Vero

Restaurant is not very busy during the weekday lunch hour. We were seated outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and environment. Tried their Ravioli all'Aragosta (lobster filled ravioli, zucchini, sundried tomato, broccoli rabe) and an arnold palmer. The ravioli was overly creamy and looked a bit unappetizing when presented. The dish looked almost soupy and was covered in a thick yellow cream. Lobster filling was also not very flavorful and I'm not entirely sure it made with real lobster?

Service however, was attentive, quick and friendly. Our server came to check on us periodically and was careful to refill waters / ask about refills on our drinks.

Found this little gem in Palo Alto when my boyfriend and I were walking around. We wanted something local and craving for Italian.

The ambience here is very serene and intimate. It's a cute restaurant and can be very romantic. The service is great, and the food was cooked when we were ready to have the main course.

We started off with some steamed mussels with cherry tomatoes. It was delicious. Then when we finished, we were asked by our server if we were ready to have the main course. That was nice.

I got the lasagna and my boyfriend got the lobster ravioli. The lasangna is so rich and the cheese was too much. I kinda lost my appetite after a few bites. The lobster ravioli was very rich in sauce but really good.

Overall, this place is okay. I'd come back here, but hoping they wouldn't put so much cheese on top of the lasagna.

As much as I liked Vero the first time around, I'm docking some stars. The first time I came here, I thought the food was pretty solid. This second trip, on the other hand, was disappointing right from the start.

My friends and I decided to grab dinner here before heading to a birthday party, and we had called a few days ahead to make a reservation. Although we showed up at the restaurant right on time, we ended up having to wait about 30 minutes or so since our table was still occupied by the group before us. While I understand that kind of thing is a little beyond their control, thirty minutes is pretty ridiculous (why not seat us somewhere else?). Honestly, I wonder if we could have walked in without a reservation and still got the exact same seats.

As for the food, I didn't think it was as good this time around:

- Shrimp Bisque (soup of the day) (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/5RfUqEyKYMQfBOC_gXeIHw?select=hFyh2A3fCyXyQQ2ldqbEIg) - the best of what I tried. The soup looked fairly simple, but I liked the consistency and it was pretty flavorful.
- Fried Calamari (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/5RfUqEyKYMQfBOC_gXeIHw?select=t6EXjNKTEOSiWH8d7wItJw) - tried my friend's order and it was just okay. I actually thought the strips of fried onions tasted better than the calamari itself.
- Spaghetti alla Vongole (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/5RfUqEyKYMQfBOC_gXeIHw?select=wSKsMrhqAfma3vA-dk2dBw) - fail for me. The plate was short on both sauce and flavor, and the pasta was very dry and bland. While the clams might not have been the problem, they weren't amazing either.

While my first experience with Vero might have earned them a four back then, this most recent trip warranted taking stars away. Combining the two meals, the food overall is a three, but the service brings it down a star (our waiter took off on us a few times). Sorry Vero, maybe things will be better next time (if I'm ever back again).

Vero used to be one of those places I'd walk by without pausing, there were just so many other spots downtown. Well, finally I've gotten to eat here a couple of times in the last few months, and boy was I missing out before!

Vero is kind of set back from the street but once you walk all the way in, it's as inviting and cozy as you'd want. Warm decor, a bustling room, and open kitchen. It's actually not a big room, so the place fills up fast, I consider us lucky to have snuck in a seat before the main dinner rush.

The staff was friendly and helpful, never pushy or rushing, kept a good eye on wine glasses emptying, dishes needing clearing, etc.

OK now the food! Well, they claim to have the best lasagna on the peninsula and they might just be right. Theirs is served with a bechamel sauce, and every bite of it was heavenly. The pasta was perfectly cooked, the filling delicious, and the portion huge. The big question next time we're will will be whether we order something else instead!

Really tho, everything was delicious, and I'm looking forward to coming back!

Human hair baked into my eggplant appetizer, disgusting!
Sorry for the bad news and the partially eaten food in the photo. I was really unhappy to find a 6 inch long human hair baked right in to my eggplant. After I had eaten most of it. I know it is impossible to keep a kitchen spotless, and mistakes happen. Still, the waiter tried to say it was part of the vegetable, but I know it was hair.
The food was okay, but only 4 ravioli in an entree is not enough, even if they are truly made in house. First time, and last at this place.

Okay you may not believe me, but... after trying everything (natural) to get my daughter to come early, Vero finally induced my labor with their eggplant parmigiana.

My reasonings for believing such a thing are highly scientific (wink wink nudge nudge). I did try everything on the list of natural tactics to induce labor. And then I read an article about a restaurant whose walls are covered in baby pictures. Babies who were coaxed to enter the world early (early, not premature mind you) by eggplant parmigiana.

So, when hubby and I visited Vero for our last romantic dinner out, I opted for the (you guessed it) eggplant parmigiana. It was delicious- as were our 2 entrees: risotto special with sausage (mama mia!) and orecchiette with broccoli rabe. And for dessert we ate the chocolate cookies. Fudgy-brownie like circles of YUM with vanilla ice cream. On top of phenomenal food, the service was on point. I don't know if he is the owner or manager, but Massimo runs a beautiful, friendly ship- like The Love Boat. He's the Captain Stubing of Italian restaurants. Our first experience of Vero was take-away and it was delicious. However I'll not make that mistake again, because eating there is part of the wonderful experience.

