in 2020 on a property their family purchased and invested in. Many times I have found that young wineries don’t have a “mature” taste (I’m not trying to pretend to know anything about wine, this is just my unknowledgeable opinion), but we both really enjoyed their wines especially for how new they are to wine making. It doesn’t hurt that they have a gorgeous estate you can visit to taste and host events. We went for a visit on a Saturday morning after we met them at the dinner and Lucy had fun playing with their daughter who is just a few months younger than her.

Rocca Sveva di Cantina di Soave – Located about halfway between Vicenza and Verona in Soave, we visited this winery several times. They used to do walk-in tastings on their patio, but I’m told you have to book them in advance now.

Damoli – We discovered Damoli at the bazaar hosted on base that features vendors from all over Europe. We ended up driving out to their property in Negrar, in the heart of Valpolicella Classico. The winery is literally their family’s home and they’ve been producing wine there for five generations. The daughter is who showed us around and poured some wines for us, and while we were tasting her father came in and sat with us. He didn’t speak a word of English, but seemed to enjoy watching Lucy.

Masi – Masi is a really well-known winery and you can definitely find their wines in the USA. We have visited two of their properties – in Valpolicella and in Lake Garda. The Lake Garda property has a bit more to offer than just tastings, with a little tour and a nice spot to sit for lunch or aperitivo.

Things to Do

Una Spiaggia per Vicenza – Pop up “beach bar” that is only open during the summer on the river right downtown.

Monte Berico – Catholic basilica and Marian shrine that overlooks the city of Vicenza. The Church was built in the 1400s after Mary appeared to a woman twice promising to save the city from the plague if the Church was built at the top of the hill. In front of the Church there is a beautiful lookout area where you can see the entire city and the mountains. We loved walking up here and attended mass at the basilica a few times.

Parco Querini – A beautiful park just outside downtown Vicenza.

La Terrazza della Basilica – Bar on the Basilica rooftop, only open in the summertime. Fun to visit and see the views of the Piazza, but the drinks are average and the music is always too loud.

Teatro Olimpico – Oldest indoor theater in the world!

Markets – Every Tuesday and Thursday there is a big market downtown. On the second Sunday of every month there is an antique market that sprawls through every street of the downtown area. During the fall there are several fun annual markets – local and regional Italian food markets, a French market, chocolate festival, and the wine festival.

Bonamini – Our favorite olive oil producer in the region. They do olive oil tours and tastings and have a great little shop to pick up lots of fun things!

Nove – A small local town home to hundreds of ceramic stores that produce high end ceramics for companies all over the world. My favorite to visit is VBC. They produce ceramic pieces for places like Tiffany & Co, Vietri, Lenox, and Williams Sonoma. You can shop the exact pieces in their stores for a fraction of the prices you’ll find them at in the actua stores.

Other local towns to visit – Asiago, Bassano del Grappa, Lake Garda, Marostica, Padova, Soave, Venice, Verona