By Joe Mascarenhas
Let me take you back to the 70s, to those good old days. In Mapusa there used to be a nice small house just, before the steep slope, called Casa Bella. It served the most delicious Goan snacks and spirits.

I enjoyed having stout, which is like Guinness, the Irish drink rich in iron, or a chilled St Pauli girl beer called ‘servege’ in Portuguese, especially on a Friday. We used to anxiously wait for the Friday market to indulge in these treats.
Now let me share a little secret. A modern version of Casabela, which in Portuguese means beautiful house, is here, right in the heart of Porvorim. This new venture is the brainchild of Jaydeep Rajebhosale and was recently opened on his birthday in August. Hailing from an engineering background Jaydeep wears many hats and is a versatile entrepreneur.
Walking down one of the several by lanes in Porvorim there is a miniature signage simply stating ‘Casabela. Owner Jaydeep Rajebhosale’.
Casabela has created an exquisite homely décor with sober shades and is fully air-conditioned. A cosy place to chill out with the family on weekends.
John, the restaurant manager, suggests that for starters we try the wood-fired oven pizzas, which is their signature dish. We opted for the balsamic glazed chicken with mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, roasted bell peppers and jalapenos; all my favourites. The piping hot, thin crust pizza is to be had with a sprinkling of oregano and chilli flakes and is simply delicious. Not to be missed; the kids too will just love it.
They have a fair selection of Italian dishes and another popular dish I am told is the Casa Bella chicken, which is chicken breast stuffed with ricotta cheese and minced olives, grilled to perfection and served with garlic mash in roasted pimentos and mushroom pepper sauce. In addition there is the freshly baked lasagne with minced chicken, which is the chef’s special.
But what caught my fancy on the menu was the Goan section, and so John recommended we try the ‘kombdechem sukhem’, prawn peri peri with red snapper curry and a little prawn kishmur on the side for tasting. The sukhem (medium spiced boneless chicken) is marinated in a ground paste of ginger, garlic, coriander, tamarind and shallow fried. The chicken was succulent and the spices were just right; certainly one to be recommended. Have it with drinks or just as a starter. I tried the Margarita cocktail, which was refreshing and packed a mean punch.
Now the fish curry-rice. The ‘tamusso’ (red snapper) was fresh, really fresh. It seemed to have landed straight out of the trawler onto the table. The curry was interesting, but the prawn kishmur was awesome. This comes as an accompaniment with the prawn curry rice. And the prawn peri-peri was just masalalicious.
To end the meal we tried the matka chocolate. For this you have to be very careful as it comes to the table piping hot. It was rich creamy chocolate, just divine and to die for. The portion is just right for one and is a sweet finale to a resplendent meal.
If you love to try new places and flavours, Casabela is a new, moderately priced foodie joint in the heart of Porvorim, so go for it and indulge galore.