The promise of a taste of Italy in our backyard was too good to pass up, and we looked forward to our dinner out. My mother is Italian, so I know from good Italian cooking! My wife and I each ordered something different, so we could share, which was encouraged. Traditional veal piccata and a loaded pasta dish that was the special, and I mean loaded with every kind of fresh seafood you can imagine from clams to lobster to fresh scallops to some sort of local fillet I can't remember. Sauces were light and clearly homemade. Everything tasted very good and would have been excellent except everything that came to our table was served less than warm. Cool even. That was a huge disappointment. The bread was good, the salads unremarkable --we didn't get anything special -- and would have loved to dig in to piping hot entrees. The wait staff was so busy we couldn't even ask for the food to be reheated because we didn't see our waitress! And that also meant no refills of our wine. And who likes to eat Italian without wine? We skipped dessert as there were just the usual Italian offerings available and would encourage the chef to try her hand at something special for dessert. Very good starting point, need to step up the service. The entertainment offered in the form of one man playing keyboards and singing was remarkably good; it added to the atmosphere and actually brought people together in a sort of community which was a nice change. He's very talented and a definite plus for the establishment. read more

Wow, where do I start! Amazing customer service and hospitality. The food is fresh and delicious. Homemade noodles were phenomenal. Highly recommend this restaurant best we had on our trip to Tampa read more

My wife and I went here last night on our date night. We didn't have a reservation, so we sat at a hight top table. It worked out great. The service was great and our waiter made some great recommendations. We had the cutting board with meats and cheeses to start, then our entres. It was delicious. So glad we decided to try it. We just found our new place for great Italian food in a great setting for a great daye night. read more

This restaurant has the possibility of being a 5-star restaurant. For the past few years, my husband and I have visited Italy yearly. We enjoy Italian cuisine. I was looking forward to this meal. My husband told me that the owners were from Rome. I was looking forward to having some authentic carbonara or cacio e pepe. The decor is smart, Italian, and tasteful. The restaurant is clean. The breadsticks and bread were warm. The breadsticks were actually delicious. This was a good start. I ordered the Linguine al pesto con carciofini fritti. Linguine with Pesto should be a good indicator for the quality of the restaurant. I found the Linguine with Pesto bland. The pesto needed just a touch of salt or more cheese. The pesto I tasted in Italy is God's gift to tastebuds. This pesto...hmmm...not so much. :( *sad face* The nice thing about the restaurant is that you are not rushed. But, we had a long wait for the check. It took us about 45 minutes to get our check. We tried to politely attract the attention of the staff, but, we were ignored. The waitress made it clear to my husband that she would not give us our check, since she did not take our order. Ok, so my husband had to chase down our waiter to request for our check. About 30 minutes later, our waiter then said he lost our bill. We noticed that at least 3 tables were served the wrong entrees. That was really weird, since I thought that the meals would be assigned to the table number found on the sides of each table. I'm not sure why there were so many mistakes in bringing the correct orders to various tables. Perhaps, we caught them on a bad day. Perhaps I had a sad batch of pesto accidentally made with Swiss cheese. Maybe we'll try them in a few months, after they iron out the organizational and lack-of-service issues. Thank goodness Osteria Natalina serves wonderful, authentic Italian food with impeccable service. read more

The people are awesome, but the food omg it's not! Only the involtini melanzane are good The spaghetti with fish "frutti di mare" yukky There were "ditalini" pasta mixed with the spaghetti and the sauce yukky Gnocchi ? Ok And the baba? Mammamia absolutely not good I'm Italian and I know what's the italian food Sorry I can't pay for this kind of food They texted me after this review and asked me to take this off And there were some insults too in the message I'm italian Born and raised in Italy Mamma Mia read more

Wow! Authentic Italian food in the heart of Oldsmar? What a hidden gem! I went to lunch with 7 of my coworkers and we all ordered different meals and no one was disappointed! The food was fresh and extremely tasty. Our server Lexi was awesome and gave us great advice on what to order and knew the menu backwards and forwards. A huge plus for me was the gluten free pasta. It was delicious and cooked perfectly! I will definitely be going back for dinner with my Hubby ASAP. read more

