Feeling at Home whilst Dining at Casa Tua, Camden *

I was very kindly invited to review Casa Tua with Love Pop Ups London.  However, as always, all opinions are entirely my own.

Back in the August of 2013, Casa Tua opened its doors in Camden for the first time after many years of John and Giuseppe dreaming of owning their own restaurant. Casa Tua translates from Italian into English as ‘Your Home’ and that name is spot on for the atmosphere in the restaurant.

Being guests that just love food, we entrusted our ordering to the main man, Giuseppe, and he did not disappoint. We had so many incredible dishes popped in front of us, that I’m going to talk you through the vegetarian dishes that I devoured.

The first starter, that is always a winner with me, was the burrata, but this was a little different to usual in the form of Winter Burrata made up from Apulian Burrata served with Mantovana pumpkin and seed pesto. I’ve never had burrata with pumpkin before and the texture just worked so well, as did the flavours together.

Another veggie delight was the Parmigiana di Melanzane which was baked aubergine layered with parmesan, tomato sauce and mozzarella. I’d happily have this full size as a main course as it was just delicious and something I’m going to have to try and make myself.

You can’t go for an Italian meal and not have arancini, right? So, of course, we devoured all 4 balls that were filled with wild mushroom and truffle and a lush Gorgonzola dip.

The starter menu at Casa Tua is so vegetarian-friendly, that I need to go back and try the Bruschettona, made with toasted Altamura bread with cherry tomatoes, Casa Tua pesto and Parmesan shaves and the Polenta with Gorgonzola sauce and mushrooms!

A quick sneak away from the veggie food because I just have to talk about how the Torched cod, a slow-cooked cod, torched-finished and served with peperonata and black olive sauce, that was actually torched in front of us. We love a little theatre at dinner and this certainly ticked that box. The others said it tasted really good too!

So, the veggie main was a stunning bowl of Artisan gnocchi made from Pumpkin puree, Parmesan, truffle and crispy sage which really did hit the spot. Pumpkin is a flavour that I’ve only really got into since becoming a vegetarian and I’m gutted that it’s not something I’ve gotten into sooner.

My most favourite dish of the evening was the vegan Maccheroncini alla Pugliese, made simply from saute broccoli, chilli, and garlic oil. I pretty much devoured the whole portion of this as it was too good to share. The lovely chef also taught me how to make this at home, so watch this space for a Casa Tua inspired recipe.

As expected, in true Italian style, we were spoiled with dessert options too. I was far too full up to join in but I did love just how cute the Affogato al Caffe was plated up. There was also a Homemade Tiramisu and Pistachio Gnocchi which all went down so well with my dinner buddies.

We had excellent service and sat down in one of the private dining areas which are free to hire during the week. I do love a homely restaurant and Casa Tua does that spot on.