Casa Nostra Italian Kitchen — Restaurant in Christchurch

Went last night, celebrating my birthday with my partner. We have ordered several times through UberEats so we knew the food was delicious, and decided to dine out as a treat. The food… was absolutely delicious 5/5 stars. The service, however, maybe 1/5 stars and I’m being generous. The waitress we had definitely seemed to not want to be there. They serve pasta with different sauces. I asked for a certain type of pasta and wanted it to have a different type of sauce than what was on the menu but was told that couldn’t be done because they were “too busy” - while it’s true they were busy (I work in hospitality too and we say that there’s no such thing as busy, but actually doing our job), I was told that this would not be possible. You cook the pasta and the sauces separately, so I really don’t understand how much trouble this would have been. I also asked for cream on the side, and besides several dishes stating they have cream, I was told they didn’t have any. After ordering, our plates took 40 mins to get to the table, while having empty drinks and not being asked if we wanted a refill or anything, I asked for the drinks menu when our mains arrived. Drinks (a beer and a soft drink) took an extra 10 minutes. We did have another server (who seemed a bit happier) come and ask how our meals were at some point. 2 waitresses for a full restaurant, I do feel a bit sorry for them. And to top it up, the hand dryer in the toilet did not work. I try to never complain about anything, but hoping this get read by management so they can properly train their staff. Again, food was absolutely amazing so will definitely order online in the future, but don’t...

Reasonably good food and very large portions. Good for groups as portions are large and easy to share. The staff was super friendly and helpful.

My experience here regarding the food was a bit mixed. It was good, but I wasn't blown away. The food here varies in quality, but the red wines we ordered were very nice.

The portions were so large we ended up boxing some up and taking it home. It's always good to see this being offered as food waste is a huge problem worldwide.

Our first antipasti, the Cozze Pepate (mussels in white wine sauce) were really good, a 5-star worthy dish. The mussels tasted great and the bread served with it was really good. The Suppli were also very nice. We were somewhat disappointed by the Prosciutto Mare & Monte. The Parma ham was a bit dry, and the dish mostly consisted of salad. The mozzarella was alright but not amazing.

For our mains we had the Ravioli Di Pesce and the Linquine Pescatore. The ravioli was quite nice albeit a bit too saucy to my liking. The linquine sauce and seafood was good. I was however a bit disappointed that the pasta was overcooked for my taste. I like al dente but maybe I should have specifically told the waiter that.

For dessert we shared a slice of tiramisu. Now even sharing this we only barely got through it as that was also a gigantic piece. The tiramisu was pretty good and well balanced.

All in all our experience was good and we're glad we came to eat here, but I think we'd consider other restaurants for...

When my mum came to NZ to visit, I took her to Casa Nostra and she maintained it is the best Italian food she's had outside of Italy!

I can't fault the service, on arrival we were swiftly shown our table, given time to settle in and peruse the menu before taking drinks orders and advising us of the specials. I loved that they offered traditional Italian aperitifs. There was no hurrying us along to free the table up for another seating. It was a very chilled out dining experience.

The food was amazing. We had the Schiacciata to start. It was very tasty and very filling. Both of us ordered fish dishes for our mains. The ravioli filled with crab meat, salmon and prawns and the linguine pesche which came with clams, scallops, muscles, prawns and white fish. Both were delicious dishes. The meals are large so if you have a small appetite, bear this in mind if thinking of having a starter too. I struggled to eat all my main so took home my leftovers for lunch the next day.

The only downside and this has nothing to do with the food or the service but the building/location and being comfortable is the restaurant is on the chilly side. Every time the front door opens, it feels like a force nine gale coming through. The proprietor has put curtains up to offer some protection from the elements and I wouldn't avoid the restaurant because it is cold but I would wear an extra layer or two!

As my mum said this is awesome authentic Italian cuisine and I agree with her. I...