Harry's Bar, San Marco, Venice

Harry’s Bar

Venice, Italy

Legendary 1930s bar known for its Bellini cocktails, carpaccio & celebrity clientele

Image: Clayton Parker from Chatillon sur Indre, France, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Famous People of Harry’s Bar

The Haunt of Writers, Actors and Royalty

Harry’s Bar has long been frequented by famous people, and it was a favourite of Ernest Hemingway. Other notable customers have included Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini, inventor Guglielmo Marconi, Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, James Stewart, Truman Capote, Orson Welles, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Princess Aspasia of Greece, Aristotle Onassis, Peggy Guggenheim, George Clooney and Woody Allen.

The Bar in Literature

The bar was also briefly mentioned in the second and subsequent editions of Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisited (in the first edition Waugh simply called the bar “the English bar”) as a frequent haunt of principal characters Charles Ryder and Sebastian Flyte during their time in Venice.

Visiting Harry’s Bar

Useful Information

Location/Waterbus

Location: Close to the vaporetto stop San Marco Vallaresso (view map)

Waterbus stop: San Marco (Vallaresso)

Opening Times

Opening Times: 11:00 – 23:00 (11am-11pm)

Bookings: harrysbar@cipriani.com

The Bar’s History

Image: Top- Clayton Parker from Chatillon sur Indre, France, CC BY-SA 2.0, Bottom: Harry’s Bar

Harry’s Bar was opened in 1931 by bartender Giuseppe Cipriani . According to the company’s history, Harry Pickering—a rich, young American had been frequenting Hotel Europa in Venice, where Giuseppe Cipriani was a bartender.

When Pickering suddenly stopped coming to the hotel bar, Cipriani asked him why. When Pickering explained that he was broke because his family found out his drinking habits and cut him off financially, Cipriani lent him 10,000 lire (about $500 US [$7,839 in 2015 dollars]).

Two years later, Pickering returned to the hotel bar, ordered a drink, and gave Cipriani 50,000 lire in return. “Mr. Cipriani, thank you,” he said, according to the Cipriani website. “Here’s the money. And to show you my appreciation, here’s 40,000 more, enough to open a bar. We will call it Harry’s Bar.”

Wikipedia

Harry’s Bar Menu

Food served at Harry’s Bar includes the following from their sample menu.

Appetizers, Salads and Sandwiches

Baccalà Mantecato with Grilled Polenta
Carpaccio alla Cipriani
Baby Artichokes from Torcello
Thinly Sliced Veal with Tonnato Sauce
Club Sandwich with Chicken, Lettuce, Tomato, and Bacon

Soups, Pasta and Risotto

Minestrone
Ravioli with Ricotta and Spinach
Cannelloni Piemontese
Cipriani Tagliardi Spezzati with Veal Ragù
Rice Pilaf alla Valenziana
Risotto alla Primavera
Cipriani Baked Tagliolini with Praga Ham

Main Courses

Steamed Chilean Sea Bass all Carlina with Rice Pilaf
Chicken Curry with Rice Pilaf
Veal Chop Milanese
Rib Eye
Calf’s Liver alla Veneziana
Sole Casanova with Rice Pilaf
Cuttlefish with Polenta

Dessert

Ice Cream Selection
Cipriani Vanilla Meringue Cake
Crêpes à la Crème
Fruit Plate