White peach puree topped with Prosecco. Invented at Harry's Bar in 1948, the canonical Venetian cocktail and the city's most famous drink.
Where to eat it: 5 restaurants across 1 city.
The Bellini was invented at Harry's Bar by Giuseppe Cipriani in 1948 for the painter Giovanni Bellini retrospective at the Doge's Palace. Cipriani noticed the soft pink colour of the Bellini paintings' robes and developed the cocktail to match: white peach puree (canonically only white, not yellow) with Prosecco, in a 1 to 3 ratio. The drink is still served the same way at Harry's Bar today, with the white peach puree prepared in-house from peaches harvested at the Cipriani family's Veneto orchards. Globally copied with frozen pulp or even pureed yellow peach, the canonical version is only available at the original.
Common allergens: Sulphites
Tip from the editors. Only white peach gives the canonical pink-pearl colour; yellow peach makes a perfectly nice drink but it is not a Bellini.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
Harry's Bar on Calle Vallaresso serves the canonical Cipriani-style brunch with Bellini, carpaccio and risotto, the historic-bar lunch since 1931 near San Marco.
Order: Bellini, beef carpaccio, risotto alla primavera
Tip: The downstairs bar takes walk-ins and works for a Bellini at EUR 22. The upstairs dining room needs a booking through OpenTable.
Bar Longhi inside The Gritti Palace on Campo Santa Maria del Giglio is the Murano-lamp bar with the Pietro Longhi 18th-century paintings, the canonical Grand Canal cocktail terrace.
Signature drink: Bellini Longhi, Negroni at the Gritti
Food: Bar snacks, the Gritti's afternoon tea
Tip: The patio with the Grand Canal view runs spring through autumn. Cocktails start around EUR 22; the Longhi Bellini variant is the move.
Caffe Florian on Piazza San Marco serves the canonical Venetian breakfast in its 1720 rooms, with hot chocolate and brioche under the Procuratie Nuove arches.
Order: Hot chocolate, brioche, espresso under the loggia
Tip: Standing at the counter cuts the price by two-thirds. Sit-down brunch with orchestra runs roughly EUR 50 per person.
Locanda Cipriani on Torcello is the 1934-founded Cipriani-family lagoon outpost that Hemingway used for lunch, the canonical garden-restaurant on the silent island.
Signature: Risotto alla torcellana, Carpaccio Cipriani, Filetti di San Pietro
Order: Risotto alla torcellana, carpaccio Cipriani, the daily fish baked in the garden's wood oven.
Tip: Closed Tuesdays and the whole of January. Ferry 12 from Fondamente Nove, 45 minutes. Book outdoor garden tables when you reserve.
Grancaffe Quadri in Piazza San Marco has run as a coffee house since 1775 under the Procuratie Vecchie, the historic cafe across the square from Florian, now Alajmo-owned.
Signature drink: Espresso under the Procuratie Vecchie
Tip: The ground-floor cafe is the public room; upstairs is the 1-star restaurant. The bar pours espresso for EUR 2 standing, EUR 9 sitting.
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