Vero


A diminutive Italian restaurant in downtown Palo Alto with muted lights and an inviting, concave entrance. With half a menu made up of wines, Vero surprised me with its high classiness/price ratio and friendly servers, and allowed me to have more Italian food, always a plus.


Seating: No parking, but I had wandered near there by foot so felt no inconvenience. The tables could hold about 30 people, and started filling up around the time I entered because they recognized me as a famous food critic. At least one family was returning, and the other couple seemed to be enjoying their date. The chairs were weighty and wooden and the server seated us quickly. There was also a bar, which involves too much face-to-face interaction with the bartender to be comfortable. The appetizer, bread and olive oil, also included a dash of red wine, adding flavor to the bread dipped in it. The bread was salty enough to eat by itself plreasureably and went well with the wine-oil, but the hard crust ruined any soft and tender qualities it contained.


Decor: I have been transported and time-travelled to rustic Italy. The old pots and paintings/photos of buildings were a facade for the vast amounts of wine decking the walls of this place. While maybe not as high in quantity has Olive Garden’s corks, popping one of their corks is worth more than my entire meal. And there were a lot of corks. The wine bottles complemented well with the soft, warm lighting to make me feel like I was enjoying eating a dinner prepared by a close Italian friend’s grandmother in her old, rural estate. Oddly specific, but relatably so (I hope).


Actual Food: I ordered gnocchi with a light sprinkling of cheese. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not Italian/cultured enough to taste deliciousness or because the establishment was bad, but my gnocchi matched raw dough in taste and texture, and only the sauce gave it any hint of flavor. Even the sauce left me disappointed, for it was as tasteless as the chopped lettuce it resembled. My friends ordered ravioli and lasagna, which they kindly let me try. The ravioli said it contained lobster, but felt like a pleasureable mash that could’ve contained ground human hands for all I know. It was good. The lasagna, despite being a basic choice, tasted like good quality lasagna, but fell apart too easily to carry into the mouth, meaning it was undiginifying to eat. His choice was the best. The server brought us extra bread, umprompted, which was good for scooping up sauce.


Rating: Low prices (for Palo Alto), welcoming appearance, and classy decor were dragged down by their sub-par Italian food. 16/24 gnocchis.

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