Casa Bella — Restaurant in Ventura

Let me tell you about my experience At Casa Bella, We walked in and thought it was a tasteful nice look restaurant a little loud but nice. Furthermore we looked at their menu and thought there was good looking food on the menu though it was priced a little high it still looked good. Sadly it stopped right there.

We ordered food and were sat at the lowest point at the bar. Imagine eating your dinner with your knees at your food. We then very specifically ordered our food so as to ask questions about spiciness etc. What we received was nothing like we ordered we received lobster tacos which were ice cold.......... literally felt as if they had been sitting in the fridge and not been warmed up. We were told there was no spice to these tacos... boy were we wrong it felt like they put a habanero on them and diced it up........ Now for the steak sandwich. I ordered the steak sandwich and it also came out cold. The meat was extra rare (not quite what I was expecting) but I thought I'd try to bite into it. I bit into it and it was super dry. It was all cheese with mushrooms and steak, which is good when there's sauce to go with it. The frys tasted like they were boiled in water (over boiled) and then fried and warmed in a microwave a day later (NOT FRESH). We then were moved to another location better seating (Which we appreciate), however that's where the service also stopped we were not attended to by staff the experience was so poor that we asked for the manager to come over. She then proceeded to finally come over and we asked her to step outside to voice some of the issues we were having and our complaints.

She asked us what she can do to make it right and we told her that we think it was fair to take off the incorrectly made food items and charge us only for the items that were correct because we would not be eating the incorrectly made items. She then disappeared for 15 minutes and proceeded to have her waiter give us the bill which consisted of only a discount on the incorrectly made food items. I told her that I do not feel comfortable paying for an item in which I did not receive it as described in which I only had a couple bites of. We talked about it for a few minutes and actually even discussed this with the owner who still was not willing to budge. We attempted to educate them on how customer service worked however it went right over their head. I'm a foodie myself and routinely like to try new restaurants and sadly this one made me deeply regret it. In a town filled with the best restaurants it's hard to believe that they would start off on the wrong foot. I'd be way more into going to other competitor restaurants such as Lures or Rum-fish and Y vino where customer service is of the utmost concern. I highly recommend you go enjoy the happy hour at LURES where you get quality food for the right price and great customer service!

In Closing, checkout LURES, Rumfish Y vino or even Limon y SOL for real customer service and great foot amongst many other great restaurants in the...

My partner and I decided to come to Ventura for a mini get away with our daughter who just turned 7. We wanted a place to sit that had good food. We chose Casa Bella. This restaurant is an upscale restaurant and this review is not about the food. The food was great. The service was actually great as well. Eric was initially friendly but not as attentive as we would have liked. I think maybe that had to do with our daughter being there and maybe us being dressed very casually. If we were from the area maybe on a normal outing we wouldn't bring our daughter. Anyway this is about the end of our experience. It started when the server brought our check. I first noticed he brought the wrong one. So I politely said "hey I think this is someone else's check." We both giggled and he apologized. He then brought the correct one. The difference between the checks was $7. He then brought the correct check and I noticed something under the brownie we ordered. See picture. I think anyone can figure out what this means. "8==DMy partner addressed a lady who seemed to be the manager. He asked her "hey we just want to know what this is" she says "idk what is it? Oh it says 3 spoons." We're like um no that's clearly a you know what below that" she then says " well tell me" and I said we would rather not spell it out for you because our daughter was listening. I decided to step off to the side with my daughter. My partner continues to talk to her who asks the server. She then comes back and says "oh you weren't supposed to see that. It's an internal joke in the kitchen" regardless it that's true or not how about an apology, which my partner asked for. He says" I just want to know how you're going to handle it. How about I'm sorry" Oh and we also ALREADY PAID for the bill. She starts to argue with my partner and then she tells him " you're ridiculous it was a joke. Now you're making me mad. Can't you see how busy we are. You're just trying to get out of a $200 bill" Why would we be doing that if we ALREADY PAID. My partner did not want bicker with her anymore. He put down a zero tip and walked away. Idk again maybe we were treated badly because our daughter was there but it was horrible service by this "manager" or lead. She was an older lady that had a white fur coat on. Seems like she was mentioned in other reviews too. If they had apologized the right way, we still would have left a tip because we've both been servers in the past and know it can get crazy sometimes. I hope upper management sees this review and has a talk with their staff. Those jokes are very unprofessional, rude, and childish. And if you chose to act that way, just don't put it on the receipt you're handing to the customer.

We will not be returning...

Horrible food, Horrible staff, Horrible Manager and ATROCIOUS Owner (also owner of Prime Steakhouse in Ventura).

Don't be fooled by the ambiance...the food is NOT delicious and it is expensive for the area. You can tell that they are trying to be gourmet in Ventura. But they cannot even beat Lure's price point, Lure's delicious dinner and happy hour food and especially, Lure's impeccable customer service. No matter how hard they (Casa Bella Prime Steak & Seafood) try, Lures is a million times better than Casa Bella Prime Steak & Seafood! Even Mastros in Thousand Oaks and Malibu and Tuscany il Ristorante in Westlake Village is a trillion times better than this ATROCIOUS place!!! Mastros may be pricier, but the service and food is worth it than spending your money here! For the price point, better gourmet, delicious food and outstanding service... you will definitely receive it at Tuscany il Ristorante - DEFINITELY NOT HERE. This place (Casa Bella) is a poser, trying to be high-end when clearly they are not!

Here's what happened: I don't appreciate that we were seated in the handicap section of the bar where they only serve happy hour. Then they kept trying to move my boyfriend and me to make the handicap space available all while trying to eat, which was really irritating. We complained about this to the owner and she said that it was our fault for allowing HER STAFF to seat us there for happy hour. But when it is THEIR RULES to serve happy hour ONLY at the bar. Next, we were served lobster tacos that came out very cold and runny and a cold steak sandwich with cold fries....not very appetizing especially for the price point of $14 EACH - a total rip off!

Forget about asking them to make it right with you because they will not. In fact, the owner is VERY threatening and unprofessional! In all my years of dining at various restaurants, this owner is the only one that will refuse to make it right with you AFTER all the the problems with her food and staff. She does NOT believe in customer service and is very argumentative with those customers, like us, that are unhappy with her restaurant. In fact, she will accuse you of "abusing the system" when clearly we disliked the food and the service. Be warned that if you are NOT happy with their service, the owner will threaten you! She's not classy or professional. I would NEVER patronize ANY of her food or business establishments ever again, nor will I suggest to my friends, family and business partners to patronize her food/business establishments as well. She is the type of person to take your money and tell you to get out and "get over it."

If you like this kind of abuse and service from a supposed pseudo-"high-end" restaurant and ATROCIOUS owner, then you will highly regret when you give her your money!!

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