Isabella B.
Yelp
As everyone that knows me can attest to, I love my rooftop bars. It's greatly amplified when you combine my love of traveling, and Venice is one of the most romantic cities in the world. Along with a gondola ride I was going to splurge on a drink with a great view. I fell into the trap willingly.
LOCATION: It's the rooftop bar of the Hilton Molino Stucky in Giudecca Island. Being in Giudecca it's not considered one of the sestiere proper but there's a complimentary shuttle for hotel customers (whom many not necessarily be a hotel guest) and it's also pretty close to a vaporetto stop.
VENUE: The rooftop bar overlooks the Giudecca Canal. It's larger than the Grand Canal and on a given day you'll see lots of vaporetto, Alilaguna boats, ferries and other commercial boats pass by. It's a great way to pass the time.
SERVICE: Excellent. Approachable and they'll approach you in English. If you choose to pay with credit card they'll bring the card reader to you (which is standard in European countries).
The specialty here is a cocktail bar. Please don't cheat yourself by getting a bellini or spritz. Save that for Venice proper and get yourself a *real* cocktail. Keep in mind you'll spend at least €15 on it, but this splurge certainly beats the view restaurants you'll see along the Grand Canal or on St. Mark's Square where the food/drink can be questionable in addition to your cover charge. Think of it this way: the expense is essentially your cover charge and the drink is at least of decent quality.
I got their version of the "Dark and Stormy" (Rum Havana Club selecion de Maestros, fresh lime juice, ginger beer, Scuro Myer's Rum, angostura bitters). A "Dark and Stormy" is a mule with rum instead of vodka. It's a clean cocktail as it uses Havana Club rum, which is sadly still unavailable in the US. They were also a bit strong on the rum and light on the ginger. It was mentioned in the menu that it would be a spicy cocktail but I thought it was mild; then again I've had my fair share of spicy cocktails.
Bar bites consisted of spicy peanuts and olives, which was noted by the waiter to be spicy. They were ok and the olives were a bit tough and dry. CAUTION: Just like everywhere else in Venice, be careful of the pigeons. As I was taking a picture of the view two pigeons started diving towards my uneaten peanuts, which had to be replaced. Forget pickpocketers, I'm more bothered by the pigeons!
Go for the view, stay for a drink. One drink is plenty. Although pricey, I don't regret doing this experience. I've had better cocktails and I've had better views of cities (Mandarin Oriental Tokyo comes to mind) but if I'm only in Venice once I'm glad to have checked this off my list.