This spuntini bar can serve up to 30 guests at a time. With an extensive wine list, plus a few beers and cocktails thrown in for good measure, this is a great spot to enjoy a drink or two while waiting for a table at Bar Bricco’s sister restaurant, Corso 32. Of course, you can always just eat here – they serve a mouth-watering selection of salumi, cheese and small plates, such as olives, egg yolk ravioli and house-made ricotta. Create your own charcuterie board, including condiments like truffle and black pepper honey. For dessert, indulge in Tuscan Amadei chocolate truffles.
Bar Bricco, doesn’t just taste Italian, it oozes Italian. Inspired by the salumerias in Rome and spuntini bars throughout Italy, the menu encourages tasting through its small plates and broad selection of salumi and cheese, several of which owner/chef Daniel Costa has imported exclusively. The heart of the place is centered around the slicer, which drives the menu, and the turntable, which drives the atmosphere, with Costa at the helm of both. Must tries include the rye & speck crostini with ricotta, cabbage and apple; fonduta agnolotti dal plin; egg yolk raviolo; carne cruda; and cotechino sausage.
Bar Bricco is a great hangout. There are no reservations, so you can feel comfortable just walking in at any time. And it doesn’t matter if you pull up a seat two centimetres from someone – it’s that Italian style where they want it to feel like you’re part of a whole scene, rather than just yourself dining intimately on the sidelines. They have really concise food and wine selections, and all of it is well thought out and delicious. My favourite dish is the fonduta agnolotti dal plin that you pick up with your fingers and dip in Parmesan.