A vegetarian bistro with specialty coffee has opened in Brescia

A small vegan restaurant, decorated in a '90s pop style, which also serves as a coffee shop and wine bar: simply put, "the place we’d love to hang out," explains Anna Jaafar, who, together with Nicola Lucini and Nicola Calabrese, brought Cìciri to life. This establishment in Brescia has already attracted several fans. "We’ve only been open for six months, and we didn’t expect such a turnout, but vegan cuisine is truly in high demand today."

Cìciri, the vegetarian bistro open from morning to evening

A dynamic trio—wife, husband, and their best friend—who already had experience in the restaurant industry but no longer wanted to deal with traditional cuisine. "We are all vegetarians, and we were tired of working with meat, so we decided to go into business for ourselves." Brescia is a receptive city, "always open to new ideas," so the project took off and succeeded. Cìciri is open from breakfast to aperitif time, offering mostly homemade dishes "except for the vegan croissants, which are prepared by the Riflesso patisserie in Cazzago San Martino." The menu is seasonal, simple, and internationally inspired, featuring pancakes, fresh fruit bowls, yogurt and granola, avocado toast, and waffles.

Breakfast, coffee, and aperitif

There are also homemade cakes, "including gluten-free options because we aim to be as inclusive as possible, we want to be an inclusive patisserie." The bistro is officially vegetarian "but we have at most two dishes on the menu with cheese and eggs; our goal is to achieve 100% plant-based cuisine soon." For lunch, there are club sandwiches, risottos, fresh pasta, teriyaki-glazed tempeh, frittatas, and basmati rice with curry and coconut milk. And then there’s pane e panelle, caponata—"classic Italian dishes that are naturally vegan: we want to show that there’s no need for meat substitutes or alternatives; eating plant-based is simpler than we think."

Great effort is also put into the coffee section, "we have several small specialty roasters for filter coffee tasting," and besides espresso and V60, there are Matcha Lattes, Chai Lattes, Iced Coffee, Golden Milk, Beetroot Cacao Latte—"a series of alternative plant-based beverages for those who aren’t too fond of the taste of coffee." Just like in major international coffee shops. Finally, from 5 PM, the aperitif begins, featuring cocktails, local natural wines, and a selection of snacks, "both vegan and vegetarian."

Cicirì – Brescia – via San Faustino, 27 B - instagram.com/ciciri_brescia/