Casa Rustica

My boyfriend and I had the pleasure of experiencing a delightful Valentine's Day dinner at Cafe Rustica in Smithtown, and it exceeded all expectations. From the moment we stepped in, we were warmly greeted and seated with genuine delight. Our waiter was incredibly attentive, patiently answering our questions about the specials and offering his recommendations on the most popular and tastiest entrees. Within minutes, we were toasting to another Valentine's Day celebration with perfectly crafted dirty martinis that set the tone for the evening. The appetizers arrived promptly, and we couldn't have been happier with our choice of clams and oysters. The seafood was impeccably fresh, as if it had just been plucked from the ocean! My boyfriends main course, lobster, was an absolute delight. Each bite was bursting with flavor, making it one of the most delicious dishes I've ever tasted! For my entree, I ordered my favorite, a classic beet and goat cheese salad, which always leaves me satsfied, and this salad was . True to their excellent service, our waiter even remembered to wrap up the leftovers for me to enjoy as lunch the following day, saving me from forgetting it as we headed towards our valeted vehicle. Overall, our dining experience at Cafe Rustica was splendid. The freshness, impeccable service, and cozy atmosphere made it a memorable evening. I can't wait to return for another dinner and indulge in their exquisite cuisine once again. Highly recommended!

Classic Italian fine dining in Smithtown. I love coming here with my family for dinner. The food is always delicious - i recommend their flambéed butter lobster, calamari, baked clams, and pastas.

Absolutely the worst service I have ever experienced. I wanted a drink before our price fixe dinner of a large group and the waiter acted like I was a burden! We ordered the first round of drinks and he brought us a bill to pay for the drinks! I handed it back to him asking what it was, meaning why!? We were going to want more drinks and were willing to pay for it, he acted like he was afraid that we weren't going to pay! I'll probably never go back there with that type of attitude. I never felt so indignant at a restaurant. 2 stars Cafe Rustica!

Meeting a friend for dinner and decided on Casa Rustica at my friend's suggestion. I believe she's been there many times. She mentioned that it would be quieter than other restaurants we frequent, just what we needed for an early Sunday dinner. I have lived in this area born and raised and I have not a clue as why or how I've never been there. The food was absolutely delicious the pour on the wine very nice ( didn't love the wine glass it was a thicker glass I prefer a thinner or finer glass but with the generous pour I wasn't about to be annoying and ask if they had different wine glasses lol.. I can't wait to bring my husband back it was really very good. I highly recommend this cozy restaurant.

Went Nov 2. Wait staff is bringing the ratings of this place down. Poor, uncomfortable experience. My medium Rare Rib Eye came out well done because it stayed under heat lamp for so long. They were too busy on the floor and in the kitchen chatting with each other. A table of 8 next to us told me it took a half hour to get their menus. Owners should expect more out of their employees

I haven’t been here in years. It was a great choice! Started with the perfect Martini. Excellent meal! I had the bruschetta and it was fresh and perfectly toasted. I also had the beets salad and it was huge. Fried calamari was cooked to perfection! I had the branzini and it was delicious. My favorite was the mushroom risotto! Only drawback was we didn’t have room for dessert!!!

Seating area was overcrowded. Staff was rude. Took 30 min to get order taken and another hour and 15 min for food to come… just for half of the food to be lukewarm. Drinks tasted cheap and it took 15 min to get our check. We were visited by our waiter maybe 3 times. Also when they fill your water they give you more ice than water to the point where you only have 2 sips of water before it’s empty.

Food was very good. We liked the quaint atmosphere. Pasta dishes were pricey. My wife ordered the ravioli dinner which came with around 6-8 ravioli and was 25ish dollars. The service was ok. We felt rushed. It was a struggle for me to get my 2nd drink as our waiter was not attenive to us. We went at 545 on a Saturday and it was relatively quiet but was beginning to pickup as we were leaving.