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Reviewed 3 days ago via mobile Would not recommend Casa Cosanza Heard about this wonderful restaurant. Went with friends and I must say the interior of the restaurant is very nice.. as far as the food, it was very bland, tasteless..ordered veal marsala, veal piccata , chicken stuffed with fontina cheese and ham, ravioli. All tasteless , skimpy servings, and the sauce was not good at all. Osso Busso comes with a side of ravioli( nights special) $36 for one piece of dried up veal on some brown gravy.... terrible.. order of spaghetti with garlic and oil, very dry $19... veal marsala, 2 very small pieces with 5 pieces of mushrooms..tasteless ...veal piccata 2 small pieces , no lemon taste with an upcharge of $6 for 3 fork fulls of spaghetti with garlic and oil instead of potato and broccoli.. house merlot $9.50 a glass... we don't mind paying for meals but for such little portions and ridiculous prices and terrible food... we are Italian and would be embarrassed to serve food like this to family or friends... read more

I ate here for the first time recently and my experience is somewhat different than others who have commented. They seem to get either 1-Star or 5-Stars...I think the more realistic assessment is right in between. The good news here is that the Veal I had was AMAZING. As good as any Veal I have ever had in Florida. The appetizer was this small "pizza-like" dish that was also fabulous. However, there were some down sides. The Lasagna was only so-so and had clearly been frozen for quite some time. Also, the Meatball (which they called Meatloaf) was downright awful and not something I will try again. I probably need to do a more detailed assessment, but there's definitely some promise here as they learn the American palate a little better. The couple who own the place are right from Italy and barely speak English, but they seem very engaged and they will grow as they gain experience. Based on how good the Veal was I would bet they have a bright future if they can control prices and better adapt to the way American-Italians eat rather than Italian-Italians. read more

I was really disappointed! The atmosphere is too sterile and it lacks character. The food was not authentic, and I was disappointed with the lack of flavor. My husband ordered the pasta with fried artichokes and after digging through his food found none? We asked the waitress if we were mistaken in ordering the wrong dish, and she said she would find out from the chef. .. In the meantime the 'boss/owner' came over and stated that they were all out of artichokes? Within seconds of hearing this from the boss, the waitress came back and told us that the fryer was broken. The timing was terrible and I felt bad that clearly there was bullshit afoot! The boss shook his head and dismissed her from our table. I prefer honesty when there is a mistake..lying to your guests is not a good look, especially for a new restaurant. I wish them well but we will not be returning. read more

Beautiful. We just ate there for our first time tonight and i was very impressed and also shocked that it was not packed! Great Authentic Italian cuisine in a beautifully decorated restaurant with courteous and professional service. The food was amazing! Including dessert. This is a great place for either a date night or a big family gathering. They were very sweet to my two children (3yo and 19 mos.) and even had coloring pages for them. They are relying on word of mouth to propel their reputation, so I made sure to write this review asap, so others will go here and eat. Eat. Here. Now. It is splendid. :) read more

Excellent!!!! It's not closed unlike its appearance and sadly I think that's why it was so quiet!!! Persevere as its fantastic, traditional and inexpensive. Beautiful inside and great carbonara!!!! read more

As always a nice quiet dinner here after a long week, very well worth it. Giuseppe and Chef Fabrizzi make you feel right at home. Fantastic Italian wine selection and amazing appetizers make the main course that much better. Come here for a down home Italian experience, you'll leave satisfied and relaxed. read more

First time eating here. The service was great!! My dad and I both enjoyed our entrees. I had the lasagna and my dad had chicken parmesan. We both agree the sauce and pasta were pretty good. I'll definitely come back to try other dishes... v/r E. J. read more

Absolutely DELICIOUS!!!! I went with a friend for lunch today. We ordered the bruschetta napoli and involtini di melanzana as appetizers. That was the BEST bruschetta I've ever had in Tampa!!! And I don't even like eggplant, but I LOVED the involtini di melanzana!!! I was regretting ordering lasagna after trying the involtini di melanzana as I wasn't sure anything could be as good as that, however the lasagna was delicious as well. My friend had the meatloaf which was PHENOMENAL. Like when do you put meatloaf and phenomenal in the same sentence??? It had plum and pine nuts in it. She also loved the veggies and potatoes that came with it. We were so full, we forgot to order dessert to go. Soooooo we'll just have to go back and bring a whole ton of other people with us (o: read more

