I had said I would talk about it, and today I will. My talk about him only adds to those who have written about him before and will write about him later. Nothing more, I just wanted to let you see for yourselves.
Crucial was the arrival time for my fourth visit: 9 a.m., no line at the entrance but all seats occupied, with the only exception of a couple of stools at the counter that we hurried to occupy. Difficult to look beyond the wall of objects that form a small trench that seems to divide those on the other side from those on this side. The verb 'seems' is not used at random because in reality all these little worlds lined up serve the customers nothing more than to introduce them to this fantastic atmosphere that you can feel from the moment you walk through the front door.
The beauty of this place lies precisely in the sense of lived-inness that exudes from every object that seems to come alive in here. Everywhere are thronged, dissipated, strewn, crammed with the strangest of furnishings, souvenirs, gifts, so much so that you could stand inside for days and discover at every glance something new that tells a story. I am made to smile by a wooden plaque to the left of the entrance and a trophy on the highest shelf on the same side because at least of these two objects I know where they came from and I am happy that they have found a small space in this incredible place.
I sit in front of a small framed note that reads, "The top of this counter belonged to the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York where the Martini Cocktail was created in the early 1900s. Above this wood rested the glass Caruso, Rockefeller, Mary Picford, Charlie Chaplin and now you..." because that's how he is, serving customers all the same, whoever they are, giving them equal importance.
Unfortunately, the drink list is a whole book and I don't get to understand the real contents, but I know I can say 'You do it'and never make a mistake.
After seeing giant shells and steaming skulls filled, this time I get a bathtub with foam and built-in duck, while my father is served a megagranity chock-full of fruit.
I can only think as I look around that nothing ever seems to have been thrown away in this place, or even that some things have been abandoned, but in fact everything is exactly where it should be, placed in a way that reminds me of a path made up of years of experimentation, magic, discovery, a continuous surpassing.
You walk in here with my eyes, drinking as if it were the first thing in the world you put your mouth on, sitting with Eddy's good look on your face and having its creator explain the history of your drink to you.
I'm telling you about a 360-degree experience. You should go in as if you were stepping into a parallel world because you would come out not remembering what you left out. You should enter as a layman, as someone who does not expect to find one of the fifty best venues in the world, but still understanding that it is by being captured by its atmosphere.
Thank you Dario, thank you Nottingham.
"At Dario's you don't go to drink, you go to experience an emotion" Giorgio Negri
