Engineered for a good time.
Karim
Karim graduated with a mechanical engineering degree. Six months later he opened Brio Coffee with his dad, his brother, and a circle of close friends. The same engineering brain that calibrates pour-over water temperature also designed the grind disc tolerances behind the bar.
Why Brio
Brio means enthusiastic vigor, vivacity, or a spirited, lively style. It implies high energy, confidence, and flair in action or expression. Derived from Italian, meaning mettle or fire, often used to describe someone performing with great zest.
Family business
Brio is run by Karim, his dad, his brother, and friends who became family. Most of the people behind the counter are not employees, they are co-builders. That shows up in how the cup arrives and in who is still here at 11 PM.
On craft
We rotate beans every month. We source from a Lebanese roaster and import from outside Lebanon when the origin is worth it. Ask what is on today. The board behind the bar tells you the origin, the varietal, and the process.
The family
- Founder & head baristaKarimMechanical engineer by training, runs the espresso program and the studio next door.
- HospitalityKarim Sr.Knows your name before the second visit. Runs the room from open to close.
- Late shift leadZiadPulls the after-nine shift, dials in the next morning, opens at eight again.
Since 2022
- 142KCups poured
- 11Single origins
- 1,247Nights open past 9 PM
- 5.0★Google, 162 reviews
What we read
Small shelf by the back wall, regulars are welcome to borrow. Currently in circulation:
- The World Atlas of Coffee — James Hoffmann
- How to Read a Coffee Cup — Anette Moldvaer
- Modernist Cuisine — assorted volumes
- The Design of Everyday Things — Don Norman
- Bird by Bird — Anne Lamott
The other side
The same family also runs Brio Fitness in Sanayeh. Coffee here. Training there. Karim runs both rooms; the engineering shows up in both.