Flavors · Venice

Sarde in saor

Fried sardines topped with onions cooked in vinegar, with raisins and pine nuts, left to rest until they take on a sweet-and-sour flavor. They originated as a way to preserve fish on boats and are the dish of the Festa del Redentore in Venice.

Traditional dish from Venice, Vêneto

Also known as: sarde in saór, sardine in saor

Updated November 2026

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Sarde in saor — Venice, Italy — Sarde in saor

Sarde in saor — Venice, Italy

Sarde in saor are cleaned sardines, coated in flour and fried. In a serving dish they are layered with white onions slowly cooked first in olive oil and then in vinegar, with raisins and pine nuts. The whole is left to rest for at least a day before serving so the fish absorbs the sauce. Saor, in Venetian, means flavor.

The earliest written references date from the 14th century. Sailors used onion and vinegar to preserve sardines during voyages, in a time without refrigeration. With Venice’s trade, spices such as clove, cinnamon and coriander were introduced, and later raisins and pine nuts, which brought the dish from humble homes to wealthier tables.

The dish is linked to the Festa del Redentore, on the third weekend of July, which commemorates the end of the plague of 1575–1577. On Saturday night Venetians dine on boats and along the shores of the Bacino di San Marco awaiting the fireworks, and an old saying prescribes preparing saor for the Redentore. A floating bridge connects the Zattere to the Redentore church on the Giudecca.

The rest of the year, sarde in saor appear in bacari, Venetian taverns, as a cicchetto — a snack served on bread or polenta, or as a starter.

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Where it comes from

Venice , Vêneto
A dish from Venice’s seafaring tradition, associated with the Festa del Redentore in July.

Ingredients

Sardines, flour, frying oil, white onion, white wine vinegar, raisins, pine nuts and olive oil.

How it is eaten

Served cold or at room temperature, as a starter or as a cicchetto on bread or polenta, with a glass of wine.

When it is eaten

Year-round in bacari; it is the traditional dish of the Festa del Redentore on the third weekend of July.

Your questions

Questions about Sarde in saor

What does saor mean?

In Venetian, it means flavor. It is the sweet-and-sour sauce of onion, vinegar, raisins and pine nuts.

Why are sarde in saor linked to the Redentore?

They are the traditional dish of the Festa del Redentore in July, when Venetians dine on boats and along the shores awaiting the fireworks.

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