Harry's Bar

The Life and Times of the Legendary Venice Landmark

By: Arrigo Cipriani

Narrated by: Bryan Bendle

The complete history of the legendary Venice landmark where Hemingway, Welles, and others were regulars.

A meeting place for writers, artists, models, and the stars of stage, screen, and corporate boardrooms, a luxurious restaurant whose fabulous concoctions and timeless decor have often been imitated but never matched, Harry’s Bar in Venice has remained one of the world’s most renowned watering holes for more than 60 years. Ernest Hemingway, Orson Welles, Sinclair Lewis, and other luminaries have tasted its famous cocktails and enjoyed the bar’s original inventions, such as the "carpaccio" appetizer and the now-ubiquitous bellini. Filled with engaging wit and lighthearted charm, Arrigo Cipriani’s history of Harry’s Bar is a delightful listen - and the next best thing to a table at Harry’s Bar itself.

©1996, 2011 Arrigo Cipriani (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

stunning founder. the son's heart is not in it.

Harry's Bar, founded by Giuseppe Cipriani (1900-1980; not his grandson of same name), is absolutely legendary. And we know very little about it.

This might be the best source, along with the British documentary on Youtube from 1970.

Even though his son Arrigo's second part is much complaining, even though son and grandson face numerous legal problems (wikipedia), the story is fascinating. What Belmond and LVMH are trying to do with hotels was born with Giuseppe Cipriani. The family can't hold a candle. LVMH is trying their best but there will never be anyone like him.

Read it. Just be aware of Cipriani & co's problems after the founder's death. Even as a skeptical reader doubting Arrigo's thinking, it's fascinating to read nevertheless. Why is the reputation so poor, why is the business so unstable that they are constantly thrown out by landlords, tangled in lawsuits, and cheating taxes?

Just be aware the context is the rise and the fall. Giuseppe Cipriani was a genius who built an empire just by being a waiter and barman to the best of his ability. He didn't set out to open a bar, a 2-Michelin star restaurant, or two luxury hotels. His customers liked the experience he and his family and team provided so much they practically begged him to.

Great story! Poor narration.

I am very appreciative of tbe chance to listen to this fir free, a d do not want to look a gift horse in the mouth. But…I am totally baffled at the choice of narrator, or editor of this recorded book.
The general narration is fine, but there are too many bad pronunciations to list. Even the Cipriani name is mispronounced! While the Cipriani family is Italian, this story about them and their bussiness, the narrator is nit. That in itself is nit an issue, but I’d expect him to at least be able to speak the names, phrases, locations and dishes properly.
It was like nails on a chalk board to hear it. The reigned must have been sold, and Arrigo, totally uninvolved with this recording.
Just seems like such an odd oversight to make.

Interesting Story - Wrong Narrator

Having visited Harry's Bar in Venice, I find this an interesting story of its founding and storied history. But the narrator is not the right one. He clearly is not familiar with any of the menu items, the people and place names of Italy or even some polysyllabic English words. This is a disservice to a story set in Italy, telling the history of a restaurateur who was multi-lingual - some of it in his own words, and supposedly in his own written (and now spoken) voice. The hesitation and stumbling of the narrator draw attention from the story.

Needs a new reader

This sounds like a really interesting story, but the guy reading fails to pronounce words correctly.
Unfortunately his American accent does not help the story, when the story pleads for an Italian or German accent. Please, please find someone new to read this. And my apologies to the narrator, but please learn how to pronounce things. Limoges is an elegant word as it is an elegant brand of fine dining ware. It deserves to be pronounced correctly.

Wrong dates make my head spin

I quite enjoyed this story, I did have a problem with one of your dates. Ernest Hemingway killed himself in 1961 not 1963.

Intriguing

Loved the story and historical background of Harry’s bar and the Cipriani family. Unfortunately the narrator was the wrong choice for this book.

Good story, HORRIBLE narrator

Other audible books, if the word I. A sentence goes to a French word, German word, etc, the narrator uses IMPECCABLE pronunciation of those words, in those languages. This was like fingernails on a chalkboard! Italian names or words? He doesn’t even TRY! Annoying.

Lack of depth and engagement

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I kept feeling like there was a good story here, but it kept being overshadowed by the lackluster relating of events and people.

What could Arrigo Cipriani have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

I wanted to engage in the story, but I just couldn't. There was a lack of depth and engagement in the telling of these anecdotes about the people in the bar. I also would have totally cut the last section involving opening the new locations and dealing with annoying business people.

Any additional comments?

This wasn't a horrible book by any means, but it wasn't to my tastes at all. I like my memoirs full of wit, sarcasm, and depth. I can see this book being enjoyable to a certain section of people, but I wasn't one of them. I recommend reading reviews from Goodreads or Amazon and taking a sample listen here before grabbing it.

Waste of money!

Liked first few chapters of book then hated the rest! Author doesn’t stay on track about telling story about Harry’s Bar! Waste of money!