When I first published this blog post three years ago, I had the intention of documenting my visit to Venice and to find out if the lagoon city had any specialty coffee to offer at all. The result was a very long piece about every single cup of coffee I had there, including the good ones and the bad ones. I was very pleased to see that whenever you google ‘coffee in Venice’ this article came out on top.
Naturally, Italy is a very particular place when it comes to coffee. I don’t think that there’s any other country in the world where coffee, and espresso in particular, is so firmly entrenched in the culture than there.
But what do you do if those dark roasted, bitter and often undrinkable espressi are not your cuppa Joe?
I’ve taken all your kind responses into account and condensed the original piece down to my top three places to get coffee in Venice. They may not always serve the best Java in town, but if you need a few pointers, this article will hopefully help you out.
Café del Doge
Hidden down a small alley near the famous Rialto bridge, this small coffee bar and roastery is probably the closest you’ll get to a more refined coffee bar in Venice.
Unlike in most other coffee bars or restaurants, you can actually choose between a number of single origin coffees roasted for espresso and filter, although during my last visit in 2013, the filter coffee I was served tasted pretty terrible.
However, the cappuccino and more unique coffee creations like their marrocchino. This café offers a nice respite from the relentless pushing and shoving around the small and narrow streets of Venice.
Venezia Rialto, Calle dei Cinque, San Polo, 609
Hotel Monaco
This stylish hotel just off Piazza San Marco may not serve the best coffee in town, but it has some pretty amazing views over the Dogana and the gondolieri who park their boats right outside the terrace.
Don’t be shocked by the hefty price tag either. You’ll easily end up paying €8 or more for a cappuccino or Latte, but what you’re paying for here are the views.
Piazza San Marco, 1332
Coffee Shit Café
Another place that is worth visiting more for its mind-boggling interiors than its coffee is the Coffee Shit Café inside the Giardini.
The design is highly abstract and can cause you nausea but I bet you have never been to a place that looks like this.
During the Biennale this place is always rammed with people looking for a place to relax in between art exhibitions but then find themselves posing for selfies and photos rather than taking a moment to chill.
Giardini
Thanks for reading our Venice Coffee Guide.
Did you know that we also run Europe’s #1 coffee subscription?
Every month, we work with three awesome roasters and deliver their freshly roasted coffees to customers all over the world.
I totally get where you’re coming from (you’ll have similar experiences in France, Spain and Portugal), but I find that if you follow your nose in most Italian cities you can find a place that does a very decent cappuccino.
Forget the coffees without milk which are usually undrinkable. You may be able to get away with an espresso or even better a corretto from time to time, but the cappuccino is where it’s at.
Hi Alper,
Indeed. I was in Marseille earlier this year and there I also struggled to find a decent cup of coffee. For Italy I had slightly different expectations but when you’re used to light to medium roasted coffees that taste great with milk or on their own it is quite hard to adjust your taste buds to the Italian roast, which is quite dark.
But it was great to stumble upon a place where they do know what they’re doing.
Thanks for your comment!
Great article. Took a trip to Italy this summer and felt similarly about the coffee in Venice. Despite this, I still felt that the character of the caffes could not be beat. Awesome place!
Hi, this was interesting to read. The situation was pretty much the same in Rome on my trip some time ago. Finding a good cappuccino was much more difficult than I had expected! Anyway, it was nice that you managed to find at least one great cappuccino on your trip. I guess it depends more on the coffee bar you go and not really the country – you just need to find the right places.
I always spent my hal an hour to read this weblog’s articles or reviews all
the time along with a mug of coffee.
Oh my dayzzzzz!!! Am off to Venice, from London, in about 36 hours, and just got sent this article by my equally coffee loving travel companion in Frankfurt. And yes, we are off to catch the last weekend of the Biennale, and of course, find some DECENT COFFEE!
The blog title already had me in stitches and now having read the actual article, I can say two things for sure:
1) I can’t remember the last time a piece of excellent writing made me laugh out loud so much (& while travelling on public transport).
2) This article has not only given me all the ample warning I needed (others had said similar, but hey, we must all learn for ourselves, huh), BUT it’s such a humourous yet informative and on point article, that for the FIRST time ever, am posting a comment on a public blog!
Well done…and THANK YOU Alex!
That was one of the most wonderful comments I have ever had!
Thank you thank you thank you 🙂 Enjoy Venice
You are for sure very knowledgeable in coffee, but I know my share of 30 years in the food business and many 3 star Michelin restaurants. I was recently in Venice myself and I agree that Cafe del Doge was the best coffee that I encountered. But it should also be mentioned that the culture of the coffee is not quite as bad as you have mentioned.
1. I have to praise the Italian’s for serving coffee properly in a warmed China cup vs the dreadfull paper cups that are so standard in the US.
2. The serving portion on all coffees is also impeccable.
3. The terrible habit of covering cappuccino with cocoa powder( which is standard in my beloved food town Paris) is literally non-exsisting unless someone insists.
4.Most common small coffee places in Venice that are not tourist focused offer very good coffee.
5. Sipping an excellent Espresso for 6.00 Euro at Cafe Florian has to be appreciated, since it is the oldest Cafe in the world. A Bloody Mary at the King Cole bar of the St. Regis in New York will cost also more than anywhere else, but you just can’t beat the history.
Dear Michael
thank you for your comments. The article was written from the perspective of a specialty coffee lover, therefore more attention was paid to the quality of the coffee. Naturally, there are historic places that are amazing in their own right but where the coffee is simply terrible.
But in any case, the Italian coffee culture is something incredibly special and we appreciate that. It’s just not our cuppa Joe, if you catch our drift.
Best,
The Coffeevine
Too bad this doesn’t give more info on how to actually get to the one place you had good coffee…most people searching for coffee in venice fund this article and then can’t actually figure out where anything you recommended is!
Good read. Could use some help finding the places though!
I assume these coffee shops follow the Italian trend when it comes to the coffee taste (roast, variety of beans). But it looks like Coffee Shit Café is worth the visit for its funky interior, despite its strange name 🙂
Hi Vik. Yes. I have been visiting Venice every two years for eight years and I have so far not found a single place that offers a decent cup of third-wave coffee.
Café del Doge is kind of the best out of the bunch.
torrefazione Cannaregio is the place for your “specialty” coffee enthusiasts. very badly organised, but very good and overpriced (for Italian standards” coffee.