Our food reviewer Mark Heath and his wife Liz tried out the offering from tapas restaurant Casa in Bury St Edmunds, via their delivery service, on a Friday night. Here’s what they made of it...
Food
‘Do you fancy trying some takeaway food from restaurants for reviews?’ was the e-mail question from my food editor. I can’t remember which came next, me typing YES, or pulling up the takeaway/delivery menus for most of those offering it in the west of this fine county.
We plumped for the much-praised Casa in Bury as our first review after months in the wilderness - a tapas restaurant that I was often told I had to visit pre-lockdown. It seemed fitting then, that we tried Casa first as we collectively move towards the ‘new normal’ light at the end of the tunnel.
I’ll come on to ordering and delivery later, but for now let’s focus on the food - that’s the main event, after all.
Casa’s takeway menu is equal parts mouth-watering and impressive, and frankly it was difficult choosing just a few dishes from it.
We went for the chorizo in red wine, Brazilian spiced chicken skewers, lamb koftas and tzatziki, Spanish meatballs, garlic & chilli king prawns with bread and patatas bravas. Phew!
Oh, and the profiteroles and chocolate brownie for dessert too. Don’t judge us, this was our first restaurant food since March....
Well, everything I’d been told about Casa is true. Their food is sensational, and a really welcome alternative to the usual takeway fare.
Of what we sampled, the lamb koftas really stood out for me. Subtly-flavoured, perfectly cooked and complemented well by the tzatziki. The pine nuts in the koftas were a beautiful touch too, adding a nice crunch to the eating.
The chorizo was an incredibly generous portion – we were still eating it the next day – but boasted all the flavours you’d want from that classic tapas dish, with the slow cooking producing wonderfully tender meat.
The Spanish meatballs were great too, cooked using a traditional albondigas recipe with pork and beef, and slathered in a tasty tomato sauce. Given the food was cooked and then delivered, we were also impressed that none of the meat had dried out in the transport process.
The prawns, too, were cooked well, and the bread which accompanied them essential for mopping up all the garlic and chilli oil they were bathing in.
In terms of ranking, the chicken would probably have finished bottom of our tapas table, but that’s no reflection on the quality – there were just other things we liked more. The griddled chicken was moist, lightly spiced and went well with the Gaucho potato salad which accompanied it.
Our patatas bravas, another staple of any tapas menu, was spot on too - crunchy fried potato bites with just enough spicy tomato sauce to make the dish sing, but not so much as to make it soggy.
It’s difficult to stress just how much we enjoyed our food. The portions were such that six dishes was enough to fill us up, without feeling over-full, while the range of flavours and textures on offer was a joy.
Had you been recording our mid-meal conversations, there would have been a lot of ‘that’s delicious’ and ‘you have to try that’ on your tape!
Truly, a memorable dining experience.
The desserts didn’t quite live up to the standards of our mains, although they were more than acceptable. The brownie was very sweet and perhaps enough for two to share after a six-dish main course, but the profiteroles were delicious - light, and packed full of cream.
All in all, a very impressive meal.
Ordering
Very straightforward. Visit Casa’s website - casabse.co.uk – and make your selections, then just ring the number. Don’t be deterred if it goes straight to answerphone, Casa is very popular.
Just persist, and you will get through! Unsure of how many dishes to order, I was also offered some excellent advice - five if you’re after a lighter meal, but six if you want the full experience.
I’m glad we chose six. Then, just pay via card over the phone, request a timeframe in which you’d like the food delivered, and job done.
Delivery
Ah, the elephant in the room. I ordered our food at 6.15pm, and asked for the 7pm-8pm delivery slot. When we still hadn’t had anything by 8.15pm, I called back and was told that the kitchen had got backed up by the Friday night surge.
Our food finally arrived at 8.28pm, with an apology from our delivery driver.
Normally, such a wait would leave me feeling a bit miffed - but the quality of the meal more than made up for it.
Value
Our meal, which also included a £7 bottle of artisan French cider - wine-bottle-sized, very tasty – came to £63.
On the expensive side, perhaps, but justified for the quality of the food.
Highlight
The lamb koftas were tremendous. Make those the first item on your order sheet.
Honestly though, you won’t go wrong ordering any of what we had.
Summary
Sensational food, a superb alternative to the usual takeawy fare. We can’t wait to go to the actual restaurant now!
Rating: 8.5/10
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