Vino Vero

Vino Vero is a narrow natural wine bar on the Fondamenta della Misericordia in the Cannaregio sestiere of Venice, in Italy's Veneto region. It is one of a run of bacari along that canal that fill with a mixed crowd of locals and visitors in the evening, and the listing describes it as the coolest natural wine bar in Venice and a good anchor for an evening canal crawl along the nearby Ormesini streets. The list works through small-producer natural and biodynamic Italian wines by the glass, paired with a short rotating menu of cicchetti rather than full plates. The by-the-glass list rotates frequently, so the selection changes from one visit to the next, and the seasonal cicchetti plates are the food side of the offer. The cuisine is wine-bar snacks rather than a full restaurant menu, so visitors seeking a complete meal may want to eat elsewhere afterwards. Indoor seating is limited, so much of the evening crowd stands along the fondamenta outside, and the atmosphere is convivial, informal and loud on busy nights. Dress is casual. The bar opens Monday to Saturday from 6PM to 1AM and on Sunday from 12PM to 4PM. Reservations are not required. Prices are mid-range ($$), and a couple of glasses and plates add up more quickly than a standard bacaro because of the natural wine focus. Getting there by early evening secures a spot at the bar itself, since after around 7pm the crowd spills onto the canalside pavement. The location is a short walk from the Ghetto and the Madonna dell'Orto, and it fits an evening of moving between several bacari, in keeping with the Venetian habit of taking an ombra, a small glass of wine, at each stop. It suits wine-minded visitors and those who prefer a lively standing bar to a formal dinner.