Venice - Cantina do Mori - English Pubs vs Venetian Bacari

I knew I was going to like this venerable institution, dating back to 1462, before I even visited. Having had a long running love affair with London's historic pubs, I make a habit whenever visiting a new city of doing some research in advance to try and find the city's oldest bar.

Although we in the UK revere ye olde innes of merrie England, in many other parts of the world bars are not given the same level of respect, and are ephemeral things, not expected to span multiple generations. More than that though, the bacari of Venice really do seem to fulfil a role very similar to the English pub. The locals pop in for a quick drink, have a chat, and then head on elsewhere - they are not restaurants in disguise. You order and pay at the bar - cash in advance - none of this irksome business of waiting forever to catch the waiter's attention to get the bill when you want to make a quick getaway. The patrons happily drink standing up, and spill out into the street outside, where, again, it is pretty much standing room only. A bacaro crawl, much like our pub crawl, is not unheard of - it even has a name: giro d'ombra - a journey of shadows.

Whilst, on the other hand, ciccheti arguably display a fair bit more culinary sophistication than the packet of dry roasted peaunius proffered in an English pub, and the regional ales of England make way for the regional wines of the Veneto, these things aside the parallels are definitely there.

Cantina do Mori always seems to be one of the more subdued of Venice's bacari. Partly a function of the dim lighting, perhaps a sign of some reverence for the historic interior, and probably also due to the rather taciturn staff. Occasionally a group on a guided tour will come in, there will be a brief hubbub, but then they move on, and it is quiet once more. If planning to visit more than one bacaro, it seems to be very much the done thing to start here. All Arco round the corner is perhaps a bit more lively, a good second port of call, but first take a moment to savour the atmosphere of the bar where Venetians have been coming for an ombra for over half a millenium.

Perhaps one other way the bacari of Venice deviate significantly from the pubs of England is in their opening hours. Traditionally, these do not seem to be evening destinations - Cantina do Mori closes at 7:30. They seem to be at their busiest around lunchtime, but actually open from the morning - as early as 8am. For a city with such a strong seafaring past I was rather taken aback to see, on a Saturday morning as I happened to be passing, the wanton disregard for the position of the sun with respect to the yard arm. Far be it from me to pass judgement; to borrow from an idiom from another Italian city, when in Venice...

Cantina do Mori
Address: Sestiere San Polo, 429, 30125 Venezia, Italy
Phone:+39 041 522 5401