In love!
Casa e Bottega is gorgeous, both for its decor and…read morefood. Would come back in a heartbeat!
Stomach growling as I was walking down Viale Pasitea (the main thoroughfare in town), multiple good options caught my eye. After some Gmaps searching (sorry Yelp, again limited and some outdated data in Europe!) their beautiful IG-able interior + stellar reviews cinched the decision for me.
It's both a restaurant and retail store--the latter carries local ceramics, kitchenware and home decor, many with botanical designs--capturing that quintessential coastal vibe--colors back to white. The former takes up the remaining three-quarters of the white-washed space with about two dozen tables seating about 40-50 people. Live vines hang from parts of the ceiling, pendant lighting fixtures printed with leaf patterns echo the botanical theme from the retail displays. The aesthetic rounds out with tiled floors, light wood furniture, and pillowed banquette seating mixed with individual tables, tying in designs from the home goods store.
Food is new Italian--they do carry some traditional dishes though they also have a modern Mediterranean section of the menu that adds non-traditional ingredients or techniques. They also serve a variety of cocktails, fresh-squeezed or blended juices and smoothies, and coffee drinks. Lunch with an entree and drink will run you about €35-40, which is on the higher side though par for the course compared to other similar restaurants along the Amalfi Coast.
I ordered the traditional fagioli cannellini, scarola, capperi, olive e calamari gratinati €26 (cannellini beans, escarole, capers, olives and gratinated calamari). This was creamy and tasty even though it had no cheese or cream, the calamari was cooked well, just tender enough, and coated with light breadcrumbs, which I appreciated as it was baked and not deep-fried. Having minimal familiarity with dish, I can only say I thought it was outstanding, good textural contrast, not too salty.
Staff was the right amount of attentive without being overbearing, and though their English was limited, they strove to answer my questions on ingredients in a few of the dishes. The restaurant was pretty busy during lunch, but I never felt rushed.
Loved the atmosphere and food here, would certainly recommend!