Brek

Brek in Venice. (Photo courtesy of Brek)
Brek cafeteria in Venice.

A high-end cafeteria near the train station in Venice, Italy

Brek in Venice. (Photo by Naomi Ibuki)
Brek on Lista di Spagna in Venice.

The Brek chain (15 locations across Italy) has taken the age-old concept of the tavola calda—Italy's wonderfully cheap inexpensive little mini-cafeteria joints where portions of various prepared dishes and hot foods are sold by weight—and classed it up.

The food is good and well-prepared without being excellent. You probably won't have the most memorable meal of your vacation, but Brek gets a star in my book for marrying consistent quality with incredibly low prices.

It's also really, really convenient to the train station.

A Brek has several stations—pizza here, a grill over there, prepared dishes on that side, desserts on this side, and a salad bar in the middle. While much of the food is cooked cafeteria-style and served from a stainless steel tray, much is also made to order.

In other words, it's a bit like a really, really nice college dining hall, or an upscale, Italian version of the Old Country Buffet—though perhaps a better analogy would be the food court inside a Whole Foods, since a Brek is not all-you-can-eat.

You take a tray around to various stations, pile as much food onto your plates as you'd like, they pay at the register and go find an empty table in the seating area.

(I know to Americans this is old hat and a common system in any quick-casual eatery, but it has been revolutionary in Italy.)

(Aside: The only memorable meal I've ever had at a Brek—though not at this one; the one in Verona—was one Thanksgiving in the late 1990s. Of course, Italy does not celebrate this American holiday, but, because of Hollywood, they've heard of it and, because it is a holiday devoted to food, they totally get it. Whether by coincidence or in a cross-cultural nod to our holiday, on this particular Thanksgiving day Brek happened to be serving roast turkey at the grill station. Tacchino is pretty rare to find in Italy, so I figured this had to be on purpose. There were even mashed potatoes among the prepared-food trays. Perfect.)

Tips & links

Details

Brek
Lista di Spagna 124, Cannaregio (turn left out of the train station and it's just up ahead on the right/canalside of the main street)
Vaporetto: Ferrovia
tel. +39-041-244-0158
Brek.com
Open daily: 11:30am–10pm (Foccacia, pizza, and bar from 7am)
€

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General dining tips
  • Book ahead: Great Venetian restaurants are few and far between—and everybody knows about them. It pays to reserve your table, at least at dinner. I find that a corollary of Murphy's Law seems to apply. If you prudently book ahead, you are likely to show up to a half-empty restaurant and feel a bit like a fool for having worried about finding a table. If, on the other hand, you just show up at the door expecting to find a free table, the place will inevitably be packed and its bookings full for the evening. For restaurants that I am truly eager to try, I go ahead and book.
  • "Pane e coperto" is not a scam: Nearly all Italian restaurants have an unavoidable pane e coperto ("bread and cover" charge) of anything from €1 to €15—though most often €2 to €5—per person that is automatically added onto your bill. This is perfectly normal and perfectly legal (though a few trendy restaurants make a big deal about not charging it).
  • Find out if service (tip) is included: Don't double-tip by accident. If the menu has a line—usually near the bottom of the front or back—that says "servizio" with either a percentage, an amount, or the word "incluso" after it, that means the tip is automatically included in the price. (If it says "servizio non incluso," tip is, obviously, not included.)

    Even if the menu doesn't say it, ask É incluso il servizio? (ay een-CLOU-so eel sair-VEET-zee-yo)—"Is service included?" If not, tip accordingly (10%–15% is standard).

    Don't be stingy about tipping, though. If il servizio is, indeed, already included but the service was particularly good, it's customary to round up the bill or leave €1 per person extra—just to show you noticed and that you appreciated the effort.
  • Tourist menus: The concept of a bargain prix-fixe menu is not popular in Italy. Some restaurants do offer a menu turistico ("tourist menu"), which can cost from €8 to €20 and usually entails a choice from among two or three basic first courses (read: different pasta shapes, all in plain tomato sauce), a second course of roast chicken or a veal cutlet, and some water or wine and bread. With very few exceptions, tourist menus tend to live up to their name, appearing only at the sort of tourist-pandering restaurants that the locals wisely steer clear of.

