Caffè Mezzaparte and Attractions in Verona (Italy, Verona)

At Verona (Italy), we visited the Arena, Juliet's Balcony and Piazza delle Erbe (used to be a gathering point in the past during the Rome period). 

Arena

Arena

The Arena was a Roman Amphitheater, which is now being used for concerts and events. As you may notice from the photo, there was a Christmas Market (tents in white) next to the Arena. 

At the centre of Piazza delle Erbe, there was a Chrismas market too! There seemed to be a Christmas market everywhere in Europe. Having seen so many different Christmas markets and they all basically sells all kinds of products (including Christmas products) and local food. Its a good chance to savour their local food at relatively cheap prices.

Lamberti's Tower

The Lamberti's Tower, a 14th century tower is the tallest tower in verona built at the Piazza delle Erbe. 

There were many restaurants around the area and the price were on the high end. After looking around for sometime, we decided to patronise the restaurant called Caffè Mezzaparte which was located next to the Christmas market. 

Main entrance 

Caffè Mezzaparte had a cozy environment with a nice quiet ambience. There were lots of seating capacity  with indoors and alfresco area. There were no one at the alfresco area as it was freezing cold. In Caffè Mezzaparte, there was even a unisex toilet in the basement! 

Menu cover

Although the menu is in Italian, the good news is that there are English, German and French translations in the menu too!  

Minestrone di verdure 8 € (S$12.54)

Minestrone di verdure 8 € (S$12.54)

We ordered a bowl of Minestrone di verdure (Vegetable soup) which cost 8€ (S$12.54) to share. During winter, its always ideal to start off with a bowl of hot soup, especially since we are not used to the cold weather. 

The Vegetable Soup was heart warming. Although we were in an Italian restaurant, the soup reminded me of home - Chinese Soup. It tasted like a Chinese cuisine too (perfect cure if you are sick of european food)! Clear, tasty soup that was full of cubes of potatoe, carrot, cucumber, onion and leek. Simple yet delicious! 

Tortellini panna e prosciutto 8.50 € (S$13.32)

For our main course, we ordered a plate of Tortellini panna e prosciutto (Tortellini with ham and cream) for 8.50€ (S$13.32). Tortellini are navel shaped or ring shaped pasta filled with a mixture of meat and cheese in it. (you can imagine it as our local wantons, with meat in it.) Most freshly made tortellini without artificial preservatives have a shell life of a few weeks.

The Tortellini with ham and cream was served with shredded ham. The pasta was on the outside was firm and the inside was filled with meat.  It was cheesy and tasty. 

Risotto con funghi porcini 9 € (S$14.1)

We also ordered the Risotto con funghi porcini (Risotto with procini mushrooms) which cost 9€ (S$14.1). I thought that this was well executed. The al dente Risotto rice (firm but not hard) was evenly cooked and had the right creaminess - slightly creamy. It was slightly sticky (which is a norm) due to its ability to adsorb water and release starch. The Risotto was incredibly tasty and flavourful, with each mouthful, a rich, strong and distinct fragrance of mushroom would burst out. Mushroom lovers will definitely like this dish. The only issue I have is the lack of ingredients considering the price!

The food that we had was decent but pricey. Please note that the drinks here seemed to be even more expensive. We did not order any drinks and instead drank from our own bottled water. Oh yes, the pizzas are quite good too and can be shared among 2 persons.

We also visited the Juliet's Balcony (Museum).

As you walked into Juliet's House, you will notice this wall filled with love notes and graffiti. There were even chewing gums stuck on the wall. As a result, this wall has been proclaimed as the dirtiest wall in the world. Many visitors believed that writing love notes on the wall would make their love everlasting. 

Left to right: Bronze statue of Juliet, Juliet's Balcony

Juliet's House and Balcony, located in Verona just off Piazza delle Erbe is one of the most visited place in this town. It has been claimed that this is the property of the Dal Cappello family since the 1200s. From this, derives the name Capuleti, the house of Juliet. Hence, since the 1800s, this location has been a tourist attraction  Even Charles Dickens has recorded his impression the this residence in written word. 

Did you notice that certain parts of the bronze statue of Juliet seemed to shine? It was the most touched (worn out) part of the statue. This maybe because there is a legend that if a person strokes the right breast of the statue, that person will have good fortune. Now the question would be how come even the left side seems to shine?

Caffè Mezzaparte (Italy, Verona)

Piazza dell'Erbe, 8/a, 37121 

Verona, Italy

Tel:  +39 045 590590 ‎

Location

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