Casa Italia, Bearwood
"To cook Italian, you have to think Italian," says Jag Sole, co-owner of Bearwood's famous Casa Italia restaurant on the Hagley Road. "You have to think about the weather and the way of life, and create your own dish using good ingredients."
Casa Italia is situated far from the sun-drenched hills of Tuscany, but thanks to the management's vivid imagination, geography is no barrier to creating an authentic Italian atmosphere.
Tastefully decorated in an understated, classic style, it is warm, welcoming and atmospherically lit. I'm relieved there are no bowls of plastic fruit or badly painted murals of the tower of Pisa.
The ground floor restaurant is ideal for a wedding anniversary celebration or other similar "dinner for two", while upstairs there is a large and equally well-appointed space for larger parties.
At full capacity on both floors, the restaurant can seat 90, and there's even a takeaway service.
My husband Nick and I chose a table with a view out of the front window, and started our meal with a delicious bowl of marinaded black and green olives.
We supped on our vast glasses of excellent wine - a Sauvignon and a Cabernet - and felt instantly transported to the Mediterranean.
The wine may seem steep at £4.25 a glass, but you get a quarter of a litre for the price.
Next, we were served with our generous starters.
I chose a delicious melanzane mozzarella at £4.95. Soft chunks of smokey aubergines mingled beautifully with mozzarella cheese and a rich tomato sauce in a shallow bowl.
Nick chose an outstanding platter of chargrilled vegetables with a creamy dip, for £5.95. The aubergines, courgettes, tomatoes, mushrooms and salad were really fresh and very generous.
Jag and Gino Sole, who run the restaurant, say they select their vegetables by hand at the Birmingham markets, and this really comes across in the cooking.
Next was the puzzle of choosing a main course. There is a vast range of very reasonably priced pizzas from £7.50 to £9.95, pastas, risottos and "al forno" oven-baked items.
There is also a wide range of specialities, from around £11.95 to £17.95, including chicken, beef, seafood and veal.
I chose a simple dish of tortellini alla provenciale. The stuffed green pasta looked stunning in a rich home-made tomato sauce packed with spinach, mushrooms, peas and garlic.
Nick chose a fillet steak speciality dish smothered in a dizzingly tasty Gorgonzola cream sauce with saute potatoes which made him smile with pleasure with every mouthful. Side dishes of asparagus in butter and courgettes with shallots were impeccable.
For pudding, we chose an excellent "tiramisu della nonna", which was a perfect balance of creamy and light with just enough alcohol.
A well-presented dish of Sicilian cassata ice cream was also a fun way to round off the meal, with tasty bits of dried fruit poking through the layers of vanilla and chocolate ice cream.
We finished the meal with delicious espresso coffees that fuelled our desire to jet off to Italy that very moment.
In all, the Casa Italia comes highly recommended. It is open seven days a week from 5.30pm to 11pm, except on Sundays and bank holidays, when it closes at 10.30pm. Prices are varied, and you can pop in for a pizza for under a tenner, or splash out on an elaborate meal.
Jag and Gino have been running the restaurant for four years, and have recently opened another Italian restaurant, Va Bene in Hagley, Worcestershire.
Celebrity clients in the first six months already include news anchor Bob Warman from Central Tonight and Nick Owen from Midlands Today.
by Irena Barker
491 Hagley Road, Bearwood
Telephone 0121 4295695
