Casa Bella Restaurant
“One if the best places of Little Italy and not really a tourist trap like many places along the street.”
“The lunch special was only $10 or $11 and it consisted of garlic bread, your choice of soup or salad and an entree.”
“The manicotti was homemade and light and delicious and may have been the best I've ever had!”
Casa Bella Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Happy Hour: Yes
Coat Check: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Do not visit. One of the worst experiences. Server was half drunk. He was not even able to talk properly. Entered during hapy hour and he mentioned that its only available at the bar, which is such a tiny place. He cleared the half filled beer bottle from the table without even asking me. This restaurant ia full of zombies. No one smiles and they treat you as if they are doing a favor. Food is below average. I was planning on not tipping him, but they added the tip by themself. How convenient and pathetic. If management takes this serious, they should really introspect and atleast teach the servers to smile and be polite.
Date visited: 5/28 (saturday)
Check no: 867086
A sweet man (possible owner?) caught our attention as we were walking by looking for a place to eat for lunch this afternoon. He seemed very excited we were going to eat there.
We were sat right away and greeted by several friendly staff members.
Then, we were brought some bread and oil. Typical Italian-esque.
We had excellent service. I ordered the Chicken Francese and it was very yummy. Totally hit the spot. My friend ordered the Pasta Alfredo and it was also yummy- very buttery and rich.
The only gripe I have is that sodas are $2.50 a piece and refills are not free. Also, we asked if we could split our check 2 ways as it said on the menu that was could, and our waiter got really defensive and said that he couldn't and we should've let him know in the beginning. He told us, and I quote, "I know in Georgia they probably split checks but in NYC we do not…" Hmm.
Is it the best Italian food in New York City? No. Is it in any way a bad restaurant? Not at all.
Went with a large group. We're promptly seated and we ordered caprese salad. The tomatoes weren't great, but the mozzarella was very good. A lot of places in this area throw around "bufala" mozz and other buzzwords, but this place seems to actually deliver.
On the main course. Got the veal parm. It was a little disappointing, but not bad. The cheese was a little lower quality and the veal itself was quite thin (it's usually thin, but this seemed to be a little more so).
Others at the table got the carbonara, the meat sauce and chicken Marsala. Everything seemed to get a thumbs up from those around me but the carbonara, which I tasted. I thought it was good but the pasta itself left a little to be desired.
Overall, in a sea of tourist traps, this place is not a bad option.
We got sucked in just like everyone else. They had a sign out with lunch specials and having a 6 year old who was ready to eat, we went to look at the menu and the next thing you know we are being strong armed into eating here by some guy, not a charming old man.
Lunch special seemed like a good deal so we went with that. Bread was decent, pasta was decent but not fresh or homemade. I heard the guy tell someone else that it was as we were leaving. Total Lie. No drink refills and the ice tea is served in a hurricane glass at almost $4.00, rip off. The soup I had with my meal was probably out of a can. It was supposed to be minestrone and was mainly carrots in some broth. Super weird.
Our waiter was fine, no issues there.
I am sure that there are better places to eat at in Little Italy and next time I will seek those out.
Only tried the sangria because the service was such a turn off. Guy outside made us take off our ponchos before we came in (it was raining) but his tone was a turn off. Menu was over priced and the bartender was rude. No Bueno. Positives? Inside was cute.
Charming in decor and looking cozy on Mulberry Street, the good pretty much stops there. I'm disappointed to have give such a low rating to a restaurant where we had really hoped to have a great meal out.
Started off with the Bufala Fritti and the Spiedini which were alright, but essentially just tasted very fried and heavy. One of us ordered the Veal which I tasted but it was kind of on the tough side. Usually a sign that they're not ordering the higher quality veal which is a letdown in NYC at NYC prices. I had the Spaghetti Pescatore, now it did have a decent amount of seafood but the sauce was on the heavy side for a seafood dish. Could have been a little lighter and tastier. Everyone else was just barely satisfied with their entrees. Service was REALLY slow and waiters could not keep up. Perhaps you need to put more waiters on a Saturday night. Bread was never refilled and if we requested something, it arrived 15 minutes later. Bathrooms are absolutely atrocious. Rickety stalls looking like they are about to fall down and no paper towels or toilet paper anywhere.
All in all, a big letdown to come to Little Italy and have mediocre food and bad service.
We enjoyed a lovely meal at Casa Bella Restaurant last Saturday. It was a beautiful day and we were fortunate enough to get outdoor seating. There isn't much room to walk or stretch your arms as the tables are so close together.
It took us awhile to get our drinks. Our martinis were quite stong. Mine was blackberry and quite delicious.
I selected one of my go-tos, cheese manicotti, and my friend selected hers, fettuccine alfredo. Both were delicious. It's the best manicotti I've had in some time. The cheese was really soft. I had no room left for dessert. 🙁
I'd happily return to Casa Bella.
This was one of the biggest disappointments we had in New York City! We had high expectations when we went to Little Italy and silly me for not checking the Yelp reviews for Casa Bella Restaurant before going in.
We were promptly seated upon entering the restaurant and decided to start of with some drinks. I got the white sangria & my date ordered a martini; we accompanied those with a plate of fried mozzarella to start. Our drinks were good so we were looking forward to enjoying the food. When the fried mozzarella came, however, I knew I was going to be disappointed. The dish was sopping with grease which was a complete put-off, especially since the marinara sauce that came with it was actually really good. The saving grace was the bread and olive oil.
Continuing on to the main course, I got the pizza and my date got the lasagna. Each came with a side salad which was fine. The pizza though was completely dry and didn't taste like it was freshly made. The lasagna on the other hand was decent. If going during lunch time, I'd definitely recommend trying that out.
The service was definitely lacking throughout our meal. We had to flag our waiter multiple times to get refills on water, to order the next thing, etc.
Overall, for the price we paid, I was expecting much more. We won't be recommending this restaurant to anyone.