Galletto, Ribs and Craft Beer: Inside the First BEFED Brew Pub in Aviano
BEFED Aviano is not simply another branch of a successful pub chain. This is where the whole story began. The first BEFED opened here in July 1996, created by four friends — Bruno, Elio, Franco and Daniele — around an uncomplicated idea: grilled galletto, house beer, music and a place where eating with your hands was not merely tolerated but encouraged.
Nearly thirty years later, the formula remains strikingly focused.
The address on Viale per Costa is large, informal and deliberately noisy in spirit rather than design. Families, groups of friends and people arriving specifically for beer all fit naturally into the room. The menu has expanded to include ribs, burgers, salads, sandwiches and fried snacks, but one dish still dominates everything else: the BEFED galletto.
On our 2026 visit, the most sensible strategy was obvious. Order the chicken, order the beer, add something fried if the table is hungry and resist the temptation to turn a pub built around one excellent idea into a six-course investigation.
The Galletto Is Still the Reason to Come
The whole BEFED galletto costs €14.50, while a half portion is €9.50.
That immediately tells you how the menu is structured. This is not a premium grill where the chicken arrives carved, garnished and elevated onto a large ceramic plate. The bird is seasoned, grilled and served to be eaten directly with your hands.
That informality matters.
The skin should carry spice, salt and proper grill colour; underneath, the meat needs enough moisture to prevent the breast from drying before the darker meat is ready. The accompanying BEFED sauce provides the richer, creamier counterpoint, while fries absorb everything else.
Extra sauce costs €1, and adding both fries and vegetables to the chicken costs another €1.
There is little reason to complicate the order further.
The Spice Blend Gives the Chicken Its Identity
Grilled chicken is one of the easiest foods in the world to understand and one of the easiest to make forgettable.
BEFED avoids that problem through seasoning.
The galletto is not presented as neutral meat waiting for sauce; the flavour begins in the skin, where spice, salt and grill heat combine into the part of the dish you remember first.
The sauce then softens the sharper edges rather than providing all the personality itself.
This balance is important. A grilled bird that depends entirely on dipping sauce has already lost half the argument.
Ribs Are the Obvious Second Route
The pork ribs cost €13 for half a rack and €20 for a full rack, served with fries and BEFED sauce.
They are richer and slower than the galletto, with more fat and a softer texture around the bone.
Good ribs need resistance as well as tenderness. If the meat collapses into fibres at the slightest touch, much of the pleasure disappears. The best mouthful still asks you to bite.
The sauce works naturally with the pork, but the ribs are filling enough that a full rack is better treated as the centre of dinner rather than an addition to the chicken.
For two people, sharing half a rack alongside one whole galletto makes far more sense.
Chicken Fingers and Fried Snacks Belong in the Middle of the Table
BEFED also does exactly what a pub should do before the main event: fried things designed for sharing.
Chicken fingers cost €12, while fried onion rings and mixed selections bring in Camembert croquettes, mozzarella sticks and jalapeños.
These are not the reason to drive to Aviano, but they suit the setting.
Crisp coating, melted cheese, chilli and cold beer create the right kind of low-stakes beginning. The only mistake is ordering too much before the galletto arrives.
A Gran Mix at the centre of a table of four is enough.
The Galletto Burger Is the Most Logical Sandwich
The Galletto Burger costs €13.50 and combines a chicken burger with provola, rocket, tomato, onion and BEFED sauce.
Among the sandwich section, this is the one most closely connected with the identity of the place.
The smoked character of provola gives the chicken more depth, rocket cuts through the cheese and sauce, while onion provides enough sharpness to prevent the bun from becoming a soft sequence of meat and dairy.
All sandwiches arrive with fries, so the meal remains substantial even without additional sides.
Pulled Chicken Keeps the Bird but Changes the Texture
The Pulled Chicken sandwich, at €9.50, takes the same central ingredient in a softer direction.
Pulled meat has more surface area for sauce, which means seasoning becomes more immediate. Red cabbage and crispy onion are therefore important because they reintroduce crunch.
This is a less distinctive choice than the grilled galletto but a practical one when you want the house flavour in sandwich form.
The attraction is comfort rather than purity.
The Cheeseburger Is Straightforward Pub Territory
The cheeseburger costs €12.50, rising to €15 for the double version.
Beef, Edamer, lettuce, tomato, onion and house sauce make this a conventional pub burger rather than something attempting gourmet reinvention.
That is perfectly acceptable here.
BEFED already has a signature dish. The burger does not need to compete with it for identity.
It simply needs good char, juicy meat and enough structure to survive the sauce without collapsing halfway through.
Beer Pairings
BEFED Galletto: BEFED Bionda — light, aromatic and crisp enough for spice and grilled skin.
Pork ribs: BEFED Rossa — fuller malt and greater intensity suit the richer pork.
Fried snacks: BEFED IPA — sharper bitterness cuts through breading, cheese and frying.
The Beer Matters Almost as Much as the Chicken
BEFED began in Aviano as a brew pub with its own microbrewery, so beer has never been an accessory to the food.
