A much-loved Italian restaurant in Bristol has left fans and diners wondering about its future after closing its bookings. Casa, which is situated on Lower Guinea Street in Redcliffe, is currently displaying an ‘important notice’ on its website.
The notice reads: “At this moment, we are closed for future bookings. If you’re looking to book a restaurant, please check out our sister restaurant, Paco Tapas.
“All vouchers for Casa will be honoured at Paco Tapas. If you have any concerns or queries, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you soon!”
Those who contact the restaurant using the email address provided then receive an immediate response confirming it is ‘closed until further notice’, which reads: “Thank you for contacting Casa. We would like to take a moment to thank all of our wonderful customers for their support.
“While Casa is closed until further notice, we would love to welcome you to our sister restaurant, Paco Tapas. You can make a reservation online at pacotapas.co.uk. If you have a gift voucher for Casa, this can still be redeemed at Paco Tapas.
“Our team is happy to assist you with a reservation—just give us a call at 0117 925 7021. We look forward to seeing you soon at Paco Tapas!”
Casa opened on the former site of the Michelin-starred Casamia in late October 2022, and has been run by Casamia owner Peter Sanchez-Iglesias and his family ever since. At time of writing, Peter is also the head chef at Spanish restaurant, Decimo in London, as well as Casa’s sister restaurant, Paco Tapas, which sits just doors away from Casa, on Lower Guinea Street.
It is not yet known why Casa is not taking bookings at this time, or for how long this will be the case. BristolLive has approached the team at Casa for comment.
Following Casamia’s closure back in May 2022, Casa was added to the Michelin Guide after just four months of service. The Michelin Guide described it by saying: “The soundtrack is pumping and the open kitchen bustling, at the Sanchez-Iglesias family’s reinvention of what was previously Casamia restaurant.
“The modern Italian small plates burst with flavour: the fried semolina with parmesan is a great way to start, the pasta dishes are exceptional, and the tiramisu uses a secret family recipe. Service is nicely paced and attentive.”
In January 2024, BristolLive reported that Sanchez-Iglesias had posted to the social media platform that he was looking to reopen the much-loved restaurant and a new Casamia Instagram account was started with ‘coming soon’ in the description, although there have been no posts so far. In February 2024, Paco Tapas lost its Michelin star which it had held since 2017.
Casamia’s former head chef, Zak Hitchman, recently opened his brand new restaurant ‘Other’ On Cannon Street in Bedminster.