A hidden gem I didn't expect! I recently visited Café Verona in Independence, MO, and it was a wonderful experience! The atmosphere was cozy, welcoming, and perfect for a relaxing meal. The pasta was absolutely delicious--fresh, flavorful, and cooked perfectly. I also tried the sangria, and it was one of the highlights of my visit. It was refreshing, well-balanced, and paired perfectly with the meal. The service was friendly and attentive, making the overall dining experience even better. If you're looking for a great spot for authentic Italian food, delicious drinks, and a comfortable atmosphere, Café Verona is definitely worth a visit. I'll definitely be coming back to try more of the menu! read more

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Genuinely my favorite chicken parm in the KC area. Be sure to check on their soup of the day, and I highly recommend a caesar salad to go along with the meal. Cafe Verona should be on more people's radar when it comes to Italian food in KC. Plus, it's nice to get a drink next door at the Sentinel before you head in for a delicious dinner. P.S. I ask for their vodka rosa sauce with the fettuccine noodles with the chicken parm and it will blow your mind. read more

I was in downtown Independence, fulfilling my required jury duty, and when we broke for lunch, I headed over to café Verona. It was snowing and cold, and I was there about 6 or 7 minutes before opening. They were kind enough to let me in, sit at the bar, and take an order for a drink before they were actually open. Since it was cold, the lasagna soup sounded fantastic, and it did not disappoint. It was so good. I highly recommend it. My bartender was obviously super friendly (letting me in early), and the service, conversation, and attention I was given were spectacular. It's a fun place to look around. Decorations are interesting. It has a unique charm. My main course was excellent, as was my dessert. I had to go all out for this lunch, not because I needed to eat that much, but because I couldn't say no to anything that was put in front of me If you're looking for a fun place with great food and people, this is a good spot to go. read more

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My husband and I were visiting town and walked by this place thinking it looked nice, it did not let us down. Everything we tried we loved. From the wine, to the food and the service was great! The interior decor looked like we were transported to Italy, very nice. We went in for an early dinner around 5pm and it started getting busy soon after but the server was efficient and the food came out fast. We split a plate that had 3 types of pasta as they all sounded good and so glad we did. All we delicious. I'd recommend this place if in the area read more

Cafe Verona - Exterior view - Italian Near Me - Independence, Missouri

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This is my favorite Italian restaurant in the KC metro! The chicken carciofi is so crispy and delicious every time! And the Rosa sauce is something magical! A must try! The servers are always attentive and the place has a nice old world vintage feel. Can't wait to go again! read more

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Food and service were both absolutely amazing. Would definitely recommend for date nights read more

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The food was alright, it wasn't spectacular as hoped. The pesto primavera with Italian sausage was alright, and so was the goat cheese fritata. However, the BMT sandwich and the fries were delicious. The bruschetta was sweeter than expected. On the bright side, it had a Tuscan feel to it both inside and outside. read more

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This is a cute date spot, very intimate. The decor is beautiful and they have a cute patio outside as well for dining. The food was impeccable as well as the service. Will plan on returning before long read more

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I absolutely love Cafe Verona in Independence. I think it's one of the best Italian restaurants in the KC area. The food has been consistently delicious since I first started going there in 2012. We did have a brand new waitress this visit who probably should have had a trainer or manager following up after her. She did fairly decent but it just wasn't the same level of service I've been used to in the past especially for it being a slow night. The ambiance was outstanding as usual with all go the Italian art, arch ways, ivy covered patio & the exceptional welcome gates for lovers to put their love locks on. I'd highly recommend this place & will definitely be back again. read more

Service was perfect food was ok ver small portion sizes unless you get chicken Alfredo so ordered that to go and got half the dinner portion got ripped off . Come on it's noodles with sauce not thrilled then I get an automated 20 % for take out . I decide if any how much to tip on take out ! Thai noodles don't cost 27$ it's just noodles those who do not like this review because you think it's posh well a 5 star location do no have children's menus and crayons and a coloring paper to give to children at the table read more

We had a pasta special. It was the Bolognese, scampi and Alfredo. Apl three were delicious. I actually preferred the Bolognese overall. It had a nice sweet marinara taste. The sangria was delicious. I'd come back. read more

