Caffe Roma Will Leave You Stuffed Like A Cannoli Without Breaking The Bank
From pasta to pizza, Caffe Roma serves up simple Italian fare done right
by Eric Gibson | February 27, 2023
A short read on our long adventures.
There’s a beautiful thing in Cleveland when it comes to Italian food.
We’ve got Little Italy, an entire district dedicated to the stuff. Then we’ve got a borough in every cardinal direction that could easily claim to have one of “Cleveland’s best Italian joints.”
There’s Mia Bella and Il Rhone. On the water there’s Luca for a sublime view of downtown, and we’ve got Dante’s and Bruno’s. The list goes on and on with their authentic Italian-sounding names, their classy menus, and their white glove service.
Caffe Roma isn’t one of those places.
Caffe Roma is the restaurant you take your mother to when she comes to town and asks for lasagna. Caffe Roma is authentic from the cooks in the kitchen to the servers to the menu. The flavors are deep and rich, the sauce plentiful, and the portions will fill you and the doggy bag up.
The Italian staples here are fine, the lasagna and chicken parmesan are evergreen hits but there is a lot more to love here. Have mama branch out to the spicy arrabbiata sauce or the linguini con Frutti de mare.
And no, pizza is not traditional Italian food according to epicurean scholars across the globe, but if you want pizza at Caffe Roma then scholars be damned. It does not disappoint. The fluffy, almost biscuit-like crust, is crispy on the bottom and piled with enough toppings and sauce to make it borderline Giordanos thick is just so dang satisfying.
You can take a date to this unassuming corner restaurant just outside of Lakewood, Ohio. However, if you do be warned. You will not break the bank here. You will leave full. And you might just easily fall into the trap of those dangerously sweet servers persuading you to sample the gelato and have a small cannoli.
Bring the family here, bring mama here, bring your out-of-towners here. You’ll be the dinner hero.
Caffe Roma is open daily 4pm to 9pm and closed on Sundays. Parking can be tough with the double parking spots in the back so look for a close spot on the street or out front. Kid’s menu is limited, but then again there’s always pizza.
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Eric Gibson is a rabid fan of barbecue, burgers, ramen, and hot chicken. When not eating or playing with his beautiful daughter Aria, he tries to write and edit for Brewhoppin and Vittles&Nosh.
