Brek: "Try Brek if you are exhausted ..." Italy Restaurant Tip by craic

... with struggling with impudent waiters, mysterious menus and copertos, and just want something wholesome and quick to eat.

The Brek chain - I saw it in Rome, Venice and Verona - is the easy budget buffet option.

It seems to specialise in breakfast in the english/american style - but it also does lunch and dinner.

The beauty of it is is that you can see the food, you can see the price, you pick what you fancy.

Help yourself to soup and/or the salad bar - then go and look at what they are offering in the way of pasta etc.

Look, it is not great food, but it is quite palatable and it is reasonably priced and you don't have to dread an imaginative bill and waiters working hard for tips.

We also had lunch in a buffet in Bologna which was not Brek and that was even better than the Breks we tried. It seemed to just be called Ristorante Self-Service.

I often just want soup and salad for dinner so it suits me down to the ground.

Comparison: less expensive than average
Price: less than US$10
Rating: 3
Theme: Buffet