Casa Nova

Casa Nova is positioned in the middle of a quaint parade of shops in the heart of Virginia Water; less than a mile from the beautiful Virginia Water Lake and the famous Wentworth Golf Club, with ample parking immediately in front of the restaurant.

Inside, the restaurant is modern and surprisingly spacious. The décor is warm and inviting-just like the welcome you will receive from José and his staff. Over the past 3 years, Casa Nova has established a reputation for the best quality food, cooked to order and served piping hot to the table. Casa Nova is every inch an Italian restaurant, serving a good blend of modern and traditional dishes.

The a la carte menu is extensive and is supplemented by daily specials. Monday to Friday and on Sundays, Jose and his team offer a good value set menu for lunch. On Sundays expect to find a selection of starters that could include the soup of the day, mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and chilli, served on a bed of spinach, pasta tubes with onions, cherry tomatoes and broccoli, or Parma ham and melon.

The roast of the day would certainly include roast beef, with options of baked salmon with cucumber and white wine, chicken, mushrooms and red wine sauce, escalopes of veal with cream and mushrooms, and marinated vegetables served on toasted ciabatta bread. Follow with dolci del giorno, the puddings of the day, and your Sunday should be fulfilled.

On other days an a la carte menu operates in the evenings, with starters of the day's fresh soup, grilled sardines with the smell of the sea still about them, avocado with fresh sea prawns, deep fried squid served with tartare sauce, or a Caesar salad with crispy bacon, to name but a few.

Main courses of grilled salmon steak on a bed of spinach with tomatoes and balsamic vinegar dressing lead off the fish courses, followed by grilled Dover sole served with rocket Italians, of course, love their veal and Casa Nova does justice to that inclination, with escalopes of veal with King prawns in a tomato, garlic, parsley and white wine sauce, or another version topped with Parma ham and mushrooms in a white wine and sage sauce.

Chicken is another staple part of the Italian cuisine and petto di pollo, breast of chicken with wood mushrooms in cream and brandy sauce, is popular. Scampi thermidor, a welcome dish in any cuisine, is served here with mustard, cream, brandy and rice.

Which takes us to other vital meat courses so beloved of Italians, with fillet steak in a brandy cream and peppercorn sauce, or roast rack of lamb with a red wine and rosemary sauce.

Sometimes there seem to be few differences between national cuisines and the grilled calf's liver with crispy bacon and bubble and squeak reminds us of this. For a real treat consider the half duckling in an orange sauce and Grand Marnier.

As with all Italian cooking, a lot of the fun comes with the service, the banter and quite often the flattery for the ladies in the party. Maybe Casa Nova is not called what it is for nothing, but satisfied customers suggest that this is the place to be for a fun Italian evening.