Brio's Pizzeria and Restaurant

Review Details

While waiting to check in at the Emerson Resort and Spa in Mt. Tremper, Mike & I need a quick lunch to hold us over. We hadn't ate lunch yet, so we opted to drive 5 miles over to the nearby town of Phoenicia. We drove around Main Street until we came across a cute looking pizza place called Brio's Pizzeria. After scanning a menu, we decided Brio's would be the perfect place to kill an hour or so prior to check in.

Food

We decided against pizza as we had our share on our trip to Chicago (just 3 weeks prior to this vacation). I ordered the Black Bean Burrito and Mike ordered a Deluxe Grilled Cheese sandwich. We were both satisfied with our lunch entrees. The servings were big and the food was pretty decent for a small town restaurant. In fact, my serving was so large that I had to split it with Mike.

The menu includes a variety of everything you can think of including pizza, sandwiches, Tex-Mex entrees, salads, burgers, wraps, and pasta. Woodfired pizza options include Neapolitan plus several specialities including: Vegetarian, Goat Cheese, NY style, Wild Mushroom, Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo amongst others. They are known for their asiago sandwiches served on homemade, woodfired asiago bread. Prices were decent too: our bill was under $20! Update: Prices have gone up a lot since our last visit. Wraps and sandwiches are priced at $16-17 and entrees $20-25.

Service

The employee working behind the bar counter doubled as our waitress, so the service was a bit slow. We had a bit of time to waste before check in, so we didn't mind the wait. In fact, after the 4 hour drive from Boston to this small Catskills town, we were more than happy to relax for a bit!

Atmosphere

The inside of Brio's is your typical family diner style atmosphere, cozy and casual. Brio's is very popular for their pizza; you can watch and smell pizzas cooking. Can you say tempting?!

Final Words

Overall, Brio's is a good choice for visitors staying anywhere near the Catskills Forest Preserve. The town of Phoenicia is small with only a handful of dining choices. Brio's is a safe bet with a crowd pleasing menu, featuring decent food at affordable prices.