The core range includes Bionda, Rossa, Biscuit, Blanche, IPA, Miele and a gluten-free Bionda.
The standard draught beer starts at €3.50 for a small, €5.70 for a medium, €11 for a litre and €22 for two litres. The special beers cost €3.80 small, €5.90 medium and €12 per litre.
The Bionda, at 5.2% ABV, remains the natural first order with chicken. It has enough malt to avoid tasting thin but stays dry and easy enough for a salty, spicy plate.
The Rossa, at 6.3%, has greater weight and suits ribs better.
There is no need for another generic wine section here. Beer is the point.
Salads Give the Menu a Lighter Exit
Not everyone around the table will want a whole chicken or double burger.
The Gallinella salad costs €13.50, combining mixed leaves, sliced BEFED galletto, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella and corn with the house sauce.
The Pulled Chicken Salad, at €9.50, uses pulled chicken, Grana Padano and crispy onion.
Neither turns BEFED into a health retreat, but both offer a different balance of protein, vegetables and sauce without abandoning the restaurant’s core ingredient.
Beer Ice Cream Is the Dessert to Try Once
The most characteristic dessert is the beer ice cream, priced at €4.
It arrives on biscuit with coffee, brandy, meringue crumbs and amaretti.
Beer in dessert works best when malt is allowed to behave like caramel or toasted cereal rather than trying to taste aggressively alcoholic. Coffee and amaretti reinforce that roasted side, while the ice cream keeps the finish soft.
There is also a €3 sorbet and a €5 selection of BEFED desserts.
After a whole galletto and a litre of beer, restraint may finally be advisable.
The Original Aviano Pub Still Has a Different Weight
The significance of the Aviano location is historical as much as gastronomic.
This was BEFED number one, the prototype from which the brand expanded elsewhere. The combination of galletto, beer and communal pub dining was already established here in 1996, before becoming a recognisable format across multiple locations.
That gives the Aviano pub a little more character than simply visiting another unit of the same concept.
The original idea was born in this room and, unusually for a business that has expanded considerably, the central proposition has barely changed.
Chicken. Beer. Hands.
That is essentially the whole philosophy.
Service, Atmosphere and Prices
BEFED Aviano opens in the evening only. Tuesday through Thursday and Sunday run from 6:00 pm to midnight; Friday and Saturday continue until 1:00 am. Monday is closed.
The room is casual and built for groups rather than hushed dining. This is the sort of pub where a two-litre beer order makes perfect sense and nobody expects a detailed explanation of the garnish.
Pricing remains straightforward. A whole galletto (€14.50), medium Bionda (€5.70) and beer ice cream (€4) come to €24.20, plus the €1.80 service charge.
A full rack of ribs (€20), medium Rossa (€5.70) and dessert (€5) reach €30.70, again before service.
For a relaxed evening built around grilled chicken and house beer, that remains a clear proposition.
Useful Information
- Address: Viale per Costa 6/B, 33081 Aviano, Pordenone
- Opened: July 1996
- Historical role: First BEFED Brew Pub
- Cuisine: Grilled galletto, ribs, burgers, sandwiches and pub food
- Signature dish: BEFED Galletto
- Half galletto: €9.50
- Whole galletto: €14.50
- Half rack of ribs: €13
- Full rack of ribs: €20
- Galletto Burger: €13.50
- Cheeseburger: €12.50; double €15
- Chicken fingers: €12
- Beer ice cream: €4
- Craft beers: Bionda, Rossa, Biscuit, Blanche, IPA, Miele and gluten-free Bionda
- Draught Bionda/Rossa: From €3.50
- Service charge: €1.80
- Monday: Closed
- Tuesday–Thursday: 6:00 pm–midnight
- Friday–Saturday: 6:00 pm–1:00 am
- Sunday: 6:00 pm–midnight
- Telephone: +39 0434 661025
- Email: [email protected]
- Takeaway: Available
- Best for: Galletto, house beer, groups and an informal evening in Aviano
Our Rating of BEFED Brew Pub Aviano
Galletto: 9.3/10
The dish around which the entire concept was built remains the obvious reason to order here.
Ribs: 8.8/10
Richer and heavier than the chicken, but well suited to a slow pub dinner.
Burgers and Sandwiches: 8.5/10
Solid alternatives, although the galletto remains considerably more distinctive.
Fried Snacks: 8.5/10
Exactly the sort of salty, crisp food that belongs beside a fresh pint.
Craft Beer: 9.2/10
A broad house range gives BEFED far more identity than a conventional restaurant serving commercial lager.
Desserts: 8.2/10
Beer ice cream is the most characteristic choice and keeps the brewery theme alive to the end.
Service: 8.6/10
Fast-moving and informal, matching the pub format rather than trying to imitate restaurant ceremony.
Atmosphere: 9/10
Large, lively and communal, with the extra significance of being the original BEFED location.
Value for Money: 9/10
A signature chicken-and-beer dinner can remain around €25 before service.
Overall Rating: 9/10
