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The Bar at Aman Venice

Destinations

Cocktails inside a Grand Canal palazzo

Sip an Antonio Ferrara cocktail beneath a Cesare Rotta fresco, or in Aman’s private Grand Canal garden, inside one of Venice’s most extraordinary historic palazzos.

Behind the discreet doors of Palazzo Papadopoli, The Bar at Aman Venice offers one of the city’s most extraordinary settings for a cocktail.

Set on the piano nobile of the 16th-century palazzo, the bar occupies the magnificent Red Room, once known as the Salone Galleria and used to display contemporary paintings. Look upward and you’ll find an original fresco by Cesare Rotta depicting Olympus, surrounded by elaborate stuccowork celebrating the arts and sciences. Silk-lined walls, soaring ceilings, and centuries of Venetian history make having a drink here feel more like being invited into a private palazzo than visiting a hotel bar.

Leading the experience is award-winning Bar Manager Antonio Ferrara, whose cocktail program draws inspiration from the art, architecture, personalities, and history of Palazzo Papadopoli itself.

The signature collection interprets six of the palazzo’s most emblematic rooms through flavor, presentation, and design. Details from frescoes, stucco ceilings, textiles, and family history find their way into the drinks—even the menu incorporates Rubelli fabric from the palazzo. The result is playful and inventive without losing the elegance of the setting.

There is also a nod to Lord Byron, the famously unconventional poet and Venice resident whose personality provides inspiration for the bar’s creative spirit. Seasonal menus evolve throughout the year, with special creations appearing around events including Venice Cocktail Week and the Biennale.

But in warmer weather, another side of The Bar reveals itself. Aman Venice possesses something exceptionally rare in this densely built city: a private garden directly on the Grand Canal. From May through October, aperitivo and cocktails move outdoors, where a garden bar, wisteria, passing gondolas, and the Grand Canal create an entirely different Venetian experience.

You do not need to be staying at Aman to experience it. The Bar welcomes non-resident guests, subject to availability.

Insider Insight

In warm weather, request the Grand Canal garden for aperitivo.

Private gardens directly on the Grand Canal are extraordinarily rare in Venice, and this one completely changes the experience. Arrive while there is still daylight, settle beneath the greenery, and watch the light change across the water as gondolas and boats pass just beyond the garden.

But don’t leave without going upstairs.

Step into the Red Room and look at the Cesare Rotta fresco above you. Then ask about Antonio Ferrara’s signature cocktails inspired by Palazzo Papadopoli itself. Rather than simply ordering your usual drink, choose one connected to the palazzo, or tell the bar team what you enjoy and let them create something for you.

Our preference is to make The Bar the beginning of the evening rather than the end: arrive for aperitivo, allow enough time to enjoy both the garden and the palazzo, and then continue into Venice for dinner.

The Bar at Aman Venice is much more than the cocktail bar of an exceptional hotel.

Antonio Ferrara’s inventive drinks, the extraordinary Red Room, Cesare Rotta’s fresco, the history of Palazzo Papadopoli, and one of Venice’s rare private Grand Canal gardens combine to create an experience that deserves a destination of its own on Best Day Every Day.

You don’t need to stay at Aman to experience it. Make a reservation, arrive before sunset when the garden is open, order something you wouldn’t normally choose, and give yourself enough time to appreciate where you are.

This is Venetian aperitivo elevated into something unforgettable.

In Venice, the setting can transform a cocktail into an experience. A private garden on the Grand Canal and a frescoed Renaissance palazzo are difficult to surpass.
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