Pasticceria Dal Mas
Pasticceria Dal Mas is a historic Venetian pastry shop and café situated on the Lista di Spagna in Cannaregio, steps from Venice Santa Lucia railway station. Founded in 1946 by the Dal Mas family, it is one of the few remaining traditional pasticcerie in Venice that combines counter service of pastries, espresso, and Venetian dolci with a full breakfast and light-lunch offer, serving both locals and travellers who arrive in the city each morning.
At a glance
- Type
- Pasticceria (pastry shop) and café
- Founded
- 1946
- Style
- Traditional Venetian pastry and breakfast counter
- Location
- Lista di Spagna, Cannaregio, Venice, Italy
- Coordinates
- 45.4420° N, 12.3234° E
Overview
Dal Mas occupies a prominent corner on the Lista di Spagna, Cannaregio’s widest street and the main pedestrian link between the railway station and the city centre. The family-run pasticceria is known for its Venetian pastries — frittelle during Carnival, baicoli, bussolai, and a generous display of bignole and croissants year-round. The café counter bustles from early morning as Venetian commuters and arriving train passengers stop for a standing espresso before heading into the labyrinth of calli.
History
The Dal Mas family established the shop in the immediate post-war period, when the Lista di Spagna was still a predominantly residential street. Over eight decades the pasticceria has survived the transformation of Cannaregio from a working-class sestiere into the most-visited gateway of Venice, adapting its offer without abandoning the artisanal production methods — hand-rolled pasta frolla, house-made cream fillings — that distinguish it from chain cafés. The name Dal Mas remains synonymous in the district with the Venetian morning ritual of coffee and pastry.
What you see
The interior retains the warm, mirrored aesthetic of a mid-century Italian bar: tall display cases filled with glazed pastries, glass shelves bearing bottles of amaro and grappa, and a marble counter worn smooth by decades of espresso cups. Behind the counter, a refrigerated case holds cream-filled pastries and seasonal specialities. At Carnival season the shop produces hundreds of frittelle veneziane — round, raisin-studded doughnuts — in the traditional and cream-filled variants, drawing queues that extend onto the pavement.
Cultural significance
Pasticceria Dal Mas is a cultural anchor in Cannaregio at a time when the forces of mass tourism have replaced many neighbourhood food businesses with souvenir kiosks. It preserves the Venetian tradition of the family-run pasticceria as a social institution — a place where the rhythm of the city is marked by the morning pastry and the afternoon ombra di vino — and it is regularly cited in food journalism as one of Venice’s most reliable traditional sweet counters.
Practical information
- Address
- Lista di Spagna, Cannaregio, 30121 Venice
- Hours
- Generally open from early morning; check Google Maps for current hours
- Price range
- Budget — espresso and pastry typically €2–5
- Reservations
- Not required; counter and table service
Getting there
Take the vaporetto to Ferrovia (lines 1, 2, or N) or arrive at Venice Santa Lucia railway station and walk east along the Lista di Spagna — the pasticceria is within two minutes of the station exit. Buses from Piazzale Roma (15-minute walk) provide an alternative land-side connection from the mainland.
Sources & resources
- Cultural Heritage Online — Venice places guide
- City of Venice tourism portal: veneziaunica.it