PlanetEye

The weather has finally turned to the feel of springtime in the Veneto. It may not last because of the old saying “April Showers bring May Flowers”, but I sure wasn’t going to let an afternoon slip by where I could enjoy a relaxing afternoon in the Piazza. While I was contemplating exactly which piazza I would like to spend my afternoon in, I realized that more that anything I wanted to be where the action was…so Piazza San Marco was the obvious answer. There are many places to sit and enjoy the weather, however in Venice most of these places are a café, bar, or restaurant with seating outside. So since I had already eaten lunch, and really wasn’t in the mood for a coffee, I opted for a Bellini (which is Prosecco and peach juice) invented by Hemingway in 1948. But where to go? Then I remembered Harry’s Bar.  I had always read about this place in the guide books, and many people said that they had been there and had a nice time. So I thought, why not? If it’s good enough for Ernest Hemingway, Katharine Hepburn, and Robert DeNiro, then it’s good enough for me.

Harry’s Bar is a short walk from Piazza San Marco, no more than 5 minutes. The outside wasn’t all that alluring and it didn’t appear to be an awful place, so I went in. Inside I found myself terribly underdressed, although I thought that a pair of nice pants and button down shirt was more dressed up than I needed to be for a bar. I finally ordered my drink and was overwhelmed by how long it took to get the wait staff to actually acknowledge that I was there, and after, how they simply preferred not to look at me. I honestly didn’t feel as if I was welcome there and that the sooner I left the better. For this reason, as well as the price, I decided that dinner was not an option.

The bar was crowded and everybody had the same look on their face as if to say “What the F---?! What was I thinking? The writers of my guide book should be drug out into the street and shot!” The bar itself had no atmosphere, at least no Venice atmosphere and there are barely any tables to enjoy yourself. If you do get the chance to sit at one of the tables and actually order something…BUCKLE UP because the food and the drinks are HIDIOUSLY overpriced (15 Euro = $23 for one drink) and to be honest, not that good either. I can get the same foofy drinks at a number of any other bars and pay less than half of what I did at Harry’s. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ll happily pay an exuberant amount of money for a nice glass of wine, ask any of my friends, but I won’t pay that much money for no atmosphere and a glass of dishwater with an orange wedge dangling on the side of the glass. FYI for wine drinkers: Harry’s Bar doesn’t serve ANY wine.

Ignore all of the guidebooks and stay away from Harry’s if you want to experience “The Real Venice”. However, if you want to sit and waste a lot of time AND money being waited on by the most unfriendly waiters Venice has to offer while waiting for celebrities that will never show up…then be my guess. When you leave I’ll be waiting for you around the corner at the authentic Venetian bar.

I have not rated this bar because I think that 1 Star is giving Harry’s Bar too much credit.