Verona Inspired Italian — Restaurant in Shelby Charter Township

Shelby Township has a new gem- Verona, inspired Italian by Fabio Viviani, located inside the Cambria Hotel.

Some may consider me bias, as the executive chef, Salvatore Borgia, is my brother-in-law; however, with flavors like these, there is simply no need to embellish. My husband and I ventured out for the first time in what seems like ages, as we are very “Covid cautious” people, and have not felt comfortable dining out. On that note, I will touch on the fact that the staff there made us feel very comfortable, wearing masks, and gloves, and keeping distance whenever possible. However, I do not want that to be the focus of my review.

Let’s talk hand-crafted cocktails. I started by asking the bartender for her suggestion- a “#4”, a sweet spirit containing gin, fresh strawberries, and prosecco, amongst a few other ingredients. I’d say it was an elevated strawberry lemonade, simply stated, delicious, and what will likely be my most ordered drink upon future visits. After dinner, I tried the “#3”, suggested by our waitress. A crisp, refreshing, cucumber spirit, that reminded me of summertime. The drink contained house-made ginger syrup, which made it all that more refreshing. Another drink I will likely order again.

We started off with Fried Calamari and Zucchini “Bibzi Style”, which gave the well-known dish a unique, sweet and spicey twist. I kind of like to think of myself as a calamari coinsure, as it is one of my most favorite appetizers, and is my “go to” at any restaurant. The light and airy coating on the calamari was like nothing I have ever had before. It provided that crispiness one desires and expects in a breading, but provided a lightness that was unexpected. We also ordered the Charred Octopus- to say that the plating for the charred octopus was aesthetically pleasing, is an understatement. The artistic creation that transpired on that plate was nothing short of mesmerizing. Personally, I am not a huge fan of octopus; the texture is typically a bit overwhelming for my liking. However, this octopus was cooked to perfection, which allowed me to focus more on the taste, than the texture, and the balsamic, lemon beurre blanc that it was served atop provided the extra flavors I needed to make it a dish definitely worth a dabble at the least.

For entrées, my husband ordered the “Cioppino Royale”, a seafood dish containing an array of favorites, served in a white wine marinara; and I ordered the “Crispy Chicken Cristoforo”, a breaded chicken breast, served with garlic asparagus, mascarpone whipped potatoes, and a lemon beurre blanc cream sauce. While I cannot speak much on the Cioppino Royale, based on my husband’s reaction, I’d say a must try dish for any seafood lover. The white wine marinara serves as a broth for the seafood, and was seasoned to such perfection that we actually had the waitress box up the remainder and took it home! We cooked up some pasta the next day and used it as a sauce, something I highly recommend to anyone who tries this dish. My Crispy Chicken Cristoforo was juicy on the inside, and crisp on the outside; perfectly paired with the mascarpone whipped potatoes and lemon beurre blanc, absolutely mouthwatering. I am an avid mushroom lover, so I had to try the sauteed wild mushrooms too; which were a delectable addition to my dish.

No dinner out is complete without dessert, and I am so very happy we made sure to save some room to enjoy it. We shared two desserts, the Verona Mocha, and the Salted Caramel Gelato. The Verona Mocha was to die for; I love chocolate, and this dish did not disappoint. A mocha cheesecake sits atop an espresso brownie, and is finished off with a homemade roasted marshmallow crème- absolutely remarkable. Last, but definitely not the least, the Salted Caramel Gelato. The presentation was, yet again, extremely pleasing. The gelato was served in a stainless-steel footed dish with dry ice spouting from a chamber below. Honestly, no words can do the presentation justice; you just have to check it out...

Amazing first experience at Verona. My wife and daughter came here and we all enjoyed it. The most important part of any dining experience is the service. The waiter that we had was Mikey. He was tremendous. Mikey was patient and informative. He let us know that it was a restaurant inspired by Fabio Viviani and was his own concept. He also touched on the fact that the restaurant had a few specific items they did not have due to allergens which I thought was good to know from the start. I would highly recommend asking for Mikey if the restaurant allows those type of requests.

We started off with a few cocktails. I just had a glass of cabernet but my wife and daughter both had something a bit fancier from their specialty drink menu. I wish I could comment what the drinks were but instead of names they had "#'s" as names. While at first this confused me I turned out to love this idea because it forces you to actually read and understand the ingredients in the drinks which makes you appreciate the drinks and bartenders that much more. All the drinks were fantastic. I did end up getting a bourbon drink (#14) and a spicy tequila drink (#6).

We had the sausage and pepper appetizer to start which was gone quickly. This was simple but delicious. I had the filet for my main course. I asked it to be cooked Medium Rare and it was cooked to perfection. I chose this with the Verona Sauce and the market vegetables which was a nice mix. My wife got the Salmon dinner which was also perfectly cooked. She enjoyed this very much. My daughter who is usually a bit picky was very happy with her Mediterranean salad.

Near the end of the meal the executive chef (I think his name was Sam) came out to introduce himself and asked how everything was. He asked my wife how the salmon was and made sure my filet was cooked perfectly. This showed once again that the staff truly care about the guest experience which I think is the most important part of the experience.

I would say this was one of the best dining experiences in a very long time. Will...

We went here for Valentine's Day. We made reservations in advance using OpenTable. We arrived about 10 minutes before our reservation and were seated right away. We were a bit bummed that we weren't in the actual restaurant area (we were put into an overflow room) but the room was clean and the tables were spaced out very nicely. The room had some uplighting which was nice however the one closest to our table was strobing so we had it unplugged. When we first were seated there was some music playing and then there was a musician that came out and played some music and sang which was nice but was way too loud. My fiancé and I had to text each other or basically scream but I am still giving the restaurant 5 stars as I'm hoping this isn't a normal occurrence. The food was DELICIOUS! We started out with a house salad and a caesar salad, we got the smaller portion and it was still fairly large and worth the money. The Italian dressing on the house was very different, it was sort of subtle but was seasoned with some pepper which gave it a nice flavor. The caesar was good but my fiancé did say it had a fishy aftertaste which sometimes happens due to the anchovies in certain caesar dressings so if you are sensitive to that maybe go with the house salad. As for the entrees I got the Crispy Chicken Cristoforo and my fiancé got the Giuseppe's pasta. Both were so amazing and the portions were very generous, I was able to finish my meal but I didn't eat lunch so I was more hungry than usual, we ended up getting his leftovers to go but forgot them at the table which we were super bummed about. As for dessert we split the cheesecake brûlée which was PHENOMENAL! It was the perfect balance of cheesecake and crème brûlée, I look forward to eating at Verona again! We will also be happy to recommend Verona to our guests who will be staying at the Cambria Hotel for our...