Timeless romance with Italian traditional culinary in Casa Mia Le Méridien Dubai

The two things that most people connect with Dubai are food and life. It is understandable why Dubai is known as a popular party city given the influx of travelers from all over the world. The 1993 construction of Casa Mia, an authentic Italian restaurant, at the Le Méridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Center. Casa Mia’s home-cooked Italian cuisine is rooted in Italian culinary traditions and recreates traditional specialties and regional renditions with great care. Creating a fantastic symphony of flavors, textures, and aromas, the assorted offerings at this quaint Italian restaurant are a labor of love that delights both locals and tourists.

Ambiance and location 

The atmosphere of the restaurant was warm and welcoming. There are numerous paintings by well-known Italian artists throughout, and the arrangement of the paintings has a retro style. The positioning of the wine bottles was also extremely well done, and we could see that the oldest bottle was from 1435. Even though the lighting was modest, the ambiance felt cozy because of it. Italian music was frequently played in the restaurant at a low volume yet perceptible to the ear, which helped to create a relaxing atmosphere. We continued to gaze out of the window because we were seated close to it. Everything here had to do with the indoor seating layout. Although there was a fan to help keep it a little cooler, I didn’t have the courage to stand or stay outside for longer than 10 minutes because it was summer time and it was unquestionably scorching. However, in my opinion, the outdoor setup will be amazing during the winter, and the terrace is also open by that time.

Food

Casa Mia also offers a traditional Italian menu that you can enjoy along with its vintage setup. There is a wide range of elegant food options available from starters to mains to desserts on their menu, which is available from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Our lunch was a delight to our appetite as we were able to choose from a wide range of salads, starters, pasta plates, pizzas, drinks, and desserts. Their food presentation was spot on and so was the taste of the cuisine.

Starters

There is nothing quite as divine and mouthwatering as Tartara di Tonno e avocadouna or Tuna tartare with avocado, in light chili oil and squid ink tuille, it’s just heavenly. I could eat as much of it as I wanted because it didn’t taste fishy. There was a dish that just melted in your mouth that was described as Polpo grigliato con patate e fagiolini (also known as Chargrilled octopus with basil pesto, baby potatoes, green beans, cherry tomatoes, and taggiasca black olives). Their Fried Calamari was too good all and the sauce that was given with this was out of this world. I can now see why these foods are so well-liked.

Main Course

The Tortelloni di burrata, Pomodoro e polvere d’olive (also known as Home-made red tortelloni, is filled with creamy burrata cheese, fresh tomato sauce, black olive powder, pine seed, and homemade parsley oil) I still remember the first time we took a bite and were swept away in a dream of flavors, this was a truly amazing experience. The Linguine allo scoglio alla mediterranea, (or Traditional South Italian linguine with shellfish and cherry tomatoes) had a savory and smooth flavor. Pizzas can’t be missed!! Their Pizza alla Caprese also known as Caprese Pizza the ingredients used were mozzarella, rocket leaves, cherry tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and basil. Each of the ingredients stood out and made the dish unique.

Drinks

The Passion Fruit Mojito was very refreshing and since its summer this drink became our go-to summer drink. Shirley Temple was just as refreshing and sweet. Their Aperol Spritz had just the right amount of flavor and freshness. Every drink was just perfect to beat the heat we enjoyed all of it. 

Desserts

The Tiramisu is Casa Mia’s famous dessert and it just melts in your mouth. It was a delightful treat to be able to have tiramisu. Their Strawberry Panna Cotta was definitely delicious, creamy, and delicate. It had a tinge of yogurt flavor which made it extra tasty. Spaghetti di gelato, salsa di fragole, cioccolato bianco e Menta (also known as vanilla ice cream, spaghetti, strawberry sauce, white chocolate, and mint leaves) was a very unique and delicious dessert. Everything about this dessert was spot on whether it was about the visual presentation or the taste. It actually looked like spaghetti the strawberry sauce looked like red sauce and the grated white chocolate looked like Parmesan cheese and the mint leaves looked like basil leaves what a great way to replicate a spaghetti dish to a desert.

Service 

We laughed and smiled a lot throughout the stay because of how welcoming and accommodating the staff was. We requested them to bring us whichever dish they thought was the finest because we had no idea what to choose from the menu and were perplexed. They advised giving us some of their most popular dishes. The staff members were attentive and kindly inquired as to whether we needed anything further and whether the dish was to our liking. Their assistance has, to put it mildly, improved the experience.

Value for money

If you are looking for authentic traditional Italian cuisine then Casa Mia is the place you are looking for. Casa Mia in Italian means “My home” and the ambiance of the restaurant fits the name to the “T”. The menu consists of the most delicious and sumptuous dishes. Though there is a wide range of dishes, seafood is the most popular among the customers. Only A la carte is available so you would need to select the most popular dishes. We had ordered the most popular 3 starters, 3 main courses, 3 drinks, and 3 desserts and the price was less than AED 900 it was good for 3 people. Specifically, each portion was large enough for sharing which we thought was good value for money when you consider the overall experience.