Casa Lu Al — Restaurant in Lima

My husband and I stopped at Casa Lu AL 10/30 while we were on our way to another restaurant. Their exterior outdoor eating area looked cozy, and the large sign caught our eye. The name sounded familiar, but I couldn't place why. Once inside and admitting it was our first time here, the greeter at the front desk described the two levels and what they had to offer. Although the lively atmosphere at street level was really nice, we chose the downstairs, Nonno's Cellar. Walking down the beautiful and lit stairway was like walking into a different restaurant. The beautiful arches that were also lighted and cozy seating choices were absolutely thoughtful and lovely. The music that was playing perfectly completed the ambiance.

Our waitress, Sarah, was personable and helpful for our dinner selections.

We both love Caesar salads and were a bit disappointed in that not being available. However, we both had a terrific side salad with our meal. My husband chose the Great Lakes walleye and said it was cooked perfectly and had a great flavor. I had the fettuccine carbonara, and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't great either. There just wasn't much flavor to it. It was nice to have bread. However, it wasn't toasted or warmed up.

Between us, we had a red and white wine, a bourbon neat, and a cocktail. All were good and nice pours. Then we were greeted by Emily, who told me about a bourbon cocktail that sounded so good, I had to try it. After her suggestion, I can say I will definitely try a paper plane cocktail again! Thanks, Emily 🙂

Our visit overall was a wonderful experience. And we will definitely go back.

Once home, I started looking into Casa Lu Al and was able to jog my memory about why it sounded familiar. We had actually been before to the restaurant 4 years ago when they were located on the north side of Lima. I recall that our experience there wasn't a great one. We did not like the cramped, older interior. I can't recall much about the food we had, so it must not have been memorable.

If anyone has gotten this far in my long review, that has been to their previous location and wasn't a fan, all I can say is to make sure to try their new location. You will not be disappointed. They have definitely stepped...

This is a repost of a review I originally left on Yelp. I wanted to share my feedback here for greater transparency.

I had a 2/27/25 @ 4:45 PM dinner reservation at Casual on a Friday night, the restaurant was not busy at all. Despite this, my experience was nothing short of discriminatory.

Blatant Discrimination in Service:

My whole family was seated at the very back of the restaurant, even though plenty of open tables were available.

when I politely requested to be moved, the hostess became visibly upset, expressing clear displeasure.

Ignored by Staff while others were served promptly.

We waited for 15 minutes at our table without being acknowledged No water, no greetings, no service-nothing.

Three different servers walked past us multiple times, completely ignoring us - no eye contact, no questions about drinks or orders.

Meanwhile, a new party of two arrived after us and was immediately seated, served water, and had their order taken within minutes.

Management Weak Response:

After waiting a total of 17 minutes with no service, my party decided to leave.

I spoke to the manager about the situation, explaining that several servers had deliberately ignored us while other customers were being attended to right away.

The manager only offered an apology and said he would speak to the server , but no real accountability was taken.

A clear Pattern of Racism.

I have dined at Casual before they changed locations and was never treated this way. However, after this experience, I cannot recommend this restaurant to people of color. The way we were ignored while other non-color patrons were served immediately is blatant racism.

If you are a person of color, take your business elsewhere, I...

Our family went to Casa Lu Al last night for dinner. Our party had 5 adults, a toddler and an infant. We arrived at 5pm and were told the wait was 30 minutes. We were seated at 6:20. Not an issue for us, we had some drinks and spent time together. It was Friday night and they were busy. We were seated at a table with no napkins or silverware. The server came over after 15 minutes and took drink orders. We placed a food order at that time for the toddler because it was past her usual dinnertime already. We asked for utensils and napkins. The toddler meal came out in a decent amount of time, however, no utensils still. We again asked for them and ordered a Shirley Temple for the child. 20 minutes later as we watched the server walk around the dining room, and speak with other staff while holding the ONE utensil and drink, my son finally got up and retrieved a set of utensils from another table as the spaghetti and meatballs were getting cold. When she finally brought the drink it was watered down by melted crushed ice. Next, 2 bread and butter baskets were deposited on the table. Still, no utensils. The 5 adults at the table shared the lone knife my son had gotten earlier. Our dinners were brought out about an hour after ordering and my son had to wander around the restaurant to find utensils and napkins for the table. We weren't offered drink refills or asked if we wanted to order dessert. The only thing that came to the table in a timely manner was the check. I don't have any issue with the wait times and realize this is a new restaurant, but the service was completely unacceptable. Utensils are a basic service...