Situated at the foot of the Ponte dei Frari bridge in a non-touristy, quiet part of Venice, this…read morequaint two-story bar with an inventive cocktail menu is characterized by a mezzanine with black leather booths and beautiful stained glass lamps hanging from the ceiling that opens up to look down on the main room.
This is actually a historical Venetian cafe' from 1870's called "Caffe' dei Frari o Toppo"[1], and I remember coming here regularly when I was in college to "study", i.e. to hang out with my friends who would also come here during the day. In fact, this is still a cafe' during the day, but it transforms itself in a cocktail bar at night.
The vibe is mellow, relaxed and romantic and this bar prides itself on being one of the few in Venice to serve truly inventive contemporary cocktails. The menu is actually divided by techniques: fermentation, distillation, liquid kitchen, and fat wash. We tried the Cucumber and Fake Rose (fermentation: Fermented cucumber, Andaliman pepper, Lillet, verjus and bubbles) and The Amaz-on Fire (fat wash: Yaguara cachaca, coconut oil, Cynar, dill, house sherry mix and Porcini mushroom; peat perfume). Both were excellent, and were presented in an artful way that doesn't feel pretentious.
And if you are hungry, the bar serve their own cichetti (bar snacks).
I look forward to coming back next year, and perhaps try one of the food-inspired, liquid kitchen cocktails.
-------------------------------
[1] https://www.yelp.com/biz/caffe-dei-frari-o-toppo-venezia
