Harry's Bar Invented the Bellini and Charges Accordingly

Calle Vallaresso 1323. Invented the Bellini — white peach puree and Prosecco — in 1948. Small, white-tableclothed room near San Marco. Tiny. The prices are extraordinary. The experience of sitting where Hemingway, Orson Welles, and Capote drank is either an extravagance or an investment in personal mythology.

The Bellini arrives pale sunset-colored, simple enough that you wonder about the fuss until you try to copy it elsewhere and discover that perfect simplicity is the hardest thing to replicate. Go for one drink at the bar (standing or stool), not a table. The bar is Harry's at its most authentic and the bill for one drink is manageable. The restaurant upstairs is excellent and priced for people who arrive by water taxi.