Casa Mia Ristorante — Restaurant in Lakeshore

I want to preface this review with a caveat. I've wanted to try this place since I accidentally noticed it several weeks ago. I don't get to Belle River often, so today, when I went back to Belle River, I made a point of seeking it out for an early dinner. The restaurant has a very small footprint on the street, and I almost missed it. I was very pleased to see what lengths they had gone through to make it accessible to those with mobility issues. I am able bodied, but it was refreshing that the restaurant is welcoming to those who may be in a wheelchair or mobility scooter.

Getting inside, I was pleasantly surprised by the ambience. It was dimly lit, but not too dark. I was seated at a smaller table nestled against the bar - one of the few unoccupied tables in the restaurant, despite it only being about 5:30PM. There was a second part of the restaurant behind a set of french doors. I did not get a good look at that section, but it seemed to be even more private than the area I was in. From the posh surroundings, I was expecting to be shocked by a menu with artificially high prices, but they were more than reasonable. I love Italian food, but hate the smell and taste of cheese (how's that for an oxymoron). So, I ordered one of the few items on the menu that did not mention cheese in the description (Spaghetti Pomodora). The server brought my spring mix salad and bread basket prior to the main course. The salad was just right (they had omitted the tomatoes and onions at my request) and the bread was fresh.

When the main course arrived, I was shocked to see cheese sprinkled on top of the tomato sauce. The server saw the disappointment in my face, and as I wondered what I should do, she suggested a new plate could be prepared within a matter of a few short minutes. True to her word, the cheese-less version of the dish arrived just a few minutes later, and it was absolutely delicious.

The server was attentive, checking on my progress and asking whether I needed a refill of the bread basket. And despite the brief feeling of guilt for sending a beautifully prepared plate back to the kitchen, I really felt pampered and left with a full belly and a smile.

I will need to return with my wife at some point, since this place was as inviting as any of the fancy Italian restaurants I've gone to in Windsor.

A side note... the small table they sat me at had a noticeable tilt. When I first sat down and made contact with the candle holder (unlit), it slid across the table and would have fallen off had I not stopped it. This made for an amusing distraction while I waited...

This was our first time here. They messed up our orders yet STILL deserve a 5 star review. How??? My husband and I ordered the Pollo Contadina (basically chicken parm, with added toppings and spaghetti) but the server wrote down Pollo Croccante (a sandwich). I was disappointed about it, but didn’t feel right sending back food. My husband loves sandwiches but I do not (at all -too much bread). Our young son was with us and he was going to have half of my spaghetti. He did not want to eat the sandwich at all. The server spoke to the chef and they decided to bring my son a small spaghetti on the house, to apologize for the error. So why the 5 star review???? I actually thought the sandwich was lovely and my husband was nearly obsessed with it. LOL I can’t believe I liked the sandwich!!!!!! I never like sandwiches!!!!! It was delightful. If you go to a restaurant, they mess up your order, and it’s STILL delicious, then that is a huge testament to the whole menu. I’m now convinced that everything on their menu must be delicious. Lol WELL DONE CASA MIA! I’m still craving the Pollo Contadina though....so I will just have to...

Our first time here and we did not have a reservation as they do not take on Saturday but our friends got there first and got a table for the 4 of us. There were 2 large parties in the small restaurant, 8 to 10 people each and we knew another couple that had arrived before us sitting at another table. The service was impossibly slow. My friend had an empty drink and an empty water glass and had to ask for another drink after the server walked past multiple times and was oblivious. The couple we know at the other table, that arrived before us, hadn't even received salad by the time our entrees arrived and they weren't happy and spoke to the staff and left. The food itself was good but listening to the large table next to us, especially one loud man, speaking poorly about our friends that had left (in his opinion, prioritizing a large table spending $1500 is ok compared to a table of 2 spending $150). Wow bud, get over yourself. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant based on the painfully slow service, lack of any friendliness of staff, and the obnoxious behavior of your...