Casa

A bar-cum-restaurant that has never been interested in fixed definitions.

Decades in New York and Mexico inform co-owner and chef Paul Bentley’s direction. A deliberate looseness, expressed with confidence rather than showmanship, is evident as you. move between small plates, pastas, grill work and larger dishes with coherence. Expect the likes of pumpkin seed dip with pickled green tomato and focaccia or chicken liver parfait on toast with pineapple and habañero marmalade. Seafood is handled with care: tuna crudo, sharpened with green tomato aguachile, is direct and clean. Shift naturally into crab tonnarelli with zucchini and jalapeño butter – generous without excess. From the grill, black Angus flank with smoked guajillo butter and roasted Mottainai Lamb saddle with mole negro, both reflect Bentley’s assured hand with fire and spice. Polished throughout, the experience is shaped by co-owner Cale Mason. A seasoned creative beyond hospitality, his influence is felt in details large and small: the presentation and selection of the low-intervention leaning wine program, to menu typography. Just next door, Casa Pizzeria operates as a natural extension, producing crisp, balanced and unfussy pizza, reinforcing the sense that Casa understands both craft and audience.