La Casa Mia Milpitas — Restaurant in Milpitas

La Casa Mia is the second location of this restaurant which derives its namesake from Italian meaning "my home". The first of the two is located in Santa Clara, and the Milpitas location is having a soft opening. La Casa Mia is a Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant that introduces authentic Japanese flavors with the comfort-food dishes of Italian cooking.

La Casa Mia is located in the City Square Center in Milpitas, which boasts plenty of parking, making it easy for patrons to come in and dine. Of note, given the restaurant is in its soft opening, they don't have a prominent sign on top of their restaurant so it may be difficult to locate at first.

We visited La Casa Mia on a Sunday for dinner. I was first drawn to this location through a friend's recommendation after she had visited the restaurant for their soft opening the day before. I quickly went to their website and booked a reservation for 8pm. Their reservations are conducted through Tock and I found the platform and process quite seamless and would highly recommend making a reservation in advance. Of note, they will hold all reservations for 15 minutes, but ideally patrons should try to arrive on time.

We arrived at 8pm and were greeted by very friendly staff, who initially informed us that they wouldn't be able to accept any more seatings since their kitchen closed at 8pm; however, when I mentioned I had made a reservation online already they were happy to accommodate us. (Not that this is that relevant, but I did wonder if we had made an accident with our reservation and were happy to go find another place to dine, but they were fine to seat us - unsure if they'll be adjusting their reservations so that the 8pm reservation isn't an option if their kitchen does close at that time.)

The first thing you'll notice upon entering La Casa Mia is their beautiful light mint green pastel interior accented with pink flowers - a truly welcoming environment in my opinion at least. It gave me a very at-home type of ambiance as if you were stepping into your grandmother's dining room for dinner.

Feeling a bit parched from our earlier rock-climbing session, we decided to sample their drinks and ordered the yakult berry and honey lemon soda. Both drinks were flavorful and true to their names - my personal favorite was the honey lemon soda. For our entrees we ordered their salmon shimeji mushroom risotto and the wagyu meat sauce with premium pork cutlet. Now I've heard that fish should not go with cheese, but I personally felt the salmon paired deliciously with the risotto and added another depth to the dish with bursts of salty umami coming from the tobiko roe. As a fan of risotto in general, this dish definitely did not disappoint and I would happily order it again. The wagyu meat sauce pasta was very flavorful and perfectly al dente. The star of this dish, however, was the premium pork cutlet. The pork cutlet was breaded to perfection with a crispy crust that adhered to the pork cutlet (something that I feel not all establishments successfully accomplish) - a perfect accompaniment to the pasta dish.

If you're looking for an Japanese-Italian fusion restaurant with flavors true to both cultures, then I highly recommend giving La...

La Casa Mia Milpitas is located a busy Chinese plaza. It is not easily discovered but once you're inside you'll see a green colored theme restaurant. You are greeted with Japanese waitress that are very attentive and friendly. After we sat down, we ordered:

Appetizer: Salmon Shimeji Mushroom Risotto (5 / 5) The risotto has a heavy cheese taste to it. It is mixed in nicely with salmon bits and mushroom. The salmon eggs adds the salt naturally without the table salt and the flavor feels balanced. The portion seems more in line with an entre rather then an appetizer. The portion is good, this is a solid dish on the menu.

Pasta: Seafood Pescatore - Bianco (4 / 5) This seafood pasta with white sauce has a taste on a lighter side. The scallop, clams, and white wine is blended nicely with the pasta. The jumble shrimp instead of regular shrimp they provide for you is a big surprise. The attention to detail is good, I would have personally preferred a slightly stronger blend in sauce though.

Pizza: Meat Sauce Mochi Pizza - (4 / 5) Ever thought pizza can be mixed in with mochi? Look no more! This one is it. The texture to this pizza is unique, however the meat sauce pizza had just very minimal meat. There's just a lot of ummm....sauce. That left a lot to be desired that can be added to this this dish. I feel some creativity can be made additionally to make this a bigger hit then it is.

Kid's dish: La Casa Mia Kids Plate - (5 / 5) Got the Mentaiko Fish Roe as the pasta choice for my son. He loved it, so that's a 5 / 5 for me!

Japanese pasta just works. The food here is great example of the fusion of eastern and western culture together in harmony. A great spot to keep coming back in the...

Very good restaurant for Japanese-Italian cuisine. We usually go to the Santa Clara location, and this place is on par with that location in terms of quality and service.

The Mentaiko Cream pasta is my go-to order. As a mentaiko lover, it hits all the right spots. The spaghetti is cooked nicely, the cream is sweet and savory, and the mentaiko adds a smoky-fishy flavor to the dish. Overall a perfect dish to me.

Another go-to dish is the Uni Pasta. This is a hit-or-miss dish depending on the Uni. Sometimes the uni is fresh and really sweet, sometimes it’s bitter and leaves a strong after taste.

The Mentaiko Cheese pizza is also amazing. The pizza has a good balance of flavor; the amount of cheese is just right, the mochi adds a unique texture, and the mentaiko adds saltiness and enhances the overall flavor profile. It’s a good addition to any of the pastas that they have on the menu.

Overall a very good restaurant to try and come back to. The service is excellent, although can be slow at times due to how busy they are. Highly...