Vicenza is in the heart of Veneto and eats accordingly: risotto, baccalà alla vicentina (salt cod stewed in milk with onions and anchovies — a city obsession), and bigoli pasta with duck ragù. The local wine comes from the Berici Hills just south of town and from the Colli Euganei to the east. Spritz is the aperitivo of choice, consumed at the city's bars from around 6pm in a ritual that seems older than the Palladian buildings.
Al Pestello (Contra Santo Stefano 3) is a reliable choice for traditional Vicentine cooking — try the baccalà. Ristorante Storione (Strada Pasubio 64) handles Vicentine and Veronese classics competently. For a more refined meal, La Peca (Via Canove di Giovannelli 2, actually in Lonigo nearby) is one of the region's better restaurants, with a serious wine list and cooking that takes the local tradition seriously without being slavish to it.
The area around Piazza delle Erbe and the covered market is good for quick lunch — bars serving cicchetti (the Veneto equivalent of tapas) and ombra di vino (small glasses of wine) in the Venetian style.