Been here many times. Hands down one of my favorite places to eat. However, the last two times I've been I felt rushed :( rushed to order, rushed to eat. Rushed to pay.... Come On casa rustica.... Do better. We're currently in a recession, and yet my family and I choose to spend out money here. Do better. Anywho- Favorite dishes: Baked clams oreganatta A+ Charcuterie board - A+ Ossobusco - A Lamb- B+ BRONZINO get it. But by far my favorite dish was a bit of a creation- they offered fish of the day any style and I got it oreganatta style. I'll get it every time. Fantastic. Not to mention beautiful wine menu.

Last night my husband and I went to dinner at this restaurant. We haven't been there in years since before the pandemic. Total disappointment Starting from the hostess escorting us to a table she had my poor heavy set husband squeezing in between people seated to get to our table it was awful. Way too many tables for such a small area Then we waited at least 15 min before anyone came over to us with menus Then our waiter after he finally took our cocktail orders disappeared. He went to a large party at the other end of the room. I had to ask a bus boy to get us a waiter I don't want to hear short staffed there were plenty of servers standing at the coffee station talking Never again Gross place Service horrible So over crowded

Food was subpar. Service was very slow. Would definitely not recommend this place to anyone.

Went for dinner last night. Sat at the bar first had an old-fashioned, not bad. Then was the score to the table. I ordered pounded veal chop. Baked clams and fried calamari for appetizer. The clams were undercooked and the veal chop was overcooked! Later we ordered cheesecake, New York. It was by far the worst cheesecake I've ever tasted. Tasted like cardboard! I complained to the maitre d Eddie did absolutely nothing. I have bare minimum. The dessert should've been removed from the bill. Also ordered a second old-fashioned at the table. It was absolutely disgusting. Later on at home I develop bad stomach cramps obviously a case of food poisoning from something I ate. Service was also terrible waiting 40 minutes for a check! Do yourself a favor stay away from many good restaurants along Island. This is not one of them

This is the second time we went to lunch at Casa Rustica on Valentine's Day, it mirrored our first visit last year. T5he food is outstanding and the service and decor on the main floor is beautiful. We had papardelle with shrimp and lobster tail and lobster and papardelle bolonese, very wonderful. Excellent restaurant.

Ambiance was pleasant. Service was OK. I do not recommend the Veal Casa Rustica. The veal was pounded so thin that all I tasted was fried breading. The Arugula was drenched in dressing and tomatoes were not ripe. Do not waste $46 on this dish. My sister had the Sea Scallops and Shrimp with Risotto and said it was very good.

This is a great place for lunch. I go with my friends a few times a year and they treat us very well. The food is excellent. Highly recommended.

Went there with my wife ( one of our favorites). It was horrible. The food and service was third rate. Drinks came out wrong. Food over cooked or cold. What the hell happened to this great place

So, it's been awhile since we've visited what was once a very nice restaurant, but last night really was a huge disappointment. For some reason, the large dining room had a number of people who obviously forgot where they were. The level of shouting, laughter and general noise was so loud that the four people at our table were literally forced to the center of the table to talk to each other. I even yelled out a curse word and NO ONE heard me. So much for a reasonably quiet dinner. We invited friends from Huntington to join us who had never been to this restaurant. This is not how a business can continue to thrive. When you're paying these prices you kind of expect people to use their inside voice. Now to the service and food. First the food. I had the mussels and chicken parmesan. The mussels were great, the chicken could NOT have been made by the chef in the kitchen. This was chicken from the Resaturant Depot. Very very thin and heavily breaded. And covered with a tastless red sauce. Not what I would expect from an upscale restaurant. The risotto was underdone and another disappointment. All this might have been corrected except that our masked waiter never returned to the table to ask if the main courses were okay. This was a generally very nothing meal. I think this might be the last time we select this restaurant.

It was well worth the travel from NYC our friend Roberto recommended this outstanding restaurant I am planning to reserve form my husband birthday It is very noisy Must make reservations

Food was good. Service was good. Noise level good. Got reservations at last minute. Just dont like valet parking. So we didnt use valet.

