La Casa della Pasta — Restaurant in Citrus Park

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit, (with my daughter, to celebrate her upcoming voyage to her first year in college), to a fine Italian restaurant in North Tampa by the name of La Casa Della Pasta -Tampa

For those not in the know, this is a small - quaint restaurant decorated in the traditional Italian way. Candles on the tables, art on the walls, dark colors etc.

The couple who own it (Mara and Franco) are from Northern Italy. ("The Langhe in Piedmont, located in the northwest of Italy") and they opened this location in Tampa in 2017 - Maria is front of house and Franco is back of the house. Each plate is cooked to order and attention to detail is apparent (just as it would be in Northern Italy).

The extensive menu made choosing a dish quite a task, but my daughter has always been a fan of Calamari so we started with... Calamari Fritti as our Antipasti.

The rings were consistent and very lightly fried in olive oil. The calamari inside was delicious and very very tender, as it should always be. - We were of course provided with a bread basket and other accoutrements (Parmesan tarts) prior to the Antipasti, everything timed to account for the cooking time of each course.

Entree time... and my daughter chose a dish she is familiar with from other ventures to Italian restaurants.

"Penne Alla Rustica" (Homemade penne pasta, chicken breast, mushrooms, parmesan cheese, onion and Brandy Sauce.) - Apparently the sauce was significant because my daughter was quite impressed with the flavor of Brandy in every bite.

My choice was A bit more adventurous.

"Vitello Mare E Monti" Veal scallopini, asparagus, crab meat, fontina cheese, and a chianti glaze reduction. The veal could be cut with a fork and the entire first bite practically melted in my mouth. The fontina cheese was melted over the veal fillet and under the crab making each bite an adventure of unctuous tender goodness.

I paired with a glass of Merlot and the dish was served with a side of pasta and steamed vegetables but the veal was the star.

For dessert (We ordered dessert because of the special occasion and location)... Sage had Chocolate Cake - which came as a delectable pice of cake large enough for two and drizzled with scrumptious chocolate sauce/ganache.

I ordered: TIRAMISU and OH MY GAWD Best adarn dessert I have had - gonna say since - Well since forever. I could not get enough! YUM! 😋

All in all, if you are looking for a personalized and special experience for yourself, your familia or for a extra special date night, I would recommend highly that you keep this Northern Italian bistro in your hot list of places to go.

2019 People's Choice BEST OF THE BEST -...

My husband and I went for dinner on a Friday night and shared the caprese salad appetizer and chicken piccata which they split nicely for us when it was served. The food was fantastic, and the portions large enough to share. Lovely ambiance.

There are two reasons I am giving 3 stars, the main reason was the service. The young server brought us our menus and took our drink order and delivered our glasses of wine and then asked if we were ready to order. We asked her to come back shortly while we decided. It was a very slow evening. Maybe 4 other tables were occupied.We proceeded to wait over 20 minutes for her to come back and take our order! She kept on walking past us to chat with patrons at another table and ignored us, although we tried to get her attention but she made no eye contact! Finally I caught the eye of the owner standing by the bar counter and frantically waved to get his attention! He sent her over to take our order. She brought our meal and then ignored us throughout. We even had to wait a while to get the check! I think the owner needs to properly train their help! This is a very expensive fine dining establishment. Dinner for two with wine can easily be $150 and up. The service should be on par with that.

We also feel that the wines by the glass should be more affordable. They range from $13 and up for a modest pour! Frankly, it's outrageous if you get two glasses of wine each it costs over $50, plus tax and tip! We asked if there was house wine we could order but they do not offer one. They should at least have a decent house wine to offer at a reasonable price. The bottled wines are also very pricey.

I think the reason they weren't very busy on a weekend night is because of the pricing. During these challenging times for our economy business owners should consider more affordable options to attract business. Especially during the summer as it is slow...

The worst food I've ever experienced! We called for a party of 10 for a birthday for my daughter, They had the table ready I have to give them that an the ambience of the place was nice. Our server was good but didn't know anything about the wines they served by the bottle. With that being said we ordered 1 or 2 of every different appetizer they had as we were 10 people and wanted to try them all since we heard nothing but awesome things about this place... The Brie was great ,the calamari was so rubbery it was disgusting,The bruschetta was good eggplant not sure. When it came to dinner my husband and I ordered the spaghetti with crab and lobster, as Italians my grandparents cooked and my dad all the time I Never experienced a plate in my life like this before crab lobster princes sauc..I i said where is the crab? It's ground up with the sauce her reply was???? Really? For Almost $30.00 no crab and the end of the lobster claw on top ,We all know the hook of a lobster crab claw no meat and a knuckle of crab claw meat cut in half in the lobster and like they said the crab ground up? Where,? In the sauce? Is that why it was disgusting and gritty? I have Never sent my meal back unless it's completely disgusting out of my 56 years and 32 years in the business have I ever experienced this disgusting food at its high price or sent it back. My daughter in law said the ravioli wasn't that good either. I guess all these 5 stars came about when the owners were there no pasta wheel food was horrible probably ,,,,,$800.00 plus when when we were done no one was happy they just didn't want to say anything to ruin my daughters Birthday . With that being all said I felt the need to write this don't go on a week day or when the owners aren't there. Our Family owns a restaurant in Spring Hill and everyone will be sure to know our experience

SO DISAPPOINTING IN MANY WAYS...