3 Best Restaurants in San Marco, Venice

For those who can afford it, lunch or dinner at Harry's Bar is as much a part of a visit to Venice as a walk across Piazza San Marco or a vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal. Inside, the suave, subdued beige-on-white decor is unchanged from the 1930s, and the classic Venetian fare is carefully and excellently prepared. Harry's is not just a fine restaurant; it's a cultural institution. When founder Giuseppe Cipriani opened the doors in 1931, the place became a favorite of almost every famous name to visit Venice (including Charlie Chaplin, Orson Welles, and Ernest Hemingway) and still attracts much of Venetian high society as regulars. Today, many still remember Harry's as one of the few restaurants in town that continued to serve Jewish patrons during the period of the Fascist racial laws. Don't miss the signature crepes flambées or famous Cipriani chocolate cake for dessert. Because a meal at Harry's is as much about being seen there, book one of the cramped tables on the ground floor—the upper floor of the restaurant is the Venetian equivalent of Siberia (take heart if seated there: views from the second-floor windows look like framed paintings). Be sure to order a Bellini cocktail—a refreshing mix of white peach puree and sparking prosecco—this is its birthplace, after all. On the other hand, true to its retro atmosphere, Harry's makes one of the best martinis in town.

Although the lavish interior has been updated by designer Philippe Starck, this restaurant above the famed café of the same name is still steeped in Venetian ambience and history (it was where Turkish coffee was introduced to the city in the 1700s). When the Alajmo family (of the celebrated Le Calandre near Padua) took over, they put their accomplished sous-chef from Padua in charge of the kitchen, resulting in the addition of dishes—best sampled with a tasting menu—that are complex and sophisticated, with a wonderful wine list to match. Downstairs, the simpler Quadrino (located next to the café)—with impeccably restored neo-rococo wall paintings—serves more traditional Venetian fare and some of the best martinis in town. As for Quadri itself, the prices, cuisine, and decor are all alta, so beware. Be sure, also, to book one of the few tables with a Piazza San Marco view.

If you'd like to attend happy hour with the ghosts of Ernest Hemingway, Aristotle Onassis, and Orson Welles, head to Harry's Bar. Despite astronomical prices, undistinguished 1930s-1950s decor, and some rather brash foreign clientele, Harry's is nevertheless a Venetian institution, and is still patronized by those Venetians who want to see and be seen. Many still remember proprietor Arrigo Cipriani's courageous stand— in contrast to the acquiescence and even profiteering of many Venetian hoteliers and bar owners— during the Nazi occupaton; Jewish patrons were still welcome at Harry's. Although you'll have to use your imagination to conjure up images of the bar's former glory, Harry's still boasts Venice's driest martinis, and makes a Bellini according the original recipe (invented at Harry's). The food, while outrageously expensive and conventional, is nevertheless quite good.