My husband and I went here last night . The food is so delicious . I had fusilli mondello and my husband had the pasta special that had filet mignon in a tasty sauce . We've been here before . Service is so pleasant . I call it a hidden treasure Highly recommend.

One of the worst meals I had ....food was just ok ...it was so noisy we could not hold a conversation...then to boot when we left I found my name badge missing out of my car (it was lined with crystals but I'm sure the valet thought it was diamonds )...never going back ....I called about my name badge missing who ever answered the phone could care less .....never going again

Why participate in a restaurant week promotion if your going to serve tiny portions of cheap meals? How does that ultimately benefit your restaurant? Ive always wanted to try this place and I finally did. What a disappointment. The $46 prix fix menu was different than what was published online. I was the only one in my group of 4 to order from the prix fix menu. The only meat selection had a $14 surcharge... except for the veal scalopini. The included appetizer was a soggy piece of Buratta cheese with two slices of salami and a soggy red pepper slice. The entree consisted of three paper thin tiny slices of veal that had no sauce or flavor and were tough, a dollop of boring mashed potatoes and a couple broccoli florets. Everyone at the table thought the dessert served to me was a joke...a plate with one tiny pinky finger sized cannoli that wasn't even filled all the way...amazing. Service wasn't very good either. Got sneered at when asking for a drink menu, then again when asking the price of the lobster special. $125 for a lobster? Are they driving it down from Maine personally? Over $400 for a party of 4 for a very uninspired dinner. I should have seen this coming as the restaurant was all but empty on a Sunday at 5pm. The other "full price" entrees weren't anything great either...small portions and uninspired. Very expensive for what you get. Never again.

I'm not really sure how to review this place. Went on Saturday night with a few friends...1 at time for all of us but excited to try. The fun started with the valet. Rainy Saturday night. I pull up to the valet sign. No person. No signs of life. So I'm not sure what to do. A guy comes walking up and says he's sorry his truck is parked in the way. I ask about the valet and he says oh he called in sick because if rain. I ask if I should just park my car then. He says we'll it's going to be in the way... then hands me a valet ticket. I'm so confused and I ask is my car going to be here when I come out? Do you really work for this restaurant? He laughs and no answer. Oh well. We go in and ambiance in nice. Sit down and then we meet the Valets brother. He is annoyed that we ask for the wine menu. He's annoyed that we ask for the cocktail menu. He's just flat out annoyed at being at work. We want to order appetizer and he says we MUST order mains and appetizers at the same time. We ask for a few more minutes in that case and he says "I'll set my stop watch". I can him back and say he can stop his watch, which he takes as an invitation to literally insult us. I asked if we were at one of those restaurants where they insult you as part of the experience? He called down. The food.... octopus appetizer had potential but very overcooked and rubbery. The burata mozzarella was just a small ball of homemade mozzarella, NOT Burata. No soft inside. 0 for 2 on apps. The lamb chops were amazing. The bronzino very good. The osso bucco so tasty but lacking in sauce and the vegetables thats its known to be cooked in?? Very dry. Deserts were good. Creme Brule up with the best. Tiramisa was a huge miss with cinnamon in top rather than cocoa powder! It ruined a great dish. Who does that? With a few changes in staff could be a 5 start restaurant but not there right now.

Food was mediocre....service was also mediocre. Won't be going back. Price too high based on quality of food.

So in my younger years, I had applied for a job there and I did not get it even though I had outstanding references and experience as a server and bartender. Someone told me that they only hire men. I tell you this because at least 30 years have past, with that being said. My husband and I and another couple decide to give it a try. Well still there is an all male crew. The place is quaint and gives you a cozy feel. They offer a restaurant week price fix menu which if you do, the math is exactly the same as the regular menu. It's $42 a person but if you want a ribeye steak, it's an additional $15 so basically the same as the regular menu. When the bartender Adele turned waiter came to take our order and it came to my husbands turn I ordered for him cause I know what he wanted so the waiter turns to my husband and say"what's the matter you can't speak for yourself ?"there were other comments made by him that were in appropriate but I'm not writing a novel. He was a bit of a wise ass. Food was good, but nothing to write home about. For their price point I would expect better. I will not be returning. We will take a pass and find a better place.

