Casa Vostra Delivers sublime authentic pizza and pasta at Ann Siang Hill pop-up
Keen eyes would have noticed the lights at 8 Ann Siang Hill, overlooking the area’s most boisterous cross-section, had surprisingly been unlit for months. Something felt like it was lurking in the wings after Love Handle vacated. Now it’s unveiled: Casa Vostra is taking over.
Maybe the name doesn’t quite echo with familiarity for casual diners but Casa Vostra is a fledgling concept that combines the experience of F&B veteran Ebb & Flow Group with the pizzaiolo nous of Antonio Miscellaneo, best known as chef-owner of La Bottega.
To discerning gourmands, Pizza-making can be perceived as an art that is akin to alchemy.
After all, this is a craft that transmutes simple flour and water into one of the most beloved delicacies in the world — and Antonio has been heralded as the pizzaiolo‘s creme de la creme, lionised at number 57 in a worldwide Top 100 Pizza ranking,
All that hubbub is what exactly makes the pop-up such an enthralling venture: it endeavours to bring the Italian native’s acclaimed pizza to the masses with affordability.
The collaboration, at its core, was created with the raison d’etre of crafting ready-to-warm pizzas suitable for home indulgence, without the encumbrance of restaurant overheads.
Ergo, the Ann Siang Hill restaurant pop-up isn’t planned for permanence —not at the moment, at least— but acts as an outlet for intrigued pizza lovers to experience Antonio’s “Newpolitan Pizza” as a proof of concept.
The best Pizza in Chinatown
No doubt there is a disparity from Antonio’s well-oiled flagship restaurant but trepidation of lacklustre dough is quickly allayed when you lay your eyes on the pizza crusts.
Although made for delivery, the dough easily trumps any competitors in the area. As hinted by the name, Casa Vostra’s “Newpolitan” pizza is a modernisation of the iconic Napolitano dough, refined through modern techniques and experimentation.
Antonio’s patented dough is, as always, sublime — soft and chewy in the middle while airy, pillowy, and beautifully leopard-spotted on the curst.
As with all the best pizzas in Singapore, the dough is paramount. With a stellar foundation, Casa Vostra’s many slices just shone, no matter the fillings.
Flavour permutations here lean towards safe simplicity but promise exquisite produce, best exemplified by the Spianata ($7.50), with its crunchy and spicy discs of Spianata Calabrese, and rich and earthy Prosciutto e Funghi ($7.50).
Deviating from the Napolitano style, Casa Vostra’s Doublecrunch was also a showstopper, featuring two panes of gratuitously airy dough that shatter with oomph and fill your head cavity with fierce crackles.
Though flavours remained no-frills, heartily herbaceous Genovese ($11) felt a touch more complex —featuring mortadella, pesto, stracciatella, pistachio and lemon zest— vis-a-viz the uncluttered and robust Salmone Affumicato ($12), starring smoked salmon, capers, burrata and rocket.
Great Authentic Comforts
Imagine my surprise when I was presented with my first bite of Casa Vostra’s housemade pasta — a few turned out to be rather impressive, easily on par with top pasta bars, but served in dingy paper plates.
One such showstopper was the Spaghetti Aglio e Olio ($14), enrobed in silky straw-gold emulsification of olive oil, parsley, and garlic and adorned with a glorious crown of crushed garlic.
Simply the best Aglio Olio I’ve had — exuberant in profile as it is but made impossibly memorable with the buttress of the crushed garlic’s decadent richness.
Intimately behind is the Gramigna al Ragu di Salsiccia ($18), a quaint mound of curved verdant squiggles that sported immaculate bouncy bites then jazzed up with the lush porky flavours of the salsiccia ragu.
At the same time, Casa Vostra’s house-cured Lardo Iberico ($7) was equally dazzling despite being mistaken by us as a nondescript appetiser. It’s velvety and packed with the intense brunt of all that buttery umami — utterly addictive.
As someone who came here looking for quality pizza, Casa Vostra’s strength of its offerings outside the pizza range proves rather stunning.
That’s not just it, either — the quality of pizza also exceeded the anticipations I had set, cognisant of its status as a pop-up for a delivery-fixated brand. In so many ways, Antonio, Ebb & Flow, and the Casa Vostra crew deserve plaudits.
This quaint little space at Ann Siang Hill serves pasta and pizza on the most basic paper plates but yet, the quality eclipses many actual sit-down restaurants. Truly an Italian-food gem that food lovers in Singapore ought to check out.
You can make your online orders on their website.
Casa Vostra
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- Address: 8 Ann Siang Hill, Singapore 069788
- Hours: (Fri–Sat) 11am–3pm, 5pm–10pm, (Sun) 11am–3pm, 5pm–9pm
*This review was written after an invited tasting as well as a self-funded visit.