Before chosing a place to eat you  must know:

Meal:

A lot of places charge a separate price for the meal. The meal price varies depending on the place and costs between 1,00 €  and 2,50 €. However, if you search a little in more modest places they don't charge the meal (in the menu outside they allways tell the price of the meal).

The places that don't charge the meal, they say in the menu "No Copperto" or "No Cover Charge".

Service:

Service is not included in almost every place. There's a supplement between a 10% and a 12% on the meals of the menu. Also they always tell it on the menu. However, if you search a little there are restaurants that don't charge the service.

The places that don't charge the service, they say in the menu "Servizio Compreso", "Service Included" or "No service charge".

Depending on your budget you have different options:

In Venice there are different kinds of options to eat. Depending on your budget and the kind of meal you prefer, you can chose from:

Restaurants:

Restaurants are the most expensive option. The meals are good, but gastronomy is not the best asset in Venice.

First dish + Second dish + Dessert + Coffee + Drink can cost around 35 €.

Menu costs around 16 € on average.

Sight of Il Gran Canale from Il Vaporetto

Trattorias:

They are more simple restaurants. They are restaurants but cheaper, simply.

Trattorias are also a good place if you wish to eat pasta, but take into account that a small dish of pasta (not enough if you take it as a unique dish) can cost around 9,00€. Moreover, although italian pasta is known all over the world, pasta in Venice is nothing extraordinary, it's exactly like here.

First dish + Second dish + Desserts + Coffee + Drink can cost around 28 €.

Menu can cost around 12 € on average.

Pizzerias:

In our opinion, the best option. Pizzas in Venice are marvellous, with a fine dough and natural and varied ingredients.

Moreover, the equation quality-price is fantastic. And if you are a little hungry, you can also ask for two pizzas, as they are quite cheap and because of the fine dough are really good.

One pizza + Drink + Coffee can cost around 12 €.

Sight of The Bridge of Sighs

Places to eat on the street:

If you want to eat quickly and cheap, a good option is to buy something on the street shops. There are a lot of places that offer sandwiches, rolled meals, pies, etc. However, it's just to make a little meal or replace the breakfast, in order to take a complete meal on dinner time.

A sandwich or rolled meal + Drink can cost around 4,50 €.

A suggestion to save on meals:

As the rest of the meals in Venice don't have anything special at all, apart from pizzas, we suggest you to book a hotel with buffet breakfast included, in order to take a complete breakfast (as if you were having lunch). Skip the lunch time and have dinner early.

You'll save a lot of money on meals and, moreover, you'll take advantage of the hours left. Take into account that in Venice the tourist places close early (around 17:30 - 19:00), that's why it's interesting to skip the lunch time.