More like a 1950’s hotel lobby than a bar, and always very busy, Harry’s Bar is still an irresistible institution. You will naturally want to order a Bellini, they were 15 Euro last visit, but then this is their birthplace! My tip would be to order a ‘Rogers’ second – pretty much a Bellini but with an extra shot of something and at only one Euro more it’s better value and very tasty. People talk of the old clientele (Hemingway, Capote and Orson Welles) the place used to attract and expect something grander, but they went for the atmosphere and because Harry’s is a Venice institution, part of the cyclical life of the place. It was opened in 1931.

The staff, in their white coats and black bow ties, are always charming and demure and will bring you a Beef Carppaccio, the bar’s other signature dish, in the same way that they have been since the place opened. Things here just don’t seem to change. My Dad swears he has been served by the same person at ten year intervals.

People supposedly come to try Bellinis but come back for the atmosphere, which apparently hasn’t changed since it was opened. It’s expensive. But you would expect that and it is somehow more of an experience than just a drink or meal.

Written by  romantic poet.

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