A little bite of everything

La Merenda is stylish, affordable

Story by Griselda Aldrete / Photos by Raul Vasquez

Near the heart of what was one of Milwaukee's earliest cultural centers, Walker's Point, a new restaurant yearning to bring back some of that old luster has sprung up: La Merenda, a 55-seat international tapas restaurant and bar located near the corner of First Street and National Avenue.

La Merenda, which means "snack" in Italian, opened on Valentine's Day and is steadily attracting a diverse clientele looking to sample regional and international flavors - and not looking to go broke in the process. Everything on the menu is under $10.

Couples Peter and Sonia Sandroni, and Nick and Melissa Cataldo opened the tapas restaurant because "we all like to eat different foods and nobody was doing what we are doing," says Nick Cataldo.

Adds Peter Sandroni: "We also wanted to educate people about different cuisines and to [appeal to those] who want to try different things."

When you walk through the restaurant's heavy wooden door, you're greeted by a full-service bar stocked with a wide selection of international wines, beers and liquors.

The soul of La Merenda, however, is its food. All small-plate lunches and dinners are inspired by Asian, European, North Africa, Caribbean, American, and South and Central America cuisine.

A lot of options

A downside to that is that, once seated, deciding what to order isn't easy. What helps is that the menu is split between hot and cold meals.

On the cold side, the Som Tum salad from Thailand serves well as a light and fresh appetizer. It's made with papaya, jicama, and carrots that are marinated with a Thai vinaigrette dressing.

For small sandwiches, either the La Merenda club or the meatball sandwich are decent options.

But the must-have items on the menu are the spinach and cheese-toasted ravioli and the empanadas de pollo. Both are served hot and with an impeccable presentation.

The ravioli is stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach and served with marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese. The chunky tomato sauce is reminiscent of an authentic Italian sauce.

The empanadas de pollo, with their flaky pastry crusts, are stuffed with mashed potatoes and seasoned chicken. Although there is more potato filling than chicken, they are very tasty.

For dessert, some of the more tempting choices are the chocolate banana egg rolls, the tres leches cake, and flan.

For the egg rolls, bananas and chocolate are wrapped in a won ton shell, then lightly fried and served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Each bite is interlaced with equal amounts of banana and chocolate, and each is sinfully delicious.

From the outside La Merenda doesn't look like much. But its interior feels warm and inviting. Bright, yellow walls, along with picturesque artwork and landscape images and photographs from around the world, give the restaurant an impressive-but-unpretentious feel.

Whether you are seeking a quick on-the-go lunch, a meet-up dinner with friends, or a late-night snack (La Merenda is open until 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays), this restaurant is working hard to have something for everyone.