Cafe Romeo

I was tipped off a few months ago that this little hole in the wall in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven had vegan pizza on their menu.  With actual vegan cheese.  And since then, a friend of mine had heard the same thing, along with rumors about vegan desserts as well.  This was enough to get me in the door for a visit this week.

Cafe Romeo is a sweet little cafe which features a fiery brick oven for pizza, a decent selection of paninis and sandwiches, a cozy seating area inside plus outdoor sidewalk patio, free wifi, and plenty of hot and cold beverages.  Their grilled tempeh with apple and butternut squash panini was what caught my eye, and when I saw that they also offer gluten-free wraps, I knew that's what I would order.  I was all set to rave about my selection until the young gentleman at the counter announced there were no more gluten-free wraps.  Then I asked about gluten-free bread.  Nope.  Same thing.  So I suggested, why not make it as a salad with some arugula, to which my server obliged.

I also ordered a cup of the escarole and white bean soup which together made a nice light lunch.  The bread went home wrapped in a napkin for Zinny.  At around $11, this was slightly more costly than the average lunch, though I'm always willing to pay a little extra to be able to order tempeh at a restaurant.

My vegan friend ordered a personal vegan pizza which came with spinach and olives, along with a soy latte.  The vegan cheese was by Follow Your Heart, which melts up nice and ooey gooey in those hot ovens.  Again, she was just happy to not have to drive 2 hours to Peace 'O Pie in Boston and be able to order vegan pizza at a restaurant in New Haven (Sally's and Pepe's take note!).  We also agreed that we're kinda happy it wasn't over the top amazing like Peace O' Pie.

Cafe Romeo is just a 5 minute drive from my house, and in the warmer weather it will be less than a 10 minute bike ride, so I can see myself having a weekly business meeting here.  Anyone care to join me, just ask!