Finding westbury to the north of Bristol was not in its self a big problem, finding Casamia proved to be a little harder. Set back from the high street behind a wrought iron gate you find a rather quaint alley leading to the entrance door of the restaurant. Casamia is a family run restaurant with Dad front of house and the two sons in the kitchen, originally a main stream Italian but now following the Molecular gastronomy route with ultra modern cooking. Italian influences are still evident amongst the menu which recently helped the restaurant and cooking to achieve a coveted michelin star in the 2009 guide.
With two different menu's on offer this lunch time, we opted for the lunch menu as time was not to our advantage, this menu was then offered at £20 for three courses. On being seated we were presented with a small loaf of bread cut into five slices, apart from the odd number and ensuing argument as there was two of us and five slices, the bread was exceptional , moist, warm and great textured, a real treat, seeing how two of our Michelin 3 starred restaurants buy there bread in!
Although a little slow to start with, the service gradually improved once the wait staff eventually ceased handing out little glasses and showing off with isi syphons, although not a part of the lunch menu some tables were seated after us and received the gas drinks while we were seated empty handed. For first courses my partner had the pigeon and i opted for the beetroot risotto with pickled fennel, pistachios and iced yogurt. The risotto was flavourful if a little pungent, resulting in a good cough on a couple of occasions. The dish was good but the very small portion size, made it a struggle to eat, with all of the accompaniments a deeper beetroot flavour would have been more welcome. Second courses arrived with my partner opting for slow roast pork and salisfy, myself olive oil poached salmon, chicken wing and Jerusalem artichoke puree the salmon had benefited from the olive oil poaching no doubt sous vide leaving a very agreeable moist piece of fish that deserved recognition, as for the inclusion of the chicken wing was it there to make up the numbers we shall never know. My partner's slow roast pork was succulent and a little try of the salisfy was a first for us both, on too dessert i opted for the chocolate tart with beetroot ice cream, it struck as strange in a restaurant cooking at this level to have principle ingredients repeated, although the ice cream had a wonderful texture and good flavour, sadly you needed a magnifying glass to spot the chocolate tart. The chocolate tart was fair showing good technical
skill, but sadly did not pack a big enough punch to warrant it minuscule size. On the other side of the table an angelica ice cream with mango was duly finished and so i am told was rather good.
Not a bad meal but not exceptional either, while far better than any offering in my home town of Plymouth. Following the route of molecular gastronomy is not an easy path. Judgments become clouded, portions become small and sometimes you just want something to eat! This establishment has great potential, and maybe i have lost my patience with Ultra modern cooking, but flashes of brilliance are most definately in the background with the bread and the salmon, while the presentation could hold it's own in any establishment in this country!
We paid approximately £60 for two with two bottled beers and one glass of house wine. At present the lunch pricing is slightly higher starting at £25 per head. Two menus are offered with vegaterian dishes on request.
CASAMIA
38 HIGH STREET
WESTBURY ON TRYM
BRISTOL
BS9 3DZ
ENGLAND
TEL : 0117 959 2884
http://www.casamiarestaurant.co.uk/
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