Casa Italia Cucina — Restaurant in Miami

I was honestly super underwhelmed with our dinner here. We had passed by this place a couple days earlier, and I loved the vibe and the menu looked great, so I knew I wanted to come back.

Yes, the prices are high—but after vacationing in this area for a week, we’ve come to expect that. So price wasn’t the issue. The real problem was the ridiculously small portions.

My boyfriend ordered the beef ravioli, and I kid you not—they gave him ten ravioli for $36. No side salad, no bread—both of which are standard at Italian restaurants where we’re from. Again, it wasn’t about the money (we’ve paid similar prices elsewhere during this trip), it was the fact that the portions were so small.

I ordered the vodka pasta, and while it tasted amazing, I was still surprised by the size. I’m currently on a GLP-1 medication, which drastically reduces my appetite—and I was able to finish my entire plate. That alone should tell you how small the portions were.

To make it worse, our food came out just warm—like it had been sitting for a bit. Not a huge deal on its own, but when you’re paying over $30 a plate, you expect it to be hot and fresh.

Our server was sweet, but very inattentive. She brought our food and never checked back in until we were completely done. Since the 20% gratuity was automatically included, it felt like she didn’t feel the need to try very hard—which is exactly why I’m not a fan of automatic tipping. I’m a generous tipper when the service is there, but this definitely didn’t warrant 20%.

Also, just a heads-up—they don’t offer free water. Only bottled, and it’s $4.

The atmosphere is beautiful—we sat right by the boat dock and loved the view. The overall vibe was great. And the food tasted good, but it is not worth the price. Our bill came to $124, and my boyfriend actually had to go to another restaurant afterward because he was still hungry.

If they’re going to charge this much, they seriously need to increase the...

This is a fake Italian restaurant. If it weren't for a few Italuan style statues and the name of the place you wouldn't know it was supposed to be Italian. We ordered Calamari and Fettuchini Alfredo with chicken. We ordered drinks, Sangria and lemonade. The Sangria was terrible didn't hardly drink it, the lemonade was too sour. The Calamari was supposed to be an appetizer but it was given to us with our meal after 30 minutes of waiting. The Calamari tasted a little burnt and was really rubbery like it came out of a frozen box. The Fettuchini Alfredo had brownish sauce, Alfredo sauce is supposed to be white. The chicken used in the fettuchini Alfredo was dark meat cooked too long, it was hard, it is supposed to have white meat used not dark. The restaurant charges a 20% surcharge for what I don't know, possibly location because it's certainly not for the food. They don't offer a military discount. The music being played was not Italian, it was regular modern hip hop etc. that you hear in all the bars. The waitress did not give us our silverware till after our keaks arrived and she never asked us if we wanted refills on our drinks. I had to ask another server for additional cheese. The meaks do not come standard with a salad or bread as many Italuan restaurants do. I had to ask the bar tender for the receipt. Additionally they have a security guard that is fairly nosey watching everyone eat as if we did something wrong. All meals are served outside in the humidity. There is no dining inside. People touring pier 5 constantly walking by you because the restaurant is right along a waterfront walkway. Not a place I will eat at again. Terrible food, terrible prices, terrible service...

There is no contact information for this business except a phone number, so I guess I'll ask - or express - here. We're from out of state and first time at this place to eat - even to go to this Bayside Marketplace. We were headed to Chile's but came up on this place and decided to try it out. The food is good, nothing to go crazy about but it was OK. When we eat out, we always order water to drink. Which we did and the server brought us two bottled waters. Later, when we got our check, it was $8.00 for the waters ($4 each). The server did not offer to tell us it was $4 a bottle nor if you have the option of tap water or not. We asked about the Arancini Balls - if they had cheese and rice inside. She replied yes. When we got them, they had meat, not rice inside. She later said it was ground beef and rice. Which actually they are more ground beef than rice. We asked if you got any bread and she said no. She didn't offer if there was any available, just "no". Finally, it was only the two of us. We had one appetizer and one spaghetti & meat ball meal which we shared, and the two bottled waters. When we got our bill, it had a 20% service charge automatically added to it and then, the credit card payment handheld even asked for another tip. I guess when you go here, and for us anywhere else away from home, you have to be very specific in what you ask for and what the charge is...