Casa Me Opens in Westport with Beautiful Italian Cuisine & A Cocktail Program You'll Want In On

Jessica Ryan November 21, 2022

Casa Me elevates the local restaurant scene with its exceptional Italian vacation-inspired cuisine.

For months Westporters and passersby wondered what was to become of the slightly rundown restaurant in Sconset Square in the midst of a massive renovation and remodel that seemed to take forever. Rumors began to circulate… a Mexican restaurant was coming to town (another?). A Spanish restaurant was moving in. (That’s across the street.) There was also some speculation that a new concept by restauranteur Mario Fontana, owner of the Bodega restaurants both in Fairfield and Darien was going to open. Fontana was indeed opening a new restaurant, Case Me, but the cuisine would be distinctly vacation-inspired Italian cuisine. This time he would be joined by his wife, the lovely Pina Ferlisi, who would take on the role of Creative Director after leaving a long and successful career as a fashion director for such esteemed brands as Henri Bendel and Alexander McQueen.

Ferlisi’s gift for couture lends itself beautifully to the world of interiors as she has masterfully applied her hand to give this new chic eatery a casual yet refined touch, very much channeling Italian villa vacation vibes. Ferlisi explained how the Pandemic served as the inspiration for this model. In lockdown she yearned to be able to travel – and she dreamed of travels to Italy. Thus the concept for Casa Me born.

The minute you step inside you’re immediately transported away. A gorgeous and generously sized bar takes center stage and instantly draws you in, replicating Italy’s popular bar culture.

The stunning décor sets the stage and the food and cocktail programs take on the starring roles.

The Craft Cocktail choices are impressive with a nice selection of delicious sounding concoctions including the Mez-Groni, a Negroni-inspired mescal and tequila based drink, The Alitalia which features Rittenhouse rye, Aperol, Strega and lemon, has smooth herbal notes. With a name like Barefoot Contessa, how could we not try this? Made from Teremana Reposado tequila, honey syrup, lemon and mint, it was refreshing and delicious.

At the helm of the kitchen is Chef Emiliano Miglionico who hails from Milan and has worked throughout Italy and Spain. The menu selections are varied enough without being so vast as to overwhelm the reader. And yet still we had such a difficult time deciding – everything looked so damned good! We ended up asking Pina and our lovely waitress for some recommendations as we nibbled on aromatic olives from Italy and sipped our delicious cocktails.

We started with the Burrata, also imported from Italy, with cherry tomatoes and a magnificent pistachio crumble that made this dish so spectacular. Do order this with the grilled bread and olive oil and you’ll tell yourself that this in itself would be a lovely meal… But hold that thought. If ever there’s a place to splurge a little this is it.

An order of Arancini was delivered to the table. I took one to be polite as I’m not typically a fan of these little rice balls. But these are something else entirely – and are truly not to be missed. You’ll notice their difference immediately by their bright orange color… Then you’ll bite into one… First you’ll notice the crispy exterior and then your mouth will be greeted by a light as air interior that explodes with flavor is it melts in your mouth.

From the delectable rice fritters we dove right into the Funghi Misti con Polenta. Earthy and flavorful with a welcomed abundance of oyster and crimini mushrooms that complement the delightfully airy polenta. Good Lord that was delicious. I could have made a meal of this as well, but I would have missed out on so much.

As our eyes grazed over the menu we contemplated passing over the Insalate Verde because what’s another green salad, right? Wrong! An assortment of bright green pastel leafy greens piled high with a shallot vinaigrette that’s indescribably delicious turns a simple salad into something absolutely sublime.

Next was the Pasta selection. My eyes were fixated on the Cacio e Pepe because when in Rome – and a favorite of mine when done properly. But we took the advice of our waitress and boy were we glad we did. Mafaldine al Limone is my pro tip here. Made with lemon zest, Parmesan, aromatic breadcrumbs, and crispy capers this dish is destined to be the darling of the pasta menu. The lemon, the parm and the capers play so beautifully together here and I loved the crisp yet creamy combination of this exceptional dish. It should be noted that all pastas are made in house and the softness of freshly made dough was not lost on us. On to the Secondi without much room to spare. We opted to try the Milanese di Pollo. Familiar and straightforward you won’t be disappointed if this is your selection.

Since Pina insisted we had dessert we opted to share a Tiramisu. (Why is it there is always room for dessert no matter how stuffed you are?) The tiramisu was also incredibly light and the firm lady fingers held their own here. Pro tip #2 – Order this with an Espresso Martini. (You may want to dip spoonfuls into your Martini… You can thank us for that later.)

We are incredibly fortunate to have so many good restaurants in our backyard but Casa Me is truly something else. Casa Me offers exceptional cuisine and has raised the bar. For those with discerning palates who’ve had the privilege of traveling to Italy you’ll find that authentic cuisine right in our backyard. This is how it’s supposed to be!