I went to this restaurant for the first time Friday night with my husband, sister and brother-in-law. Since it was restaurant week we all ordered from the special menu. Everything from the appetizers to dessert and cocktails were delicious. Each of us enjoyed our meal. The service was great and the wait staff friendly. We took our time enjoying our meal and never felt rushed. We will definitely be going back.

Started off with the dirty martinis very good. We ordered the special fig salad which was very very good. we also ordered the fresh crabcakes Also good. My husband got the fresh pasta with the scallops he loved it. I wasn't so lucky I ordered the veal with the shrimp. I thought the Veal was chewy and the sauce definitely lacking in taste. Service was good. We stayed after to listen to the music at the bar which was excellent. We will be back to try again.

First ever visit to this venerable Smithtown classic Italian. Service was excellent from the valet parking, coat check room and high end wait service. Overall the food was incredibly done from taste and presentation off of a classic Italian menu. Table starters included cheese and prosciutto plate and a plate of bruschetta and olive spread. We were very excited about our appetizer selection of goat cheese polenta with a mushroom and beef stew combination. Rice balls were excellent. Wife had a table side prepared 2 lb. lobster in a brandy and cognac cream sauce, the waiter took the cooked lobster out of the shell and sautéed the lobster meat in the brandy and cognac and then returned the meat back into the shell for presentation back to the table. Very nicely done. It was wife's birthday and I asked for a fun dessert and they brought out a whole dish of assorted Italian desserts including tiramisu, Italian cheesecake and tartufo. Service and ambiance is perfect for a special occasion or a romantic dinner.

Service attentive Food mediocre risotto was just rice, fried zucchini had no flavor

Love this place , my favorite Italian spot in the area. Service is great, food is very good . I highly recommend the veal parmigiana on the bone.... Unbelievable ... love this place and will continue to dine here .

Manager/ owner needs to get hold of his staff We were loyal for over 25 yrs Party of 6 3 of the 6 dishes were served incomplete. I won't bore you with the excuse I got, something about menu being wrong but their effort to remedy was not what it should have been. Guess the owner is doing well he doesn't need to apologize for his error I got the impression based on his lack of apology and dismissive behavior that he is of the mindset If you don't like the place go somewhere else That's fine he can have that attitude But we are a big Italian family you do wrong by one you do wrong by all. At least 40 ppl will NOT return Good luck to this new Casa Rustica Not the same place we used to enjoy. Don't misunderstand the Food is good Just poor communication And their too proud to provide the proper remedial service when they screw up. If Sunday sauce comes with 3-4 meets and you send a side order portion with only a meatball on both orders and then serve a shrimp and risotto without the risotto but sent mashed because your menu is wrong and didn't communicate the lack of or substitutes there is a problem. The problem is poor communication And a take it or leave it attitude Maybe it was an off night but someone needs to sit the young manager/ owner down and explain how sometimes you have to take it on the chin. If someone under your control screws up it's on you, you are the boss you have to own it Rectify with customer And then address with team. Few small tweaks they can be a top spot again.

We had our sons baptism party at Casa Rustica. Weeks before I met with the manager Benny and he went through the menu and the details with me. I had never been there before. Out of 30 guests only my wife had earlier there before. Everyone had a drink in there hands as soon as they walked in. From there the excellent service just kept coming. The appetizer plate everyone got was a meal in itself. The seafood and sauce was a huge hit. Our gluten feee guest and seafood allergic guest were accommodated with no fuss whatsoever. The staff was super attentive and friendly at all times. They produced above and beyond what we expected in every way. Our guests were beyond pleased and raved over the food. We will definitely be returning for our next big event and a date night !

Beautiful consolata for my aunt's celebration of life. Excellent service and incredible food. Highly recommend for any occasion! 10 out of 20.

