Reeder

Probaly this will just add more fuel to the fire. But to clarify I did not say anything about not liking the place--it looked fine to me. Actually I was surprised to see it as plain as it appeared. Sure we could have sat down and had a few drinks and well afford it but after a busy day in Venice we needed to put our feet up for awhile before dinner!
Hey guys in the greater scheme of things in life-- this conversation borders on the ridiculous!! Let's pray for our service men and woman in Iraq in our spare time. H

mclaurie

For a fantastic dinner experience, especially if it's in warm weather with the possibility of outside dining, I would not choose Harry Bar. While I've yet to go myself, I'd choose dinner at the Cipriani Hotel.

I <i>would</i> go to Harry's bar either for a drink or lunch. (Be warned though that despite the name, the bar is actually quite small &amp; only has about 6 stools). The place is an institution &amp; has the <i>best</i> people watching. To that end I agree, do not sit upstairs. While it's quieter, downstairs is where the action is! Have fun.

NYCFoodSnob

Kids, including the penniless platzer, there's a <b>big</b> difference (especially in facial expressions), among people who enter Harry's Bar to &quot;gawk and snub&quot; to people who intended to go but found the place much too noisy and overcrowded. The latter aren't tacky and ignorant but the former are, and you all know who you are.

I think half the fun of Harry's Bar is visiting when it's packed. But, it helps to anticipate this and then take the plunge.

One could argue that it's OK to do the &quot;gawk and snub&quot; sort of thing at Florian, because the openness of the interior design/windows sort of lends itself to gawking without actually making a purchase. Florian also sells gift items so any savvy visitor can gawk while pretending to shop.

Frankly, I was addressing the ignorant myth, that by merely stepping into Harry's Bar for a quick-see, one can get an immediate sense of what the mystery and the hype is all about. <b>You simply can't!</b>

What makes Venice's &quot;Harry's Bar&quot; different from all the others? For one thing, it's in Venice and there's only one Venice. For another, it's the original, the flagship. What makes any Saks Fifth Avenue in California different from the one at Rockefeller Center?

robbiegirl

M Kindgom and NYCfoodsnob, I value both of your opinions. I really do. I just wish that you would abstain from putting down anyone who was truthful about how they felt and what they did. Giving opinions and passing judgement are too different things. Giving opinions on places visited is ok but why do you pass judgement on others feelings?

NYCFoodSnob

<i>&quot;I just wish that you would abstain from putting down anyone who was truthful about how they felt and what they did.&quot;</i>

robbiegirl, dear, can you honestly tell me what is truthful here? Or better yet, what is truth?

I appreciate your altruism on manners and behavior as they apply to real life but this is an internet travel forum, catering to mostly anonymous posters. How can I possibly care about the feelings of an entity who posts anonymously, when they may not even be real or sincere in the first place?

The only poster here that I personally know by name is Marilyn Freund, and you will never read an unkind remark from me to her because I know she's real.

I don't view any anonymous posters as &quot;real&quot; people. I view them as on-line personalities, where the written word rules. Therefore, words are open season and real life altruism doesn't apply, until the editors step in.

Many anonymous posters say silly, thoughtless things. Real people do, too. Haven't you ever seen Jay Leno interview the public at large? As long as anonymous posters are willing to say silly things, other posters should be permitted to respond as they see fit. Now that's what I call being free.

ira

I have always thought of HB in Venice as a place that the young Ernest Hemingway went to so that he could be seen.

Later, they comped him so that they could say that EH had been seen at Harry's Bar.

I prefer Rick's.

robbiegirl

NYCfoodsnob, I suppose since I myself am truthful,honest and a real poster who has never fabricated a thought or thing online, I project that others would not do the same. I would hope that, knowing this, you would allow me in the same class as Marilyn

Budman

I have never been to Harry's Bar, but the next time I'm in Venice, I think I'm going to just walk in to Harry's to use their bathroom. If it's clean, I may stay to have a drink.

CafeBatavia

NYCFoodSnob, I thought all those wonderful stories about your many wonderful talents and your amazing family were true.

Now you say anything goes on the internet and admit all you put out is an act and just made up and fake. What a severe disappointment for the traveling public.

I just don't know WHO to trust anymore.

wondering

loved the drinks...hated the waiter...

NYCFoodSnob

robbiegirl, I knew it wouldn't take long before someone ugly would rear an ugly head and prove my point. Sometimes you just have to fight ugly with ugly.

I have no problem taking you at your word but, I have to say, Marilyn is in a class by herself.

ThinGorjus

Sorry, darling, but I am real.

Foodsnob, leave the metaphysics and epistemology to Jane Austen. She is a far, far greater writer than you.

KellyNYC

I myself have never had a meal at Harry's. However, I found it fun to go and have a bellini. I second the suggestion for dinner at the Cipriani. Another place I really liked was Harry's Dolce. It is on the water on Guidecca (sp?). In nice weather they have outdoor seating under a tent along the water with a lovely view of San Marco area. The food was very, very good. And the atmosphere was great. Quiet and lovely.

NYCFoodSnob

<i>&quot;She is a far, far greater writer than you.&quot;</i>

I concur. But could she straddle a linhof technikardan and control the central horizontal axis tilt limited only by its bellows?

ThinGorjus

That is a sight, Foodsnob, that I HOPE never to witness.