Food review: Cafe Casita, Dudley

Italian has always been a personal preference so when our six-year wedding anniversary came up we decided it would be the perfect excuse to sample one of the local eateries.

There is just something about the food, wine and atmosphere that seems to tick all the boxes for such occasions.

Our choice was Cafe Casita, in Clarence Street, Dudley, which we had previously been assured had a lovely relaxed and rustic feel about it.

It was exactly what we had hoped for too with the set up being not too posh but fancy enough to enjoy a special meal.

Under the management of Anna and Erminio who have a passion for creating a memorable experience, the restaurant specialises in seafood – particularly dover sole, salmon, monkfish, seabass and lemon sole – which again ticked all the boxes for us.

Without trying to sound too set in my ways, the first thing my eyes are always drawn to for a main is some sort of seafood pasta but of course there were drinks, nibbles and starters to sort out first.

A cocktail was needed to start the celebrations, while my wife, Kelly, enjoyed a Prosecco while we perused the menu.

There was so much I had to politely inform the waitress we would need more time to choose what we wanted to eat.

That's never a bad sign but we decided to enjoy a ciabatta with olives and dips while we decided. It was a lovely way to start and we were nicely surprised when an entire warm loaf was produced, which also complemented the starters we were now ready to order.

After much deliberation Kelly opted for fungi in crosta, which were mushrooms wrapped in filo pastry topped with a light creamy infusion of bacon, mushrooms and mozzarella.

My choice was salsiccia picante, spicy Italian sausage oven-baked with a combination of peppers, onions and tomatoes. The sauce for the salsiccia picante was rich, thick and bursting with tomato and garlic. The sausages were left in nice big strips and had a unique Mediterranean taste, nothing like your everyday butcher's sausages.

The plentiful sauce was lapped up with the remaining ciabatta and all in all it was the perfect amount to leave room for mains.

Perhaps someone with a smaller appetite might have found it a bit much but it was delicious all the same.

Kelly's starter was probably the polar opposite because, still packed full of flavour, it was a much lighter option.

Having managed to steal a couple of mouthfuls I can say the pastry was crispy and once you crunched down far enough the creamy mushrooms were waiting underneath, along with bacon and mozzarella. It really was very tasty.

Perhaps one of the nicest things about the whole evening was at no point did we feel rushed.

Sometimes you finish the starters and within seconds the mains are in front of you.

At Café Casita we were able to enjoy the bottle of red wine we had ordered – it was our anniversary after all – relax, chat, take in the atmosphere and allow our starters to go down before the third course arrived.

Choosing a meal was a seriously hard task because of the options available, all of which I'm sure would have been very nice.

But a decision had to be made and Kelly's eyes were immediately drawn to the chef's specials, the sea bass in particular, which came with a sauce, root vegetables and a bed of mash potatoes.

A wide selection of pasta and risotto dishes, chicken, lamb and pork courses, along with steaks and salads, were still confronting me.

Agenello costolette – lamb cutlets marinated in garlic, rosemary and red wine pan-fried and served on a bed of mash potatoes – and the gnocchi frutti di mare – potato dumplings cooked with king prawns, clams, mussels, cherry tomatoes, garlic and chilli, infused with a touch of cream – were two of the stand-out dishes in my eyes.

In the end, however, I went with what I knew I'd love – perhaps not living life on the edge enough – and ordered the tagliolini gamberoni, Italy's finest noodles, according to the menu, tossed in king prawns, garlic and cherry tomatoes, served in a creamy sauce with a touch of chilli.

It's mainly because of the whole process of plunging a fork into long pasta, twirling it around and then eating it with lashings of pepper and Parmesan is always too hard to resist.

Neither of us for a second thought we had chosen poorly because Kelly's fish was cooked superbly and the fluffy mash and root vegetables were a great accompaniment.

The dish came with two whole sea bass, which to be fair was too much for her to eat alone and the meal could probably have done with one – but I was not complaining because it meant I could once again sample a few mouthfuls.

Such dishes can easily go wrong because fish, in the wrong hands, can be very difficult to cook, but the sea bass at Café Casita was cooked very nicely and remained slightly crispy on the outside.

Having tried numerous fish-based dishes in restaurants I can safely say the tagliolini gameroni was up there with the best. It had plenty of flavour, a hint of cream, king prawns dotted about the plate and lashings of sauce, which all combined to make a wonderful meal.

Having had starters, a few side dishes and a main meant there was no room for a sweet course, so we kindly passed on the dessert menu, finished our wines at our own pace and were even ordered a taxi by the friendly staff.

The café-style décor of the venue really does add to the experience because, although it's nothing like your run-of-mill greasy spoon, the seating, layout and general feel of the restaurant is designed to make diners feel at home.

It certainly ticked all the boxes for us and will be a place we'll always fondly remember, celebrating our anniversary.

Café Casita is fully licensed and boasts an A la Carte menu accompanied by a comprehensive wine list.

There is also a large bar area to relax in before and after the meal if you so wish.

Although we were celebrating our anniversary, without our daughter for the first time in about a year, children and parties are also all welcome.

Café Casita classes itself as one of the Black Country's best kept secrets within the dining scene.

Its aim is to give diners an experience to remember bringing an authentic taste of Italy to the heart of the Midlands, with a menu offering a variety of creations to suit all tastes. The venue has also started opening at noon for the first time for specialist lunch menus.

The restaurant was packed while we were there and everyone seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere and food as much as we were – so perhaps it won't be a best kept secret for much longer.