Was great years ago but then things changed. We stopped going a few years ago. A friend met us there for restaurant week and I now remember why we stopped going the food was ok the service wasn't great. The bread was awesome.

Our night started at the bar where we waited for an hour for a 6:45 reservation. The singer and pianist made the time there enjoyable, and the bartender bought us a round for waiting so long, way to go! (Wait, they just tried to charge us, caught that one) Our food was delicious but the service was impersonal (didn't even know our waiters name ). I like to know who my waiter is, but these guys are not sociable. We ordered the cold spinach ceaser salad which was shared and delicious. We also had the stuffed shrimp (3) for $30 and the roasted duck (5 slices) $29. The duck was delicious in a cherry demiglaze but pricey, but that is the reputation of Casa Rustica, being in Smithtown for as long as I can remember. It is worth the trip for a special evening.

Great atmosphere, the food was fantastic as was the service. We had a party of 7 and one dish looked better than the next from appetizers to dessert. If your in the smith town area (or even if your not) it's well worth the trip. We can't wait to go back

I was very excited to hear that I was going to celebrate my birthday dinner at casa rustica. My boyfriend asked fir a 7pm reservation & was told they only had 8 pm. We arrived & were seated on time @8. We enjoyed a before dinner drink when we took a few sips the appetizer was served few more sips appetizer finished cleared away & main course served my sword fish was cooked to perfection & my boyfriends veal chop was delicious. We had a few more sips of our before dinner drink the waiter cleared our plates & offered dessert& coffee. We decided to finally finished. Our before dinner drinks & was presented with the bill! We got to the car & realized it was only just a few minutes BEFORE 9pm! Even though the food was delicious the rush was unacceptable. It was supposed to be a romantic memorable evening not an expensive rush job quickie. The rush service is what I remember about the entire evening. NOT A HAPPY BIRTHDAY

I know this place has been here for years and years, tried it once years ago, was just ok then and went back last night for a birthday dinner. They had a soup appetizer special, cream of butternut squash soup and quite frankly, it was disgusting. It was just a bowl of warm heavy cream, zero flavor. One person got bronzino, said it was very good, a lobster that was very good and a veal parmigiana that was just awful. Horrible sauce and the breading was so wet, it just fell off the meat. Service was completely amateur and lackluster. I would NOT go back, just not good. We all were disappointed ......

Food is always excellent, friendly service, two dinning rooms allows for private parties.

We had a great dining experience tonight. I had their lobster flambé which was absolutely delicious! The spinach salad, rice balls, and tiramisu were all excellent! From start to finish the staff was welcoming and professional.

Love love love this place. Just went out with my neighbors and had a great time. Didnt feel rushed or pressed for time and it was a Saturday night. The food was delicious as always. The 2 signature veal dishes are my favorites. Cannot recommend them enough.

Place is great. Amazing food . Great bar. Rob is excellent server and bar tender! Everything we ate was delicious. Can't wait to go again .!!!

I should have known that I was in for a rough night when I sat down at the bar waiting for the rest of my party to arrive when I had the worst dirty Martini that I have ever had...... So we sat down and the appetizers came, which we had tasteless but salty fried calamari, which was awful. We also had the Grilled Octopus which was a plate of lettuce with a couple of small pieces of octopus mixed in, which actually didn't taste too bad, but there should have been more and much bigger pieces.....We had the fresh mozzarella which was ok at best.... It was time for another drink, so I gave the Dirty Martini one more shot, now I said the first one that I had was the worse I ever had, and I told the waiter that when I ordered the second one, so you figure they would try to improve on it. Well I now had the worst dirty Martini EVER. There were oil bubbles all over the top which at first I thought were chips of ice, which sometimes happens. I took one sip and back it went, without even an apology from the manager...... My wife and I both had the stuffed veal chop, which was so salty that I got chapped lips from eating it....... Espresso was good but the cannolis were a joke as well...... Needless to say, I am always willing to give a place a second shot, but this place was so bad I will never go there again, because on top of everything, it is way OVER PRICED!!!!!!! Photo of Dirty Martini that they had the nerve to bring to the table and not even apologize for...

