Located on Samagi Mawatha, CASA is a popular drop-in among us folks who live around the area. Except for me, apparently. Anyway, I finally paid them a visit last week. Vishvi covered the place several months ago and it really hasn't changed much since then.
The Food
Their menu has a variety of Italian dishes aside from pizza; like ravioli, pasta, and lasagna. Along with a few sandwiches, burgers and salads. The menu was impressive especially considering the fact that this is a family business (the restaurant is literally their verandah).
We started off with a half and half pizza, one half Four Cheese (Rs. 1850; half Rs. 925) and the other half Pizza Siciliana (Rs. 1750; half Rs. 875).
The Four Cheese pleasantly surprised us. It was cheesy, delicious and very filling. The four kinds of cheese they have used (blue cheese, ricotta, parmesan, and stringy mozzarella) were evenly spread out. It's probably the safest bet here as we weren't fans of the other half.
The Pizza Siciliana was essentially a meatballs pizza but the meatballs were horrendous. There was no seasoning to it, except for a pinch of pepper. It was bland and tasted more like really bad tofu than meat. The rest of the pizza was just cheese and tomato sauce so there wasn't much to say about it. Vishvi tried the same thing before and it had been fantastic. I don't know how they could have wrong with this, but it was really bad.
This was the same pizza, 7 months ago.
We also tried the Chicken Lasagna (Rs. 1000) which was quite decent. The lasagna sheets were cooked well with thick layers of chicken bolognese in the middle, topped with melted parmesan and mozzarella. It could have used a bit more spiciness to it because it didn't have the same heat you'd normally find in a chicken bolognese.
The Tiramisu (Rs. 350) we got for dessert was phenomenal. It's a lot bigger portion than what you would get at Domenico's for the same price, and it tastes just as good. It was light, succulent and melts in your mouth. It's well worth your price and a lightly sweet dessert to end a hefty meal.
Service and Ambiance
The service was really good; attentive and fast. They have an open kitchen and a wood-fired oven so you can pretty much see the entire process of how the food is being prepared.
The place is so beautiful, especially at night. It's a romantic spot and ideal for an intimate dinner. It's an open space facing their garden which also happens to have seating available.
Conclusion
The prices here are too steep considering how they don't have to pay rent for the premises and it's located on the outskirts of the city because if you go to Giovanni's, you're pretty much spending the same amount. That being said, the ambiance alone is enough to attract the locals for a nice dinner on a weekend.
