Exclusive: Casa, from Peter Sanchez-Iglesias, will replace Casamia in Bristol

The chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias is finally ready to share more on his new restaurant, Casa, which will replace Casamia, his now closed and much-missed Bristol flagship.

Casa, which means ‘home’ in Italian, marks a return to the food that Peter and his family first cooked when they started out in 1999. Then, his parents Sue and Paco opened a simple neighbourhood Italian on the outskirts of Bristol before it was developed over time by Peter and his late brother Jonray. 

Casa is a reimagining of the original restaurant, and will serve a ‘contemporary, accessible, yet refined take on traditional Italian dining’ next door to the excellent Paco Tapas that sits next to the River Avon in the city centre.

The 66-cover restaurant will be a more casual proposition to Peter’s fine dining Casamia and will feature a menu created alongside executive chef Joel Breakwell. 

But Peter told CODE that the food, while more relaxed, will use only the best quality produce from Italian and British suppliers, with an emphasis on the same growers and farmers in the South West.

‘Casamia wasn’t viable for us any more, and so we’ve gone in a new direction,’ he told CODE.

‘I’m really excited for this next stage. It’s special to return to the Italian cooking that started everything off. We’ve modernised and developed it and I think it’s the right thing to do in Bristol now’.  

On the original plateware dating back to 1999 and put into storage for years will be dishes such as potato ravioli, lion’s mane mushroom ragu, veal osso buco, and the family’s tiramisu, a long-time favourite of Bristolians. 

There will also be daily specials – think fish to share, Florentine steaks, and pastas like agnolotti – and plenty of antipasti, including fried semolina with parmesan, prawn crudo, and cured meats.

In the kitchen will be head chef Alex Brownrig, while Paco’s long standing restaurant manager, James Stavert, will run the floor. The wine list has been curated by Tom Lakin and Italian wines will be the focus.

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