Learn about your pasta before digging into it at CASA Pasta Bar in Delhi

Delhi’s Hauz Khas neighbourhood has recently grabbed attention for a restaurant that serves pasta through a fresh lens. 

At CASA Pasta Bar, the city's first pasta and jazz bar, helmed by Chef Sambhavi Joshi, guests can order from a range of handcrafted pastas—gigli, ziti, tortellini, pappardelle, and more. Apart from an extensive menu dedicated to pastas, CASA also aims to educate people about the different varieties available. 

“A majority of Italian restaurants in Delhi have pizza as their focus with other Italian dishes around it on the menu. CASA Pasta Bar, as the name suggests, has pasta as the hero of its menu. It is complemented by other traditional and rustic Italian dishes,” Chef Joshi tells YS Life.

It was at the age of 18 that Joshi first learnt how to make pasta—open saffron lasagne with lobster—at Le Cordon Bleu, London. Thereafter, wherever she worked—from Elystan Street in London to The Table in Mumbai and Le Cirque in The Leela Palace New Delhi—everyone had a strong passion for pasta.

“During my three-year tenure at Le Cirque, I truly fell in love with artisanal pasta, all varieties and flavours. Later, having spent a year studying the nuances of culinary management in Paris, and working alongside traditional Italian chefs, the desire to offer real pasta to the Indian palate grew,” says Joshi.

Thus, CASA in many ways, is an extension of Joshi’s first company, Casarecce, an artisanal pasta brand that she founded in 2020.

“When I started Casarecce and was approaching various chefs to supply to their restaurant, I remember a point when producing even five kgs of pasta a week seemed like a task,” she recalls. “Today, we are making over 50 varieties and crossing 1,000 kgs of production.”

Over the years, the team at Casarecce expanded, and so did the client list. But what Joshi craved was to sit someone down, feed them, and make them experience her food. 

CASA was naturally the next step. 

“My husband, Nisshant Laroia, and I finally took the plunge and started planning the restaurant on our honeymoon!” she laughs. 

The differentiator 

At CASA, before you choose your order, a server brings a beautiful rattan box containing pastas of different shapes and sizes. 

“Having been in the industry now for 10 years, wearing the hat of a chef, consultant and a business owner, I realised some very important things. One, people are happy to learn more about food,” says Joshi. 

Besides, a lot of times, guests tend to feel hesitant about ordering something that they aren’t too familiar with, even if they wish to give it a try. 

“The pasta box tackles both these observations. It creates awareness about the different shapes of pastas beyond the commonly known penne, fusilli and spaghetti.”

Guests are able to physically see the shape of the pasta they would like to order; this helps them tide over their hesitation of trying something new. 

Palki Oberoi, a guest who has visited the restaurant at least five times in the last two months, says, “My education in pasta was limited to penne and spaghetti. Ordering anything beyond these felt a little uncomfortable. What if I ordered the wrong dish? Would it be weird if I didn’t know while ordering? So many questions would run through my mind.” 

The 25-year-old content executive continues, “Every time I have walked into CASA, they’ve made me feel comfortable. While the pasta box helps you understand the different varieties on offer, you can also ask the servers if there are any questions in mind. They are happy to answer.”

Nutrition is another aspect that Chef Joshi wants to incorporate in her offerings. Through Casarecce, she has been trying to break the stereotype that pasta is unhealthy. 

“Pasta has always got a bad rap for not being a healthy food, largely due to the presence of maida (flour). Generally, pasta is also highly dried, which kills the nutrition. We work on an ambient temperature, similar to how a papad is dried out,” she says. 

In recent months, the restaurant has hosted two pasta making workshops. 

These sessions, Chef Joshi says, will typically happen once a month with 10-12 people.

“In the last workshop, we covered different types of pastas and how to use different types of flours. We also don't want people to mug up recipes; instead we focused on how to essentially make it. So, if you get the idea of how to make a basic dough, how can you use an alternative flour?” says Joshi, adding that the workshop also touched upon storage of pastas. 

Come for the food, stay for the vibe 

The menu at CASA offers a mix of traditional preparations and some modern interpretations. 

For instance, there are classic pasta preparations like carbonara, pomodoro and lamb ragu. Alongside, there’s charcoal fettuccine with a pan aglio e olio and a green goddess ravioli—a vegetable-forward pasta dish.

While sooji (semolina) is the primary flour used for most of the pastas at CASA, the restaurant also uses sharbati flour from Madhya Pradesh and a gluten-free variety called Kerala Sundari rice flour, among others.

That's not all. Diners can also order from the ‘Anti Pasta’ section (CASA’s take on antipasti). From minestrone, mushroom and truffle arancini to burrata salad, bruschettas, and chicken liver pate—there are quite a few starters to choose from. The menu also has a pizzetta section (mini pizzas) apart from a selection of risotto. And the Casa-Misu (family style tiramisu) scooped tableside is a huge hit. 

CASA also offers wine and beer besides soft beverages like freshly brewed ice tea and kombuchas. 

While the pastas are the focal point of CASA, there’s another reason behind its growing popularity: live jazz.

Chef Joshi says, “We are a pasta bar where guests can eat while listening to the sounds of jazz throughout the day. We also host live jazz artists for our guests on Sunday.”

Joshi and her husband are fond of such music, and it was only natural that they ended up hosting live jazz sessions at CASA. 

“We enjoy this kind of a vibe. Currently, the artists who perform are just starting out, and we want to support them as much as possible,” says Joshi. 

All in all, Chef Joshi and her husband want guests to enjoy the food, music, and warmth this home of theirs has to offer. 

Timings: Monday to Friday: 4 pm-11 pm; Saturday and Sunday: 1 pm-11 pm;  closed on Tuesday

Cost for two: Rs 4,000 + taxes