Cafes / Reviews
Caffe Vero – cafe review
“Ciao bella!” A waitress warmly greets a friend as she walks through the door, before the pair continue talking in quickfire Italian.
There may be exposed brickwork here at Caffè Vero, but this new cafe on the corner of Small Street and the centre is decidedly not trying to be cool or of the moment, and it’s all the more refreshing for that.
Instead, it has a timeless quality about it to which you can’t help but warm.
Italian touches are everywhere, not just in the voices from behind the long counter and Italian songs on the stereo. There are packets of pasta, bottles and bottles of olive oil, Sicilian fruit juices, and even a Vespa with the keys still in the ignition above the front door.
The menu informs that much at Caffè Vero is imported from small artisans in Sicily and Italy, with fresh products locally produced and changing with the seasons.
A tub of Nutella as big as a newborn child helped to fill my croissant, only spoiled by a cheap Chinese serrated knife bending like a rubber ruler when I came to cut it.
For lunch, there are paninis, salads, lasagne and piadina – toasted Italian flat bread. Or try a sharing platter for £18 of cured meats, cheeses and pickles from the deli counter.
And wash down the pastries and tarts with Italian-style blended coffee, including a cold espresso.
Desserts include frozen yogurt gelato and homemade tarts, as well as lemon sorbet served in a hollowed-out lemon, orange sorbet served in a hollowed-out orange and ice cream in novelty toys.
Once the building works outside come to an end next spring, this corner of Bristol could very well be hosting the European-style piazza experience so beloved of town planners, our own corner of Sicily in the city centre.
Caffè Vero, 11 Small Street, Bristol, BS1 1DB
0117 929 3837
www.facebook.com/caffe.vero.bristol/
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