New York has long had its staple society restaurants -- Mortimer 's , Swifty 's , La Goulue , Le Bilboquet , Le Charlot , La Grenouille , Michael 's -- but Harry Cipriani is unique in that it is the centerpiece of a family empire , one that traces its beginnings to the founding of Harry 's Bar in Venice , off the Piazza San Marco , in 1931 .