The Orientalbar & Bistrot is famous all around the world for the beauty of its historic rooms, which inspired the most important artists of all time, from Antonio Vivaldi to Thomas Mann who here wrote its book Death in Venice, as well as for its tea ceremony and the amazing cocktails.

Every afternoon, from October to March, the Oriental Bar offers, in fact, a selection of fine teas by Dammann Frères, one of the oldest Parisian Maison du Tè, while the Bar Manager Lino Marchese delights his guests with fine cocktails, such as the famous SelectiVE made with Gin Venice, Select and Prosecco Doxe 121, which can be sipped by candlelight while admiring the Grand Canal or in the Metropole Hotel’s beautiful secret garden.

Here, as well as in the bar, guests can also enjoy lunch or dinner choosing from excellent gourmet tapas and fine courses such as cod ravioli and prawns sautéed with thyme or the warm cuttlefish salad with black cabbage, datterino tomatoes and basil.

The Metropole Hotel has a truly fascinating history that began around the 16th century when the building was part of the important Santa Maria della Pietà Children’s Hospital Institute. In around 1690 the structure was enriched with a small church and it is right in the oratory, to whom the ancient columns behind the bar counter belong, that Antonio Vivaldi taught his music lessons to the young girls of the Institute, composing some of his most famous pieces of music such as the Four Seasons.

At the end of the 19th century the building was converted into a hotel, frequented by very illustrious guests such as Sigmund Freud, Thomas Mann, Marcel Proust, until 1943 when, due to the war, it was turned into a military hospital. In 1968 it was finally purchased by Pierluigi Beggiato and his wife Elisabeth who decided to restore and share with their guests their passion for collecting antiques and fine artcrafts.

A tradition that is now perpetrated by their daughter Gloria who continues enriching the hotel with rare and fine art. In 2017 a neon-art work by artist Joseph Kosuth has been permanently installed inside the Oriental Bar, a tribute to Sigmund Freud, one of the famous regulars of the Metropole Hotel.

The Secret

The Metropole houses more than 2,000 important antiques, including the original collections of trunks and suitcases, fans, business card holders, Belle Epoque evening bags, toiletries, corkscrews, crucifixes, and bed headboards; each collection housed at a different level of the building.

Useful Info

Orientalbar & Bistrot @ Hotel Metropole
Riva degli Schiavoni 4149
30122 Venezia
Tel. +39 041 5205044

Cocktails: 16 euro
Tapas: 5 — 8 euro
Dishes: 16 — 35 euro