The cute and casual cafe opened last month and already experiences steady business, one employee said.

Featuring faux cobblestone archways and homey decorations inside, the cafe emanated Italian charm — Utah style. It was surprising to see that the cafe only seated 40, but its petite size made for a cozy dining experience.

Although it took more than 30 minutes to get our food, that was the last thing on our minds once we started eating. The CobbleStone Cafe’s cup of charm ran completely over when it came to the food.

“Gourmet” was appropriately tacked on to almost every category on the menu, which featured specialty sandwiches, gourmet salads and soup, gourmet pizza, and desserts and pastries.

Without a doubt, everything we tasted was delicious.

The heavenly Chicken Artichoke sandwich, which featured a yummy cheesy artichoke spinach topping slathered over melted provolone, grilled chicken and tomato, was served hot on a kaiser roll. (It usually comes on a hoagie roll, but the cafe was out that night. We didn’t mind at all that our meal came with a complimentary cookie to compensate for the replacement.)

We also tried the BBQ Shrimp BLT, an oddly savory combination, and the Cashew Avocado Chicken sandwich, which came on a fresh croissant.

All of the sandwiches come with a choice of chips or a side of tasty Very Veggie Pasta Salad, which was … very veggie. The creamy-rather-than-oily pasta salad included cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, cabbage, carrots and broccoli.

The Angler gourmet pizza (listed under “Wild Things” on the menu) would only appeal to true seafood lovers. Topped in a creamy garlic sauce, steamed salmon, red onions and capers, the pizza came covered in the perfect amount of melted mozzarella cheese.

Other traditional pizzas were also offered, but we were surprised to see unusual ingredients like buffalo-seasoned chicken, buffalo sausage, elk meat, spinach and avocado on the pizza menu.

Both salads we tasted, the Blackened Salmon Tortellini and the Tuscany Inn Chicken, were packed with surprising ingredients that brought salad eating to a whole new level. The very-filling salads included unusual ingredients like rosemary roasted cashews (delicious!), caramelized balsamic onions, grapes, cheese tortellini and scrumptious, well-seasoned homemade croutons.

The staff was pleasantly attentive and the food was worth every penny. To complete the evening, we even spotted former professional basketball player Thurl Bailey coming into the cafe on our way out.

A casual eatery that seems at home in down-home American Fork, the CobbleStone Cafe and Pizzeria still offers a little gourmet pizzazz — not to mention possibilities for celebrity sightings — that is sometimes a little hard to find in the area.

CobbleStone Cafe and Pizzeria

Where: 632 W. Main St., American Fork

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Price range: $3.99-$16.99

Info: 756-2800