Chicken Marsala Chicken orecchiette Rigatoni carbonara I pre-checked the menu before we went here and these were the three things I wanted: Chicken Marsala, Chicken orecchiette, Rigatoni carbonara. The chicken orecciette was DELICIOUS, but kinda spicy. We were able to eat it, and it was still good, but don't underestimate the red pepper seasoning if your spice tolerance is low. The Rigatoni Carbonara was SOO GOOD! It was me and my friends favorite dish (we split this and the chicken orecciette). It was not overly greasy. The bacon added the perfect amount of saltiness. We didn't get chicken or sausage add-on with this, but it wasn't necessary. If you were getting just this dish and wanted some meat, it would add a nice touch. My other friend ordered the baked Mac and cheese and that was also amazing-I wish I got that too...lol. It was more white cheddar flavored, and had SO MUCH SAUCE. One of these dishes also came with a fried egg-fried like onion rings fried. It was interesting I want to come back again so we can try the chicken Marsala! Everything on the menu looked so good! The service was not slow and we felt like our food came out fast (for a party of 8). read more

Cafe Verona - Rigatoni Carbonara (left), Chicken Orecchiette (right) - Italian Near Me - Independence, Missouri

Delightful Neighborhood Gem If I'm by myself, I'll sit in the lounge with Holly. The dining room is usually fully booked on Friday and Saturday, so call ahead for a reservation. Scratch kitchen, everything is made in house. Calamari is light and flavorful and the flatbread is great for one, but if you're getting entrees, make sure you have several people to share it with. Entrees are larger than most restaurants and also include a salad. Wine by the bottle is a better value than by the glass. read more

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I have been wanting to try Cafe Verona for a long time and finally made it in. I started with a delicious Cabernet to drink as well as the bruschetta appetizer. The bruschetta was incredible and comes topped with Gorgonzola cheese!! Unique and worth the order! My meal was the Mushroom Lovers Marsala pasta and I added chicken. The chicken was diced and tender. The mushrooms were fresh and delicious. The fettuccine noodles hit it out of the park! They were fresh, perfect texture, and just the right consistency. My favorite food of the evening was the pasta! When your favorite dessert is Tiramisu you have to try it! Talk about soft and flavorful. Definitely did not disappoint. The ambiance is great for a date night spot. They also have a patio with "love locks" attached to the front of the building. Great, attentive service by the staff. Highly recommend! read more

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My husband & I stopped in here on a Saturday night about 6 pm. No problem getting a table but it quickly filled up. I ordered Pesto Chicken Pasta with chicken and my husband ordered lasagna. My dinner was delicious but had very little chicken (4-5 small cubes?) which I mentioned to waitress. She offered to have more chicken cooked but I didn't want to wait. My husband's dinner was also delicious and a nice size portion. He also ordered a house salad which we shared and was awesome! read more

This is a great spot for some delicious Italian food. The service was good. The restaurant has a great view of the outside. Can't wait to go back! read more

Cafe Verona - Lemon Basil Shrimp - Italian Near Me - Independence, Missouri

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Thursday November sixth I ordered eggplant parmigiana. The meal was terrible. Two THICK slices of eggplant which was more breading than eggplant. The two slices were stacked on top of e other, and the top slice had a small slice of parm- esan cheese and NOTHING on the bottom piece. This is the third time I have eaten at this restaurant, and the first time I had a terrible meal. The service was mediocre and not proportionate to a twenty percent tip which was added to the final bill. Ambiance wasn't improved by dimming the lights. read more

I have to say that this is the first Italian restaurant I've been to that offers "keto" vegetable pasta (zoodles). I gave their zoodles a try (mine are usually soggy or runny) with a chicken dish and it was delicious. I would definitely order it again. My girlfriend also ordered a zoodles pasta dish and enjoyed it as well. Great find! read more

Cute Italian restaurant. We had a table of nine. The waitress sat us upstairs right away. She left a pitcher of water at our table which I really liked. We got our food fairly fast too. I had carciofi which is zucchini noodles cooked in garlic olive oil. It had roasted tomatoes, capers, artichoke hearts, Kalamata olives with lemon juice and red pepper flakes. First time I had something like this. It was very good. It also came with a small salad which was excellent. One of the ladies I was with got a wedge salad which looked really good. I'm gonna have to come back here so I can try that. read more

Cafe Verona - Side salad with lemon basil dressing - Italian Near Me - Independence, Missouri

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Food- 5. Service -5! Drinks-5. Ambience- 4. No table cloths on tables and drinks sweat on table Comfortability-3 It was uncomfortably warm in restaurant. I asked staff to turn thermostat down- said they could not as owner had it locked at 72 . I looked for thermostat and it read 78. Friend with me took picture. I plus friend had to fan our self a lot of time. It was 92 with a heat index of 102 outside. I was seated inside not even by the large windows. I would not recommend this place in heat of summer or if hit outside , very uncomfortable temperature wise. read more

Stopped in for business lunch. Only took pic of my sandwich and fries that was tasty. Side salad was good as well with roasted peppers. Great service. Good spot if you are near old Independence read more

The food was okay! What was awful was the fact we were there for an hour before we got it. I could understand if it was busy but it was not.

