Casa Verde no longer has their set dinners that offer various permutations of Antipasti, Primi, Secondi and Dolci. Instead, they have a regular a la carte menu with prices averaging $15 for starters, $20 for pastas, $26 for mains and $10 for desserts. Do the math, and you’ll notice that a full meal of A, P, S and D costs a whole lot more now than the previous price of $58. To be fair though, portion sizes have increased and a full 4-course meal is likely to leave you stuffed.
They’ve also streamlined their crostini menu, which is a tad disappointing. Previously they had 2 crostini platters – hot and cold – with 3 types of crostini in each platter. Now they’ve combined them to just one platter of 3 types, a mixture of hot and cold. Given that the crostinis were my favourite part of the meal the last time we came, I’m a bit upset at their decision to merge them. The offerings are now a bit boring – tomato and basil (which was the best one), roast beef, and porcini mushroom with parmesan.
It’s not all bad though, because I think the standard of the food itself may actually have improved. The Vitello Tonnato that A ordered is one of the best versions of this dish that I’ve had. Most places slice the veal so thinly that you taste nothing but the tuna sauce, but here the veal slices were thicker and more substantial, so you actually got a good balance of veal and tuna flavours in each mouthful.
The Risotto with Sea Scallops and Bell Peppers that I had is also worth mentioning. The bell peppers actually gave colour and flavour to the risotto rather than featuring as an ingredient. There was a generous amount of scallops, and the flavour of the sauce was quite complex, tasting almost like a prawn or lobster bisque.
Unless the last time, desserts weren’t great tonight. A’s tiramisu wasn’t as good as Perla’s, and my chocolate and hazelnut cake was ok but nothing special. I’m not sure that I’m totally in favour of their menu restructuring, but there were enough highlights tonight to convince me that this place may still be an option. Only if we happen to be in the vicinity though, because there are definitely other places that I’d rather go to if I had a pasta craving.
A says:
Crostinis good. Veal slices in tuna paste excellent. Crab pasta disappointing (everyone said it tasted like high class mee pok which, depending on your tastes, may or may not be a good thing). Risotto very good. Tiramisu very average.
On a whole, I think the pizzas here are the best thing on the menu. So while I wouldn’t recommend coming here for a proper Italian dinner, it’s great if you want to chill out with some pizzas.
Casa Verde
1 Cluny Road
Singapore Botanic Gardens Visitor Centre
Tel: 6467-7326
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