Brera’s simple, well-made food at very reasonable prices has already won over a dedicated fan base after opening early this year. With the quality they serve, it’s a steal—chefs Savino Sguera, Flavia Severino and Augustin Entratico make all of the pasta fresh in-house as well as true, Roman-style pizza with a crunchy, flaky crust. Giovanni is from Rome, but has one grandmother from Bologna and another from Campania. Maybe most grandmothers don’t make fresh pasta every day, he admits, but on Sundays or special occasions they would pull out the stops.
And so, customers at Brera get the Sunday treatment. Not only is the pasta made with 100% Italian flour, Giovanni and Flavia studied cheese making and make their own ricotta, robiola and mascarpone. Giovanni is modest: “We might not have the best Italian food in Seoul,” he demurs after I heap praises on the gnocchi, “but you’ll taste what Italians eat every day.” After a moment’s thought, he adds, “I want my customers to say, ‘I feel like I’ve been invited home to an Italian’s.’”