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Offering a slice of Italy, Casa Vostra has officially opened its flagship store in Raffles City, taking over the former McDonald’s location!
Originating a year ago as a partnership between Chef Antonio Miscellaneo and Ebb & Flow group, Casa Vostra has maintained its reputation for delivering restaurant-quality, ready-to-heat Italian cuisine to homes.
Now, you can dine in and enjoy Casa Vostra’s authentic Italian dishes in their brick-and-mortar store, which offers a stellar dine-in experience with gourmet home-style Italian fare – some of which I had the honour of trying myself!
Starting with the antipasti, I was presented with the Bresaola (S$14), an Italian beef salami that has been air-dried and salted. Here, wagyu beef is aged in-house before being thinly sliced and plated alongside rocket lettuce and topped with shaved parmigiano reggiano.
Given how salty charcuterie meats can be, I would have appreciated something other than the rocket lettuce to neutralise the salt – perhaps the bresaola would have been better served on top of an open slice of bread.
Next up, the Frittatina (S$8). Being the first restaurant in Singapore to serve it, Frittatina di pasta is balls of pasta moulded with eggs, salami, and cheese, then deep-fried into decadent bites that are delicious to eat and convenient to-go – known to be a trendy street snack in Naples.
With two different flavours: Carbonara and Lasagna, I had the pleasure of tasting the latter. It featured an oozing medley of juicy beef, pancetta, and fresh tomato sauce layered between house-made lasagna sheets. The exterior was crisp and golden brown with a perfect crunch, and the insides were cooked perfectly – definitely my favourite of the two antipasti I’d tried.
Moving onto the pizzas, Casa Vostra would be remiss to not feature their trademark Newpolitan® and Doublecrunch® pizzas in their physical store.
Here, I tried the 4 Formaggi (S$22), which featured a mix of fiordilatte, taleggio, gorgonzola, and parmigiano reggiano. This cheesy, creamy delight had me going for seconds!
Additionally, the pizza dough from the Newpolitan® range was incredibly light and airy. While the outer crust was perfectly charred and crisp, the inner crust was soft with an almost melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Apart from pizzas, what is an Italian restaurant without pasta? I got to try their new addition, the Crab Tagliatelle (S$26), featuring chunks of jumbo crab meat in tomato confit fragranced with olive oil, garlic, and basil.
As a seafood pasta lover, needless to say I demolished my plate. They were generous with the crab meat, and the tomato confit added a nice sweetness and tang to the pasta dish. Overall, it was a delectable and well-balanced dish, for sure.
I also tried their special stuffed Agnolotti del Plin (S$23), which encased tender pork stew served in a chicken jus and butter sauce. My only gripe was that it could’ve been more generous with the portion.
While the robust flavours were on point, the pasta dough was starting to harden up, making it a little tough to chew.
Saving the best for last, the Panna Cotta (S$8) featured silky, velvety spoonfuls of sweet gelatinised vanilla cream with a dollop of strawberry sauce, fresh strawberries on the side, drizzled with olive oil on top, and a fresh basil leaf.
Although I’m sceptical of olive oil in a dessert, it just elevated the experience and added another layer of depth to this sweet treat. The strawberry component also introduced a welcome tartness to the dessert.
In Italian, “Casa Vostra” translates to “your home” – and that’s exactly how I felt in this cosy ambience. While there’s room for improvement in some areas, one thing is certain: they absolutely provide authentic and unpretentious Italian cuisine right in the heart of the CBD district.
