Café Verona, Independence MO

Maybe it is different IN the restaurant.but I live less than a mile away so I doubt "delivery" had much to do with this. My tiny portion of gnocchi was rock hard and over.fried? Fried gnocchi? ! In a bath of flavorless oil and dressed leaves from last autumns yard work. The bruschetta were also hard as a rock, and while the toast should be toasted, it shouldn't rip the flesh out of the roof of my mouth.kinda like chewing a brick. The ciabatta bread was good.fresh. Everything else was over cooked and flavorless. Oh.and my Tiramisu that was $9 was just dumped in a cup.real classy. I was crazy disappointed. I had eaten here 10 or so years ago and everything tasted like dishwater then, I had hoped with a new chef it might be better.it isnt. Yuck.

I have been coming here for years I always like to set by the window where I have my lunch are dinner there's been times when I just went in there for a Coke and they always let me set in the booth by the window so I appreciate that I will continue to go back

We enjoyed this place as a change of pace. It has a nice atmosphere, and our waiter was attentive to refilling our soda/water. We enjoyed the food, and appreciated the range in prices. Some dishes are $13 and some are $30. They have lots of side dish options and appetizer choices too.

DO NOT GET THE GNOCCHI. I'm not sure what they think gnocchi is, but I was served these fried crispy burnt crisps that when chewed, was like eating potato chips. I absolutely love gnocchi. I eat and make it frequently, but I'm really not sure what I was served. The waitress agreed that's not what gnocchi should look or taste like, but said that's how they serve it there. Waitress was kind of friendly, definitely overwhelmed with 2 tables and very inexperienced. She had us order everything at once, drinks, appetizers, salads, dinner. We didn't get our drinks until we were almost done with salad, the appetizer was long gone by this time, and somehow they were confused on my husband's drink (Negroni. Simple Italian drink. I mean we're supposed to be at an Italian restaurant, right? !? ! Recipe is even on the liquor bottle!) Instead he was served gin with grenadine. ALLOT of grenadine. Something that doesn't even go in the drink ‍️ We stopped in for drinks a couple weeks ago and no one knew how to make a White Russian that day. I had to explain the 3 very simple ingredients, and it took 3 staff members to figure it out. It was so painful to watch the confusion and shuffling through boxes of recipe cards to make the most simple drink, after I literally sat there and told them how to prepare it. As a customer at a "nice restaurant" I shouldn't have to be telling a bartender how to make a very very common drink, or be told by the bartender they don't even know how to make such simple drinks. For the love of all things, just Google the damn drink and make it already. I want to love this place as much as I did pre pandemic, but it just gets worse everytime we go

*Good food, great drinks, amazing staff.
*Marissa and Aaron were WONDERFUL. Thank you so much! (Hope I spelled your name right!)

Our food had great taste. What a wonderful atmosphere. Our waiter was very attentive. We love visiting

It's really sad, this place was amazing prior to covid. I'm only giving it a 2 because the waitress was so kind. The food was comparable to Fazolis at best, Wendy's offers a better Caeser salad. It's heartbreaking because I was so excited to hear they were open again. Cannot say I'll ever suggest this place again. The decor, location, and staff are still amazing but the food that they are serving is the kind of food you gracefully leave sitting on the table as you quietly ask for the check.

My wife took me here for our anniversary. I have little to say other than it was a marvelous dinner! Service was fantastic and the food was delightful, and all at a very reasonable price. We will definitely be back!

Terrible service now. Was good before they closed years ago. We have tried to go twice now. The first time we were seated but then told the kitchen was closed for santa cali gon. This time we were told they were only seating for reservations all night. What? Won't be trying to get here for a third time.

Ridiculous. Overpriced, you have to pay $3.50 for extra bread, no scotch, no regular meat sauce, it was loaded with Italian sausage, Overpriced, olive oil dip very bland. I think my wine was a 3oz pour. Won't be going back.

