In Venice, as in many other Italian cities, people meet before dinner for the ritual of happy hour at a so called ‘bacari’, that is characteristic osterias or wine bars where you can find a lively and genuine atmosphere. Here you can drink some typical aperitifs such as the famous ‘spritz’ (a cocktail made of Prosecco wine and Aperol or Campari) or taste the ‘cicchetti’ (tasty snacks, such as small croutons, meat cooked on a spit, savoury pastries and typical Venetian dishes, both hot and cold, fried and not).
One of Venice's trademark foods is cuttlefish and its ink. This intense black ink serves as a sauce and ingredient for polenta (corn meal), risotto (rice), and pasta. These dishes are normally indicated by the Italian words "nellaseppia" (in cuttlefish), "allaseppia" (in the style of cuttlefish), or "nero di seppia," (black of the cuttlefish). For example Polenta NellaSeppia is fried corn meal with the black ink of a cuttle fish. Despite the intensity in color, the ink has a surprisingly mild taste.