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Casa Vostra has quickly become one of Singapore's biggest pizza success stories. After drawing crowds at Raffles City and Jem, the homegrown Italian restaurant returns to the east with a third outlet in Tampines, a quick cab ride away from from chef Antonio Miscellaneo's original Joo Chiat pizzeria, La Bottega.
Located directly opposite Tampines MRT station, the 58-seat restaurant is bright and welcoming thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the space with natural light. The wood-fired pizza oven anchors the space, where the team stretch, top and fire pizzas in full view.
While La Bottega remains the spot for date nights and special dinners, Casa Vostra is designed to be the neighbourhood Italian you'll happily visit on a Tuesday after work or a lazy weekend lunch. You could rock in the unofficial Singapore uniform of an army admin tee, FBT shorts and slippers, and nobody would bat an eyelid. After all, Casa Vostra literally translates to 'your home'.
The food
Approachable doesn't mean cutting corners. Casa Vostra takes regional Italian cooking seriously, sourcing vegetables and cheeses from Italy while making much of its menu in-house. Salumi is cured and aged on-site, fresh pasta is made daily using Italian-milled durum wheat, and the signature pizza dough undergoes a 36-hour cold fermentation before hitting the blistering hot oven.
The pizzas remain the obvious order. We especially enjoyed the Prosciutto e Nduja ($24), where sweet prosciutto cotto meets spicy Calabrian 'nduja, smoked provola and crispy fried sage. The result is rich and indulgent without tipping into heaviness, thanks to a beautifully airy crust that stays crisp around the edges and satisfyingly chewy through the middle.
But don't overlook the pasta. A recent collaboration with Rome's celebrated 'King of Carbonara', chef Luciano Monosilio, introduces two dishes that deserve just as much attention. Luciano's Spaghetti Alla Carbonara ($21) replaces Casa Vostra's previous version, sticking closely to Roman tradition with guanciale, pecorino, egg yolk and spaghetti. It's silky and overly heavy – exactly the sort of carbonara that proves four ingredients are all you need when they're treated with respect.
For something lighter, Luciano's Spaghetti ai Cardoncelli ($18) pairs earthy oyster mushrooms with garlic, olive oil, parsley and chilli. It's a deceptively simple vegetarian pasta that lets quality ingredients do the talking, a reminder that Italian cooking often shines brightest when it resists the temptation to overcomplicate things.
The drink
The drinks menu keeps things classic, with Italian wines, spritzes and cocktails that pair naturally with the food.
Time Out tip
If you're dining with friends, skip ordering individual mains. Start with a couple of pastas to share before moving onto pizzas for the table – it's the best way to experience both sides of Casa Vostra's kitchen.