Brek

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

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
www.brek.com

Sights nearby
Train station [not a sight, but important]
* Jewish Ghetto [neighborhood/museum]
San Simeone Piccolo [church]

Other places to eat nearby
* Pizzeria Ae Oche [meal]—bit of a hike

Hotels nearby
Reid Recommends Hotel Ariel Silva [cheap]
Locanda del Ghetto [super-cheap/cheap]

ReidsItaly.com Venice Map


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The Brek chain (23 locations across Italy and growing) 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 about a decade ago. Of course, Italy does not celebrate this American holiday, but, because of Hollywood, they've heard of it and, because it's 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, and there were even mashed potatoes among the prepared-food trays. Perfect.)

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This material was last updated February 2011. All information was accurate at the time.

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