This was my first visit, although I have driven by several times. It is a nice quaint little restaurant with a bar and about 10 tables. Service was quick and efficient. I just had a wedge salad, but there look to be many interesting things on the menu. Next time I have customers in I think will take them. Always looking for something a little different. Also, I would say the meals are priced very reasonably. Good value, good portion, nice taste. Quick and easy for lunch. read more

The location is convenient on the square, but not much parking. It had ok decor, but was a little chilly at the table by the window. The service was fine and the food was ok, not great, right up until I found a piece of metal in my pasta. I don't know how much, if any, I had eaten already and not noticed, but I was done at that point. The waitress got the manager and, to his credit, he did remove it from the bill and offer to make me something new. I declined the new plate bc that ruined my appetite. read more

Service was friendly however the lemon butter sauce was awful. It was more like a gravy and tastes like a premade lemon cake from the store.

Big portions with wonderful presentation with awesome aromas. Pairs well with their wine list. Nice to see a locally owned restaurant that is so great. read more

Absolutely delicious start to finish, drinks, food and service. Too busy eating to take more photos. Chicken Marsala was really good. M had the bolognese with short ribs and sausage and cleaned the plate. Started with eggplant poppers' with marinara, little fried nuggets of eggplant covered with Parmesan and served with marinara. Finished with a vanilla gelato and espresso. Perfect. And the sangria? Tart and delicious. Highly recommend!!! read more

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Visited Cafe Verona for the first time and it was wonderful! The food was delicious and the service at the bar was above and beyond! Robert had a fabulous personality, attentive and friendly to everyone he engaged with. It's very pretty with a nice outdoor patio. I will certainly go back! read more

This is an intimate place, I like the ambiance. We had good service and the food is great. They were out of the soda I wanted but it wasn't a big deal. read more

The Caesar salad was okay; however, the lettuce had brown edges. That screams "I'm not fresh!". But the real disappointment was the lasagna. It had a really odd unpleasant taste. The worst part was that it tasted like someone had dumped a ton of sugar in the sauce. It was more sweet than most desserts. There was no complimentary bread offered--an Italian restaurant with no crusty Italian bread?! Tragic. The server was great and took the lasagna charge off my bill. The ambiance is the best part of this restaurant. read more

I so wanted to give this place 5 stars but I have to be truthful about my whole tables experience. I'll give it another try soon so I can hopefully revisit the review! We had early reservations at 5pm on a Saturday for 7ppl because I have two kids so we like to do dinner early out so it's quick and we can get them to bed quicker. This place is gorgeous. Beautiful courtyard and pretty paintings. It really makes you feel like you're in Italy and it's very special. We were sat without menus. Our server grabbed us the menus and waters, this is about 510 now. No big deal. I ordered a cocktail. About 520 appetizer order taken. (Get the eggplant poppers, so good!!) She did have one other table and was the sweetest person but the service was so so so slow. 530 dinner order taken and we all knew what we wanted 2 minutes after menus arrived but she asked to come back to take our order. Another server was so sweet and brought the kids some fruit and whipped cream for while we waited. 540 the drink finally arrived and bread. (Yey for bread!!!!) By this time the kids were whiny and me too because we were hungry! 610 food arrived, woohoo!! If you're a sauce person make sure to order extra in the side when you order your meal. The food was delicious but my Italian family loves their sugo. Everyone asked for an extra side of sauce for their pastas and that took an additional 15 minutes. I wanted dessert it was 7pm by the time we were asked and we were ready to move on with the night by then. We also had a birthday that we announced at the beginning and I was disappointed that it wasn't acknowledged. Maybe it's not their thing but it would have made the experience more special. I will be back though! This place is so lovely and I want to try their gnocchi and cannoli egg rolls! read more

