Restaurant Detail

Cafe Verona (Italian)
119 Main St, Rogue River, OR
Rogue River, OR 97537
(541) 582-1106

Overall rating:			(Based on 3 ratings)
Most recent rating:			09-02-2007 05:43 PM
Highest rating:
Lowest rating:
Most Recent Ratings
	09/02/2007	Gypsy
	07/30/2007	Prophet Poblano
	07/26/2007	CrazyNewWay
Rating Breakdown
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User Reviews

Review Text
We have now dined at this wonderful restaurant on 4 occasions with each meal being an absolutely wonderful experience. I'm very impressed with the consistency of quality.

The Farfalle is now as much of a favorite as the Saltimbocca and the Tiramisu never lacks. In addition, the house Pinot Grigio wine by the glass is very good. The best we've had in the valley.

Review Text
Exceptional pasta dishes. For dinner I enjoyed cheese tortellini with a light lemony basil pesto cream sauce that I'll probably dream about tonight. All of the other dishes looked equally delicious. I can't wait to try the shrimp and linguine, the butternut ravioli and the chicken cannelloni.
The owner and staff are to be commended for accommodating our large party. They did a wonderful job.
The only thing I would suggest is that music and a/c would add a little ambiance. Everything else was superb.

Reservations are advised.

Review Text
This is excellent Italian cuisine. We were very surprised to find such wonderful dining in the little city of Rogue River. The interior is quaint, nothing fancy, they have seating in front by the window, counter seating for lunch and a large dining room that is rather cozy and can hold very large parties..There’s also a nice rock fireplace. The bar is full service.

We began the meal with very relaxing drinks I had a Tangueray & Tonic which was my first in quite a long time. There was lots more Tangueray than tonic. The wine list is quite extensive including wines from Italy and others from Oregon and CA. Their wine of the month is ‘Vortex Rose’ from Del Rio Vineyards in Gold Hill, OR. I’m going to try the Pinot Grigio from Trento, Italy next time we go. The Big Guy liked the Smoking Loon Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa, CA. Their house wine is various types from Copperidge.

Their appetizer list looked wonderful with Bruschetta, Calamari, Baby Artichokes, etc. We knew we wanted the dessert after dinner, so we passed on the appetizer. Another couple had the breaded baby artichokes and raved about them. Darn.....

We ordered our meals, which included a very fresh mixed greens salad, with slices of tomato, sprinkled with fresh parmesan. We both decided on the bleu cheese dressing which was creamy and very tasty. The bread was warm and delicious. They will serve it with Balsamic Vinegar and Oil if you desire.

Our entree’s arrived and the serving portions were good sized. I had the Saltimbocca which is baked chicken breast stuffed with sage, prosciutto and fontina topped with marsala mushroom sauce. I chose the polenta vice the garlic mashed potatoes and the meal was served with fresh cooked green beans, zucchini, and carrots on the plate. I took one bite of the chicken with the marsala sauce and knew I was going to stuff myself by eating everything. I didn’t even want to share with the Big Guy. The sage was not overpowering. Just a nice balance with the cheeses. The marsala sauce was perfect. Not too sweet, not too bitter and just the right amount of mushrooms. The veggies were very fresh and cooked perfectly. The polenta was to be the testing ground at this restaurant for me. It is an acquired taste in my mind and can be prepared very poorly. This was good. It was sliced thin and had a topping of lightly spiced, thick tomato based sauce, sprinkled with parmesan.

The Big Guy had the Baked Cannelloni which is a tube pasta, stuffed with chicken, ricotta, spinach, nutmeg, and shallots with bechamel and asiago. You’ll notice I didn’t mention a tomato based sauce. The cannelloni you find in most restaurants is not meat stuffed, and most restaurants spread a marinara sauce across the top with a lot of non Italian cheeses. This was a decadent cream sauce that melted in your mouth. He loved it. So did I.

We capped this wonderful meal with the dessert Tiramisu. Again, some of the best we’ve had. Very light and moist. All home made. They also have a fresh fruit tart prepared each day and raspberry cheesecake in a chocolate crumb crust.

The chef prepares everything from scratch, including all desserts.

The owner, Linda Earnest, is the executive chef. She previously owned the Blue Moon Café in San Francisco. Her sous chef is Jerry Miller, the lead wait person is Robin Warner (an absolute sweetheart who is there Thurs, Fri, Sat evenings).

Robin told us they can accommodate large groups with notice. With groups of 15 or more, they will normally set up certain selections off the menu for choice. There’s a 15% gratuity on parties over 6.

I asked about customer favorites on the menu and she told us the following:

Appetizer: Baby Artichokes
Pasta: Tortellini, Butternut Squash Ravioli, Baked Cannelloni and Linquine with prawns.
Main Entrees: Chicken Piccata and Saltimbocca

This was a wonderfully delightful meal and the service was excellent. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone. If you go in, tell them Gypsy sent you or that you saw it on ILGP. They like to know how their customer base found them.

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