Came here for dinner with my job, everything was off the hook! And free shots!! A little pricey when it comes to how small some portions are but overall good quality food. Will be back!

Always consistent always delicious my Miami bartender is amazing and Benny is always courteous and the food is always excellent!

I've been here once for a work Christmas dinner. The spot was small , they sat us on the lower level which some of the people we were with weren't a fan of. I personally didn't mind and the crowd there was lively and entertaining. Food was really good. I thought we had a nice time! Definitely want to try again for a regular dinner.

Amazing experience. Benny and the staff are great. Food over the top excellent. Soft shell crab, top notch. Lobster flambay, fantastico. Ambiance, excellente. You feel like family here. BRAVISSIMO!

Perhaps the most consistent high quality rest on the north shore! Superbly prepared fish and veal with lobsters shelled table side. The service is attentive and welcoming. Innovative sauces are always delicious ! In sum, this rest is beyond 5 stars!! Jim o

Amazing if you like bugs in your food! Never again!!!!! Horrible service, food is mediocre and someone needs to send the health inspector there ASAP

A great place. Bennie cares about his customers and goes out of his way to try to make them happy. Try the new tuna and salmon tartare appetizer. It's worth the up charge if you're having the amazing lobster special. It's my favorite restaurant when visit Long Island.

This is one of my favorite restaurants. It our go-to restaurant for special family events. They treat us like royalty every time we go there. If there is something we are ever unhappy with, they do whatever they can do to make it to our liking. Their lobster flambe is a special we order quite often. It is out of this world, great! You will not go wrong going there.

This is a traditional Italian cuisine with a rustic feel and fire place. As you walk into the restaurant, there is a bar directly in front of the entrance with a private room to your left. The dining room is a 90 degree turn to the right of the lobby bar with a walk down into the dining room. The dining room has its own small bar without seating as you enter the dining room. The dining room is cozy, but can be loud when you are sitting by large parties. On this visit I had the Octopus Salad as an appetizer and the Lamb Chops for an entrée. Both were excellent. The Oyster Rockefeller was fabulous also, probably the best we have had at any restaurant.

I think I would really like this place a lot more if I enjoyed lobster. For the last decade or so, I've been here numerous times with family and for business. Every time I come, the entire table gets the table side lobster special. Myself, not being a fan of lobster always ends up struggling to pick something else. Last night I tried their Chicken Scarpiello. It was ok. Not bad, but nothing memorable. The rest of the table (10 others) all ordered 2-3lbs tableside cooked lobsters. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. Those dishes come with a choice of any app and any dessert. Which makes sense after seeing the bill. We averaged about 100 a head (with tip). So going off my families input, Id recommend this place solely for that lobster special. Other than that, I have other favorites in the area for Italian.

High prices for small portions of below average food. Wife ordered Ravioli. 6 thin raviolis with hardly any cheese inside for $24. I ordered Carbonara. Tasted nothing like Carbonara. Again $24. Everyone's food came out at different times. They brought two at a time. Then 10 mins later another two then 10 mins later another two. Waiters kept reaching in front of me and bumping into me without even saying excuse me. I could have spent more than half of what I spent somewhere else and it would have been much better food.

Good food, excellent service, friendly staff. Expensive, but it's an upscale restaurant. I've read negative reviews about staff/service, can't say I say any sign of that.

Authentic modern cuisine with a great drink menu. You won't be disappointed! Be sure to try the baked clams and lobster!

Can I give it zero stars? Horrible experience at this restaurant. Not only was the food absolutely disgusting, but it's very pricy and the waitstaff was so rude. Heating up an old can of Chef Boyardi would be better than what we were served here. And the waitstaff has the gall to scoff at me when I ask for something else instead. The place isn't bad looking, but looks alone don't make it a good restaurant. DON'T GO HERE! There are plenty of good Italian restaurants on Long Island...and this ain't one of them!