I wish I could give this 3.5, because honestly, the food is not 4. But if you have to err, do it on the side of generosity, especially for a small local business. Daughter works at the courthouse, so I met her here for lunch. Overall, it is a lovely place with great ambience, decent service, and predictable prices for its vibe and location (around $30 for lunch for us without the tip). Unfortunately, the food wasn't quite to to the standard I expected. Pros: Beautiful historic building on Independence Square. The decor and architecture are Renaissance-inspired and quite lovely. Menu selection is reasonable and prices about what you'd expect today. Lunch prices mostly under $20 a plate. Service is polite and reasonably prompt. Server forgot our boxes and we ended up being in a bit of a hurry, but when I put out the credit card, she noticed and apologized and sped up. Cons: A bit slow. Everyone is having staffing challenges, so you expect this, but we probably waited a good half hour for our food after ordering. Food. Nothing was bad, but it wasn't great, either. We had fettuccine Alfredo, mushroom lovers' pasta, and broccolini. Didn't try my daughter's Alfredo, but she seemed to think it was fine without being terrific. My mushroom pasta was a bit disappointing. I was expecting nicely sautéed fresh mushrooms in cream sauce, but the mushrooms were chopped so small, it tasted a bit like pasta with Campbell's mushroom soup on top, seasoned with garlic. A LOT of garlic. My husband took one bite of the leftovers when he got home and said he found it inedible due to the garlic. I have a higher tolerance, so I didn't mind, but it wasn't great. The broccolini side was really tiny for $6: three spears, and pretty seriously oversalted. Overall, the food was just okay. I'm wondering if they're having problems with kitchen staffing. I'm not completely turned off. I may return in the future to try something else, just in case they were having an off day. read more

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Took some friends of ours to tour The Bingham-Wagoneer house then stopped for a late lunch. Great service and excellent food,we love the atmosphere. We will definitely be back. read more

I'm giving this a five star because this is the most amazing egg plant I've ever ate... Since I was a young child... The lady who met me at the door was very kind and attentive... A unique little place on the Independence Square... The House salad was really good but I was just so impressed by the eggplant appetizer!!!! read more

Met up with some friends on a Friday evening with reservations. Quite a few folks in the dining areas at the time. Service was not as attentive on this visit. We had to ask for several things like bread, and refills. He was taking care of several tables and looked like he worked up a sweat. I like the dining areas, and the bar is cool with the huge painting on the wall. The outside dining area reminds me of a quaint Mediterranean cafe. Food was delicious. I had the lasagna, and others had the Pasta di Mare, and the Pesto Salmon. The Salmon was one of the best we've had versus other places. The calamari was crisp and there are a nice assortment of breads. Include a Cab or Merlot, and you're good to go. Tiramisu finished the evening for us. read more

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As I entered Cafe Verona I was greeted by the hostess, welcoming me. After I was seated, my waitress Tiffany came and introduced herself. She asked me if I'd like to order a drink, which I ordered a wonderful Lambrusco. I ordered the ragu bolognese, which came at a very timely fashion. The ragu bolognese sauce was wonderful. While I was eating, my waitress came back to check on me and a little later the manager also checked on me. All in all a wonderful eating experience. If you are near independence square, and feel like a great Italian meal...I highly recommend. read more

Cafe Verona - The spacious front bar - Italian Near Me - Independence, Missouri

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The sauce.... THE SAUCE!!!! The sauce and cheese used on the dishes here is what dreams are made of. I'm so tired of pasta dishes being served with thinned, watery sauces. Cafe Verona served thick, delicious, creamy sauce on their food. We have officially decided this is now our favorite Italian. We will drive from Shawnee to Independence's new square every time. Other highlights to be noted, the stacked mozzarella appetizer is to die for. Can feed plenty of people and is worth the money. I hate when appetizers are a few small bites and hardly feed anyone. The bread was super delicious. The side salads were included in the entrees without an upcharge. This is huge to me. Why do other restaurants upcharge you to change from broccoli to lettuce and watered down ranch? I'll never understand this.... Highly recommend the short rib ravioli and Rustica with shrimp and chicken!!!! You will not be disappointed in flavor. My only "thing" was that the ravioli dish was kid portioned while the Rustica was enough to eat for three meals... that was a let down seeing my companion's dinner being so much more while I had to ration mine... but that's a small thing. Everything else was great. read more

Cafe Verona - Stacked mozzarella. Huge! And yummy! - Italian Near Me - Independence, Missouri

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Food, Service, & Ambiance were all great. Great place for a nice bottle of red wine (or white).

I hadn't been here for a while and had hoped that this restaurant and its menu would have remained the same. The last time I came here, we (husband and I) had the lasagna and a tiramisu for desert. We both wanted something different and had expected to see maybe manicotti or a lot more choices than the menu had. It appears that online the menu seems to have more. I don't recall seeing lasagna in the menu, but whatever. I ordered the fettucine with shrimp, and it wasn't the greatest. My husband had the classic Ragu Bolognese and he felt that it was a little on the simple side. I am not sure what happened to this restaurant during lock down, as it was closed for a while before they reopened, but for whatever reason the change wasn't on a positive note. The ambiance and the location is still nice and the food wasn't horrible so 3 stars is about fair. read more

Good food. Good service. Can be noisy when room is full & tables are a little crowded.