Across the iconic Rialto bridge, on the other side of the Grand Canal and tucked down an alleyway, is tiny All' Arco (Calle Arco, San Polo 436, lunchtime only). On a Saturday lunchtime this friendly bacaro was heaving with shoppers from the nearby Rialto market, which sells a stunning selection of fresh fish and remains a favourite meeting place for Venetians. Plates of cicheti on the bar – langoustines, calamari, liver, speck and prawns, all served on slices of bread – were tasty enough, but what the owner Francesco Pinto was preparing behind it looked even more appetising. The hot sandwich of boiled beef sausages (which, he gesticulated, are made from the meat in the cow's head) served with mustard was the perfect winter comfort food.