Oh! And at 11 PM, I went into labor. My daughter was born 5 days early.
Grazie, Vero!

I grew up in the mountains of Tuscany and am thus very picky about eating Italian food abroad. To me it's either bad or 'vero' real. Vero's food is delicious and the real deal.

We first ordered take out from Vero about six months ago when my wife was pregnant and craving a good pasta. When I came in to pick it up Massimo the owner greeted me warmly, and suggested that the next time I come in for a sit down meal. We had a brief and pleasant conversation and I left with two plates of pasta that turned out to be delicious.

Almost six months later I returned for that sit down meal with my wife. Massimo greeted us both at the door and surprised me by remembering my name, that my wife is pregnant and what pastas we had ordered. Incredible.

He congratulated us on the upcoming birth of our baby and offered us two complimentary glasses of Prosecco when we sat down. We had heard a rumor that eating eggplant parmigiana induces labor. My wife being at this point over being pregnant ordered it and we shared it. She then had the Orecchiette with Broccoli Raab and I had the best risotto (special) I've had in the last ten years. I accompanied my meal with a delicious glass of Nebbiolo. We finished our meal with a cookie, vanilla swirl ice cream dessert. Bounissimo.

We sat by the front door on a Friday night and although the restaurant was packed it wasn't too loud and we were very comfortable.

Massimo wished us luck with the birth and we paid and went home. Two hours after dinner my wife went into labor and the following morning we had our beautiful daughter. The eggplant parmigiana worked for us.

I've since been back to Vero to introduce our daughter to Massimo and he has offered us a free meal to celebrate that we are now a family.

There are two things I learnt when we went to Vero for dinner:

1. The food is delicious

2. Massimo has a heart of gold and that is Vero!

I recommend Vero highly. Avanti - go and treat yourself!

It's been a while since I come down to Palo Alto, a lot more new restaurants. Tough crowd and unforgiving town, I see.

Vero should be able to survive the cruel city of Palo Alto and here is why:
Great dinner, good service, not overly priced, not over rated, not boring!

We're seated promptly and nice ice cold water were provided for us immediately.
We ordered small appetizer olives/eggplant/zucchini tapas plates and they came with a small basket of warm crusty soft pillowy italian bread. Sooo heart warming!

Then i got their special of the day, squid ink pasta with baby scallops. Boyfriend got the skirt steak and wine, my friend ordered the salmon plate. The pasta is to die for! Very light creamy sauce, not too salty, perfect seasoning, al dente, tons of baby scallops and they were fresh!!! Soooo good!

The grilled salmon plate is one of the juicest salmon i ever tasted.
Grilled skirt steak is also well season, again not too salty, perfect smokiness and very tender and juicy!

Dont forget to order Tiramisu! It's super super creamy and light! I die happy last night. Perfect meal over great companies.

Just discovered this gem in my backyard!
Girlfriend and I loved everything, and given she wasn't in the best of moods and very picky, this review should underline it wasn't setup in their favor!

-Great wine and generous offering!
-From the fresh baked bread that was warm and crunchy,
-to the delicious burrata that was salted to perfection (as it should be),
-onto the mussels (red wine sauce, instead of white but still delicious),
-to the duck with perfect potatoes and cauliflower, I couldn't believe this place wasn't rated higher.

The waiter was nice and helpful, attentive, and funny.

The final item that blew us away was the tiramisu (passed down from grandma, apparently an 80yo recipe) which was so light, creamy, silky, and delicious, I can't wait to go back and try all the pastas!

Burrata and tiramisu are a must here!!

Thanks to Yelp, I found this nice Italian restaurant to have dinner with my friends, and they all love it. :)

This is a small and nicely decorate place. The waitress was very nice and helpful. She explained the menu to us very detail and let us know what's the special of the night.

One of my friend ordered the Lamb Chop, cook in medium -- YUMMY!!! I'm already drooling when I think of it. If you love lamb, this is a MUST TRY dish. The lamb is very tender, and it will melt inside your mouth.

I had the special of the night: Kobe Beef, cook in medium. Not as tender as I expected, but it still tasty. Should have ordered the LAMB CHOP!

My other friends order the Bucatini allAmatriciana, it's delicious too! They cooked the noodles just right, did not overcooked or undercooked. Prefect!

At last, dessert time. We order the Tirmairsu. How is it? Let me put it this way: one of our friend was not planing to touch it, but in the end, she ate the most of it.

There is an endless supply of mediocre restaurants on University Ave. And there is an endless supply of mediocre Italian restaurants. Unfortunately, Vero fulfills both of those criteria.

Perhaps being from the East Coast, I have a different expectation of Italian food. Even though I'm Chinese, I still think of Italian as comfort food. I had the lasagna, which I knew I shouldn't had done. There is no better lasagna than the one at Gaspares in SF, but I can't help myself. When I see a lasagna on the menu, I have to have it. It's a compulsive move. Slowly and surely, I am starting to learn.

The boy had risotto, which he said was pretty good, not spectacular, but better than my lasagna. We had also gotten the appetizer sampler. We had the anchovies, which was pretty good, but anchovies are usually delicious. The salami, which was "meh", and the marinated provolone, which they gave us a ton of. It was literally blocks of cheese with an italian dressing marinate. It was like something in a buffet picnic line from the midwest; nice to have, but not exactly something you'd expect from a fine Italian restaurant.

It wasn't terrible - but with wine, we ended up paying around 70 bucks with tip, which I thought was pricey for what it was. Oh well!