A Fantastico Coffee Bar in Venice

Francesco and Issaco serve up the best service in Venice. 

There’s only one negative about staying at the 5 star Hotel Danieli in Venice---their breakfast is $70 US per person.  During the week of Carnivale I was on a mission to find the best place for morning coffee.  What I found was much more than that.

I was attending Carnivale with two dear American friends.  They insisted on taking me to a place they had discovered their first morning in Venice, Café Brasilia.  I recognized it immediately from two years ago when my husband and I had rented an apartment nearby.  Just a minute’s walk from La Fenice opera house, this charming spot offers the best bang for the Euro in Venice for breakfast, as well as light lunches and snacks throughout the day, and drinks in the evening.

The café is so named because they are one of the few places in the city offering Brazilian roasted coffee.  (Brazil is the world’s largest producer of coffee accounting for about one-third of our total production.)  But, everything else, is strictly Venetian, from the special pastries made only during Carnivale, to the glorious array of sandwiches (my fave was the panini with mozzarella, prosciutto & arugula).  There are also wonderful fruit salads and a great assortment of fresh fruit smoothies.

There is seating inside for about a dozen, however, handsome outside tables accommodate another dozen.  There’s a bar with space for another 10 or 12---as with all cafes in Italy, sit at a table and the price is more.  Cappucinos at Café Brasilia’s bar are an astounding value at $2 US--- cafes without half the atmosphere and service are double to triple that in the city.

Café Brasilia is one of those super simpatico places that all of us yearn to find in Europe.  It’s been owned by the same family for years and you’ll feel like your part of it by the end of your first cappuccino.  Ask for Francesco, Pio, or Issaco and take a copy of the BLOG with you.

Directions:  stand facing La Fenice, then take the street to your right (Verona) 100 yards.  Café Brasilia will be on your left.   Address:  San Marco 3658, Calle dei Assassini.

Web:  http://www.facebook.com/brasiliawinecaffe