· Venice doesn't offer a huge amount for vegetarians. That is why La Zucca (The Pumpkin) stands out. It is a wonderful restaurant that began life offering a purely vegetarian menu but has recently expanded its offering to include meat. Mushroom and radish lasagne and a fabulous pumpkin tart are notable starters, while the main course is made up of a number of smaller, tapas style dishes. Choose from potatoes baked with taleggio, curried carrots with yoghurt, leeks with gorgonzola and breads and salads. If you have room after all that, the chocolate mousse is outstanding. It is very reasonably priced - for two, with wine, we paid around €70 and the service was excellent. Book ahead though or you won't get a table. It can be found at San Giacomo dell'Orio in the Santa Croce district (041 5241570).
Rob Cross

· For the perfect trattoria experience try Antica Mola (Fondamenta delgli Ormesini, Cannaregio), with a picture postcard setting beside the canal or in the courtyard garden. So taken were we by a simple lunch of risotto and poached peaches here that we returned five hours later for dinner only to find many of the same lunchtime diners had followed suit. Pizzeria ai Sportivi (Campo S Magherita, Dorsoduro) serve pizzas unlike anything you'll find in your local high street - try the pumpkin version if it's in season. For a table with a wonderful view try Ristorante alla Zattere (Fondamenta Zattere ai Gesuiti, Dorsoduro), situated on a shaded pontoon out in the Canale delle Guidecca. The menu offers simple, inexpensive Venetian dishes but skip dessert and head to Venice's favourite ice cream parlour, Gelateria Nico, which is nearby. All the restaurants mentioned here had plenty of vegetarian options and we found the entries in the book Venice: Time for Food (Thomas Cook Publishing, £4.99, timeforfood.com) to be generally trustworthy.
Mark and Cappy Whitehouse