Restaurant Review: Casa Bella, Stuart

We confess that we're not much for restaurants that tout their romantic atmosphere. It seems to us that if a place serves good food -- and pairs it with good service -- then the romance will naturally follow, regardless of the décor or ambience.

But Casa Bella, a 9-year-old establishment off a commercial stretch of U.S. 1 in Stuart, had us reconsidering that view. It's as charming as fine dining gets, as evidenced by the quaint Old Florida setting (the restaurant is a former home) and such details as lace curtains and perfectly polished silverware.

Oh, and yes, the food and service are good. At times, even great.

This is an Italian eatery, but not your typical red-sauce joint (or your "contemporary Tuscan" restaurant that seems to be all the rage of late). It's more Italian-meets-Continental -- the sort of place where fresh pasta is on the bill alongside frog legs and escargot.

That said, the wine list is long on Italian selections -- with plenty of bottles priced under $50 (the whole menu, in fact, is remarkably affordable). We started with a $20 bottle of Prosecco -- Italy's delicious answer to Champagne -and followed with a hearty red, a $36 a Castello Banfi Rosso di Montalcino. The two wines alone made us happy campers, along with the bread that arrived with roasted garlic.

The best dish of the night came early: We split a huge bowl of Fettucine Alfredo ($14.95) four ways as a starter -- and even then it seemed like too much. This was intensely creamy Alfredo, with just the right hint of cheese. So much for the dish's reputation as a "heart attack on a plate." We'd gladly give our lives for such indulgence.

Another starter proved slightly more pedestrian -- a hot antipasto ($10.95) with shrimp, mushrooms, eggplant, mussels, clams: We've tasted pretty much the same elsewhere.

We also got complimentary soup or salad with our meals; the salad was fresh and first-rate.

With entrees, the standout proved to be a daily special of ravioli in a Bolognese sauce ($15.95) -- the pasta was clearly not your garden variety and the meat sauce had a homey quality that suggested someone's grandmother might have been doing duty in the kitchen. (Indeed, chef and proprietor Gerald Profeta says he learned plenty from his grandmother.) But Chicken Marsala ($15.95) was right up there -- with a mushroom-filled wine sauce that gave the dish that extra earthy dimension it's supposed to have. On the other hand, Shrimp Scampi ($18.95) proved to be, well, shrimp scampi -- we've had worse, but we've had better.

For dessert, go for the homemade ice cream ($4) -- no, not gelato, but true American ice cream (strawberry and peach) with just the right amount of fruit flavor. Another winner: the cannoli ($4.25) with a generous ricotta-based filling.

Service is just what you want in a restaurant of this sort -- not too stuffy, but not too casual, either. Our waiter was quick in getting us items that needed to arrive immediately -- wine and water especially. But he gave us breathing room to enjoy the meal. A real pro, in other words.

In the end, we left Casa Bella feeling more than merely sated. We left feeling like we had an experience, particularly as we took a peek into the other intimate dining areas, including an enclosed terrace. Perhaps the feeling is what they call romance -- or better yet, amore.