Tourists visiting Venice are being cautioned against ordering pizza in the city, due to an unusual local regulation that, according to critics, impacts the flavor of the dish. A travel influencer recently highlighted the issue, claiming Venice’s pizza “lacks that extra flavor,” and there are broader concerns about the overall quality of food in the city.
Erin Fang, a popular travel influencer on TikTok with over 269,000 followers, posted a video titled “Things I Wish Social Media Told Me Before Visiting Venice.” In it, she advised viewers to avoid relying on the food in Venice, especially pizza. According to Fang, Venice’s long-standing ban on wood-burning ovens for fire safety reasons affects the taste of pizza, leaving it missing a key element.
“First up, do not rely on the food, and definitely not the pizza,” Erin said, adding that the absence of wood-fired ovens makes the pizza “just lack that extra flavor.”
Fang is not the first to point out this issue. The travel guide Culture Trip also highlights the challenge of finding good pizza in Venice due to the ban on wood-burning ovens, calling most pizza spots in the city “tourist traps.”
Beyond pizza, Fang suggested lowering expectations for food in Venice in general, stating that many restaurants are overly commercialized. However, she did recommend trying cicchetti, traditional Venetian small plates, which offer a more authentic local experience.
Her video quickly went viral, garnering over 81,000 likes. Despite Fang’s warnings, many viewers jumped to the defense of Venetian cuisine. One commenter said, “We had awesome food in Venice, you gotta go away from the more main areas and find the little places.” Another echoed similar sentiments, writing, “I absolutely LOVED Venice. We didn’t do any touristy stuff—we just got lost in the alleyways and ate at little hole-in-the-wall spots.”
While some visitors may feel disappointed by the pizza in Venice, it seems that those willing to venture off the beaten path may still find culinary gems in the city.