    However, a menu à prezzo fisso ("fixed-price menu") is often a pretty good deal, usually offering a bit more choice than a tourist menu.

    Then—especially at nicer (and pricier) restaurants—there is the menu degustazione ("tasting menu"), usually far more expensive (anywhere from €25 to €110) that is a showcase of the chef's best, or of regional specialties, and can make for an excellent way to sample the kitchen's top dishes.
  • Book ahead: For restaurants that I am truly eager to try, I go ahead and book a table—at least at dinner. I find that a corollary of Murphy's Law seems to apply. If you prudently book ahead, you are likely to show up to a half-empty restaurant and feel a bit like a fool for having worried about finding a table. If, on the other hand, you just show up at the door expecting to find a free table, the place will inevitably be packed and its bookings full for the evening.
Top Venice culinary tours & experiences
Italian dining phrases
English (Inglese) Italian (Italiano) Pro-nun-cee-YAY-shun
Good day Buon giorno bwohn JOUR-noh
Good evening Buona sera BWOH-nah SAIR-rah
Good night Buona notte BWOH-nah NOTE-tay
Goodbye Arrivederci ah-ree-vah-DAIR-chee
Excuse me (to get attention) Scusi SKOO-zee
thank you grazie GRAT-tzee-yay
please per favore pair fa-VOHR-ray
yes si see
no no no
Do you speak English? Parla Inglese? PAR-la een-GLAY-zay
I don't understand Non capisco non ka-PEESK-koh
I'm sorry Mi dispiace mee dees-pee-YAT-chay
     
Where is? Dov'é doh-VAY
...a restaurant un ristorante oon rees toh-RAHN-tay
...a casual restaurant una trattoria
un'osteria		 oo-nah trah-toar-RHEE-yah
oon ohst-air-EE-yah
I would like to reserve... Vorrei prenotare... voar-RAY pray-note-ARE-eh
a table for two una tavola per due oo-nah TAH-voal-lah pair DOO-way
...for 7pm per le sette pair lay SET-tay
...for 7:30pm per le sette e mezzo pair lay SET-tay eh MET-tzoh
...for 8pm per le otto pair lay OH-toh
     
I would like Vorrei... voar-RAY
...some (of) un pó (di) oon POH (dee)
...this questo KWAY-sto
...that quello KWEL-loh
chicken pollo POL-loh
steak bistecca bee-STEAK-ah
veal vitello vee-TEL-oh
fish pesce PEH-shay
meat carne KAR-neh
I am vegetarian sono vegetariano SO-no veg-eh-tair-ee-YAH-no
side dish [veggies always come seperately] cotorno kon-TOR-no
dessert dolce DOAL-chay
and e ay
...a glass of un bicchiere di oon bee-key-YAIR-eh dee
...a bottle of una bottiglia di oo-na boh-TEEL-ya dee
...a half-liter of mezzo litro di MET-tzoh LEE-tro dee
...fizzy water acqua gassata AH-kwah gah-SAHT-tah
...still water acqua non gassata AH-kwah noan gah-SAHT-tah
...red wine vino rosso VEE-noh ROH-so
...white wine vino bianco VEE-noh bee-YAHN-koh
...beer birra BEER-a
Check, please Il conto, per favore eel COAN-toh pair fah-VOAR-eh
Is service included? É incluso il servizio? ay een-CLOU-so eel sair-VEET-zee-yo
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Details
Lista di Spagna 124, Cannaregio (turn left out of the train station and it's just up ahead on the right/canalside of the main street)
Vaporetto: Ferrovia
tel. +39-041-244-0158
Brek.com
Open daily: 11:30am–10pm (Foccacia, pizza, and bar from 7am)
€
Nearby...
SIGHTS
PLACES TO STAY
OTHER PLACES TO EAT
Culinary tours


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