Casa Nova Italian Restaurant & Bar, Green Hills — Restaurant in Newcastle-Maitland

This review is for 3 separate visits myself and girlfriend had.

First visit shortly after opening at greenhills we were seated at the bar and ordered a beef ragyu pasta (mine) and a marinara pasta(for the girlfriend). My pasta was ok, nothing exceptional but enough to satisfy, not good enough to justify the price. The issue with this visit was the marinara pasta that took over 40 minutes to come out AFTER I’d already eaten mine. We were approached several times asking if we needed anything and explained to each staff that we hadn’t received our 2nd pasta. The staff seem engaged at first and they all had the same response of “I’ll find out for you”. Only to watch them go to the kitchen and then continue serving and waiting other tables. We never received an answer. We continued to flag down other staff walking by when eventually we received our 2nd pasta, which like the first was…ok, enough to satisfy but not good enough to justify the prices. The staff were completely apologetic and we could tell they were stressed and comp’d the bill 50%. We didn’t complain or make any remarks and wished the staff well for the night.

The second visit was for takeaway and we ordered bruschetta, lasagne and a pesto pizza to share. Originally we tried to order a carbonara pasta instead of the lasagne but we were informed we couldn’t order carbonara to take away, we asked why and they didn’t really know. That was fine we changed from carbonara to lasagne to pickup. We arrived home with the food and opened the bruschetta and pizza boxes which looked great….then we got to the lasagne and the serving size would have been acceptable for a kids meal or entree, not looking at prices prior to ordering when I looked at the menu to see the lasagne was $28.50 blew me away. The lasagne was 2x-3x overpriced and it was the equivalent of a frozen cooked store bought lasagne. I personally enjoyed the pizza, crust was really good, cooked well, toppings was generous and was really fresh. Bruschetta was…ok (same as above). We spent $71 which is almost fine dining prices. Quality / quantity of food doesn’t quite match.

Our third visit was tonight. I rang and attempted to book a table for 8pm but was told the restaurant closes at 830pm so the latest we could reserve was 730pm (this is important later). We ordered 2 drinks, garlic bread, margarita pizza (mine) and carbonara (girlfriends, since she missed out last time). Everything came out in the right amount of time, staff were friendly and efficient - great start. The garlic bread came first, which was….ok, the odd thing for me was it was lightly toasted on the garlic butter side but underneath was fresh bread. Maybe it’s a different style of garlic bread but i thought both sides were lightly toasted and one, if not both, had garlic butter. Maybe I’m wrong and I’m ok with it, just odd serving of garlic bread, alone not enough to leave a negative review. We got our mains next and again the pizza for me was actually really good, crust, toppings and freshness were spot on. The carbonara however, looked as bad as it tasted, the sauce had congealed as if it had been in the window too long. The pasta itself was undercooked and the flavour was comparative to that of store bought frozen meals again. While we are eating our food and talking we see customers come in up to 830pm and are offered seating and menus, yet I couldn’t reserve a table for 8pm? It was just odd to be told one thing and witness the opposite, it didn’t ruin the night but I found it amusing. The worst part of this visit was the tacky happy birthday sounds that play over the speakers at literally twice the volume of the ambient music. This didn’t happen once…but 4 times in a 40 minute window! We couldn’t hear eachother sitting across from eachother. But by the 4th time we were annoyed and angry.

It’s fine dining prices, with below fine dining environment, with tacky birthday celebrations, with barely acceptable food AND portion sizes. The saving grace is their pizzas, worth the money and delicious. I’ll order more pizza...

Casa Nova - A Birthday Celebration to Remember!

We recently celebrated my wife’s birthday at Casa Nova in Green Hills, and it was nothing short of spectacular! From the moment we walked in, the ambiance set the tone for an unforgettable evening and the service was excellent.

The food was spot on and I think I like this pizza better than anywhere in the region, but the highlight of the night was undoubtedly the Pistachio Cannoli. It was the perfect blend of creamy, crunchy, and sweet with that unmistakable pistachio richness—pure perfection in every bite!

The staff went above and beyond to make my wife’s birthday extra special. Their attentiveness and warmth made us feel like honored guests. The little touches, like beautifully presented desserts and a celebratory feel throughout, made the occasion truly memorable.

Casa Nova is a gem in Green Hills, and I can’t recommend it enough for special occasions or just a fantastic meal out. We’ll definitely be back! In fact, we are going again tonight. Thank you for making my wife’s birthday...

I usually don't leave negative reviews, but what happened during our visit to Casa Nova needs to be shared. My friend, who is pregnant, ordered a mocktail, but instead, she was given a cocktail. She drank almost all of it before realizing something was wrong because she started feeling the effects of alcohol. It was a really scary moment for all of us.

When one of our friends brought this to the bar staff's attention, their response was shockingly dismissive—a simple “sorry,” and that was it. No one, not even the management, came over to apologise directly to my friend, which is honestly the least they could have done, given the seriousness of the mistake. It felt like they didn’t really care about the situation at all.

The whole experience left us really disappointed and concerned. We expected much better, especially when it comes to something as important as ensuring the safety and well-being of their customers. I’m sad to say we won’t be returning, and I hope the restaurant takes this as a wake-up call to be more careful...