Step inside and if you listen closely, you can hear it—the clink of glass, the shake of ice, the bursts of laughter, the roar of celebration. It’s a cacophony of cocktails..at one time a Strauss waltz, another a Herrmann score. Even if you wanted to resist it, the pull is too strong.
From the over-the-top opulence of the historic to the sleek and chic of the contemporary, hotel bars are magnetic. They attract out-of-towners and in-towners, haters and lovers, strangers and friends – all sharing secrets and stories over a masterfully made Martini!
This year, in association with Altamura Distilleries, I’ll be exploring some of the world’s most legendary bars—uncovering what makes them the beating heart of the hotel.
For our first, we head straight to Venice.
St. Regis Venice
Upon arriving by boat, one can easily imagine Carlo Walther and John Jacob Astor IV kicking back in the garden of the St Regis Venice, gazing up at the truly magnificent Santa Maria della Salute Church, toasting to their own business prowess. Each man proud—even smug—that their legacies are now forever entwined, having created one of most elegant hotels on the Grand Canal.
Walther and Astor were the great hoteliers of their time—the former founding Venice’s Grand Hotel Britannia (now the St. Regis Venice) in the late 19th century and the latter opening the St. Regis New York in 1904. And what would they be drinking? The Santa Maria cocktail, of course.
Following an extensive renovation in 2019, this historic hotel, perched at the entrance to the Grand Canal, welcomes guests to the most singular of cities. When it first opened in the 1800s, it was the only hotel to offer mod cons such as elevators, private bathrooms, steam heat, a restaurant and in-room dining! Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Astor was pioneering similar innovations, making both hotels magnets for the glitterati.
One of the hotel’s attractions was its glorious garden terrace—one of the only on the Grand Canal, and what a garden it still is. From this very spot, Claude Monet, a frequent guest of the hotel, was inspired to paint Le Grand Canal. He was not alone in setting up an easel—Whistler, Sargeant, and others were captivated by the city’s beauty.
It’s been the heart of the hotel for us, even before this interview, because, although it can be very, very busy, it’s the place where everyone comes for at least a coffee or then for some cocktails at the counter, talking with us, sharing their thoughts and the experience they had in Venice.
Ludwig Negri, Bar Manager
It is impossible not to feel the pull of that same garden terrace, now the home of the St. Regis Bar. You are really powerless in resisting its call—it’s why you are here. A visit to Venice is a chance to sit watching the day become night without a care—the water, the boats, the calm, the light, and here at the St. Regis Bar, you are also bewitched by the drink in your hand.
Guided by a mission to “cultivate the vanguard,” the team at the St. Regis Bar and the Arts Bar, the hotel’s second bar, channels the spirit of their two founders, rooted in tradition yet always innovating.
You can’t help but pass the St. Regis Bar on your way to breakfast. By afternoon, you are already old friends. Here is the bar where you will find the classics you love. Of course, there’s always the most famous of the St. Regis cocktails on offer, the St. Regis Bloody Mary, or as it’s known here, the Red Snapper.
Created in 1934 by Fernand Petiot, head bartender at the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis New York, it remains the signature cocktail and every St. Regis worldwide has its own take on the classic.
I think it’s because here is where people, make memories, the greatest memories in their lives.
Riccardo Lodovichi, Bar Team
Here in Venice, it is the aforementioned Santa Maria, inspired by the wondrous Salute Church directly across the canal. Don’t expect the cocktail to be anything less wondrous than the church itself. This clear reimagining of the usually red cocktail swaps out tomato juice for clarified Venetian-grown tomatoes with Altamura Distilleries Vodka as the base, verjus—recalling the city’s island vineyards, a horseradish tincture for heat, and a mist of grappa to honor Veneto’s traditions.
You might choose the very Venetian Doge’s Tipple over the classic Milano-Torino. Here the team have combined Select, the amaro founded in Venice in 1920, with vermouth infused with artichokes from neighboring Sant’Erasmo Island, and the locally crafted Amaro Venesian!