I HAAATE to post this, because we LOVED this place prior to COViD. In fact, we had been driving by almost weekly in anticipation for it's re-open. We wanted to just "show up" one weekend, but it was so busy we were going to need a reservation. We were pleased to know it was still busy and reservations were needed. Just like before! We eagerly called to make our reservation.
Unfortunately, that's about as good as it got for us. Now, don't get me wrong, the staff was kind and friendly. Even if our hostess was wearing house slippers. I brushed it off and was ready to fill my belly! Since we called for reservation we were able to get the old owners booth.you know, the one that was always empty behind that cute little wine wall tucked behind the stairs. We had always wanted to sit there, and were very pleased to have the seat. We had heard wonderful things about the re-open so pretty much NOTHING could go wrong.that is. UNTIL THE FOOD CAME OUT! NNNOOOO!
It may LOOK like the same Cafe Verona, but it most certainly didn't taste like it. Not even close. We were so disappointed with the appearance of the food, my husbands chicken orecchiette was visibly burnt. It looked like it had been sitting under the warmers for WAY too long. He still wasn't convinced there was anything wrong until he took a bite. You could taste the sauce was a little burnt. Not only that, but he had random spaghetti noodle (4-5) hidden inside the bottom of his dish.
I'd never tried the lasagna there so I was super excited. (I had been making my way through the entire menu previously and just hadn't gotten to that, had to taste a couple of dishes a few times, lol) The appearance looked burnt, and it tasted like something they sell at Aldi. I mean, its good for store lasagna, but not what I thought I was going to be getting here. Also, they changed the oil and bread. The "bread" is very similar to a brand they sell in the freezer bag section of the store. Again, don't get me wrong, that store freezer bread is delicious.it's just, I could have stayed home and ate that.
Anyway, this is my true and honest opinion. We were very upset about the food, but didn't let it ruin our night. Normally we would have ended with the gelato, but we wanted to keep at least one good memory from Cafe Verona, so we found a local ice cream shop in our town. (Oh, did I mention we drove a couple of hours for this experience, smh.)
I wasn't going to write anything AT ALL, but I just couldn't bare 9for someone who knows Pre COViD Cafe Verona) to go there expecting the same thing. I'm so sorry, but it's the CUGGI of GUCCI. Thumbs down.

We went on a Friday night. We had reservations. They were busy but we were served fast. The cocktails were delicious. We ordered the tomato bruschetta for an appetizer. The tomatoes were so greasy! I had the caprese salad and prosciutto wrapped shrimp on risotto with asparagus. The food was delicious. For dessert we shared the lemon berry cake. It was so good! I really recommend this restaurant.

Nice atmosphere in the bar with attentive wait staff and excellent service. We did not make a reservation before going but were seated in the full service bar area. Good side salad, bread, herbed dipping oil and wine list. We both had pasta with shrimp that were cooked perfectly, tender and succulent. Good location for visiting other downtown Independence locations. Next time we will try to get reservations for the full dining room experience.

This used to be our favorite go-to restaurant prior to the pandemic. Always had great food and service. Sad to say now describing the food as sub par would be generous. The bread and olive oil appetizer was always welcomed, now it's no longer fresh bread and the oil was very low quality. Bitter and almost rancid tasting. The entrées are no where near as good as they used to be. The service however is still friendly and attentive. I hope they are able to get back to pre pandemic quality.

The food was amazing! We will definitely be back, our server was so kind! The soup was delicious, drinks were tasty! Lasagna and chicken Marsala were definitely home made. Overall this is a must try!

A little pricey, but good authentic food. The fettuccine alfredo is good, my son loved it.

A charming locally owned Italian eatery along the Independence Square. Pasta cooked precisely al dente, pesto sauce was perfectly spiced, fettuccine carbonara had a wonderful, pancetta-rich Alfredo sauce, and the salmon-topped salad featured nicely seared yet moist salmon with a zesty dressing. Really recommend the olive oil and citrus cake a la mode for dessert. Service was pleasant and attentive, without being obtrusive.

The food was delicious! Everyone selected something different from the menu & everyone was so happy with their selection.
Our waitress, Nicole, was excellent! She was very knowledgeable about the menu and had a wonderful sense of humor.
Our guests were very pleased with Cafe Verona & intend to return with guests of their own.