And why go for the Spritz you find at home, when there is one much more glorious on the menu—The Pink Spritz, a blend of sparkling wine, grapefruit liqueur, soda, and rose essence whose heady pink hue matches that of the Ginori fabric-covered umbrellas dotting the terrace bar.
Lest we forget something as simple as the ice. When the St. Regis Venice reopened in 2019, crystal clear ice was nowhere to be seen in the city—until now. Today, it’s been copied all over the city—much like those once-revolutionary elevators Walter was so proud of.
The bar is the heart of the hotel because…it’s where the magic happen, everything is possible at the bar, it’s limitless. You can manage many different things, it’s never sleeping. Also the relationship that you have with the guest, it’s completely different at the bar than at the restaurant…the people at the bar, they open themselves up, especially at night.
Alessandro Pellegrini, Bar Team
As evening descends over the lagoon, one St. Regis Bar tradition calls guests to the garden: sabrage. It may seem extravagant to slice open a bottle of champagne with your saber as Napoleon was rumored to do in victory or defeat. Now every St. Regis worldwide upholds this ritual, a favorite of the Astor family.
After this touch of Gilded Age glamour, it’s time to step into the present at the Arts Bar, inspired by Carlo Scarpa, Venice’s preeminent modern architect working from the 1940s until his death in the 1970s. Like Walther and Astor before him, Scarpa seamlessly blended the contemporary and traditional. Scarpa’s touch is everywhere—from the ceiling to the bar’s logo.
Each cocktail on the Arts Bar menu pays homage to an artist connected to Venice from Scarpa to Dali to Warhol to Monet, and others. All are served in their own bespoke glass designed by the team and made in Murano—another nod to the city’s history of craftsmanship.
Scarpa’s cocktail is called Oriental Shapes, employing Japanese whiskey to echo his love for the country and Amaro Cipriani directly from Venice. Inspired by the architect’s Tomba Brion found outside of Venice, the glass features two interlocking rings, one covered with blue mosaics and the other with red mosaics. Looking directly into the glass and moving it in front of you, the two circles connect just like in the tomb.
Not to be missed is the Silver Dream—a tribute to Andy Warhol’s “Shots Marilyn” series, the cocktail combines vodka (Warhol’s favorite spirit), popcorn syrup (a homage to cinema), and champagne (Marilyn Monroe’s drink of choice). Designed by Mariapia Bellis of Berengo Studio, the cocktail’s glass features a lipstick kiss, immortalizing Marilyn’s signature style.
It’s where all the people gather to celebrate…a bit of togetherness, the bar brings everyone together.
Giacomo Padovan
At the heart of The St. Regis Venice’s bars, beyond their stunning setting and wonderful cocktails, is its team. Their creativity, dedication, and warmth transform every visit, whether your first or five hundredth, into a gift.
As the last light lingers over the lagoon and you relax in the garden, raising a glass to those who shaped this legendary place, it’s clear why the St. Regis Bar and the Arts Bar are the beating heart of the hotel.
The St. Regis Venice Bar Team
Facundo Gallegos, Director of Food & Beverage; Ludwig Negri, Bars Manager and the rest of the fabulous team: Francesco Rossetto, Riccardo Lodovichi, Nicola Giacomazzo, David DoNascimiento, Alessandro Pellegrini, Simone Zanovello, Francesco Portesan, Salvatore Valerioti, Giacomo Padovan, Manuel Sitta, Alvise Serramonti, Elia Contri, Ilia Nemsadze, Alessandro Berti, and Matteo Miele!
PS: I couldn’t write a piece on the St. Regis Venice without at least mentioning that it was the brilliance of Carlo Walther to hire a young bartender who would go on to fame as the founder of Harry’s Bar and the Bellini cocktail. One of Giuseppe Cipriani’s first jobs was working at the Grand Hotel Britannia and it was here that he met Harry Pickering. The rest is history!