Not sure about dining in. Definitely choose elsewhere for to go. You will be very disappointed for the price. It's actually unbelievable

My husband and I go to lunch regularly at another restaurant in that shopping center and have been curious to try this place, so we decided to finally go for dinner. The restaurant is lovely and very clean. It was definitely much prettier and larger than we were expecting, and even has a lovely bar. The service was fantastic. Sadly the atmosphere and the service couldn't make up for the mediocre food. The bread arrived and it was unimpressive and cold. The sliced bread had no flavor and the sticks seemed stale and were not crispy. Undeterred, we started with the Involtini di Melanzine. It came out and the little pot it was in was very hot, sadly the food inside was cold. The flavor was passable so we didn't say anything. Then the side salad came, at only $6 it wasn't overly expensive until you consider it was just a bit of romaine, carrots, very little celery, two cherry tomatoes, and a bit of diced cheese. The flavor of the dressing tasted strongly of olives. I wouldn't order it again because it the dressing was not really my preference. Now for the meals. We ordered a ravioli del giorno and a lasagna. They arrived hot, which was appreciated since the appetizer did not. However, the pasta in both dishes was way over cooked and both dishes were SMOTHERED in sauce. What's worse was that by all appearances and flavor the sauce seemed to be straight out of the can tomato paste, not tomato sauce, paste. It was very thick, and lacked complexity. It gave both of us some serious belly aches. We skipped dessert because I only order dessert in a restaurant if the meal wowed me, and this didn't come close. For a Saturday night there were only two other couples there, so this place is not pulling in the patrons. Both my husband and I agreed it won't survive much longer. With a plethora of excellent Italian restaurants in the Tampa area, we left wishing we had gone to one of them instead. read more

Had the misfortune of eating here last evening. We were a large party (12 people) but we had made reservations in advance letting them know exactly how many people, and the time we would arrive. A table for twelve was setup when we arrived, but that's all that went right all evening. Our orders were taken. The first appetizer appeared 1 hour and 45 minutes later. The rest seeped out out of the kitchen for about 20 minutes. The fried calamari was greasy and too tough to chew. The other appetizers were ok, not great, but edible. Bland warm salads arrived 20-30minutes later. The entrees arrived again, 30 minutes later. The quality was on par with a chain restaurant. The pasta sauce tasted very "familiar" even though I've never eaten here before. We were still eating our entrees when the employees put the closed sign on the door. We had been there for 3 hours by then. The staff were grumpy, surly, and constantly bickering amongst them selves. The service was poor at best. The food was below average. Not once throughout the evening did anyone apologize for the atrocious service. Evidently this is their standard for service. It was a waste of hard earned money and time. read more

Everything we ordered was delicious - service was awesome! Thanks to yelp we found this place, I've passed this plaza a thousand times and never knew this fantastic restaurant existed. Will definitely be back! read more

The food was as good as any restaurant I have visited in Naples. The veal scaloppina was exceptionally tender with a wonderful depth of flavor and a hint of lemon...not overpowering like so many places. Service, atmosphere, food all superb! read more

Casa Cosenza - Italian Near Me - Oldsmar, Florida

Met another couple for dinner here. We were pleasantly surprised to find the cute decor, open feel, Mediterranean tile bar top, an Italian movie playing on the back wall...all a very lovely touch. The owner and his chef wife are a young, cute, Italian couple. One friend we met is a vegetarian and my husband and myself are whole food, plant based. No animal products. My husband ordered the house salad and we both ordered gluten free pasta (anything would suffice...but just so you know the only option is spaghetti) and red sauce and lots of veggies. That's it...that's all. Well....my husbands salad came with their house dressing which consisted of oil....just oil. No balsamic to be found anywhere. Not even on the table to dip our homemade bread into. A side note.... they were out of gluten free bread, so I was not able to partake in the bread at all. Our pastas came and the sauce on them looked like a clear broth of some sort. I immediately brought it to our servers attention. I explained to her we had ordered red sauce. She then told me that the red sauce comes with meat. My vegetarian friend who was already chewing on her gnocchi with red sauce, almost had a heart attack. She calmed my friend down and said their was no meat in her sauce and that we could have the same as her. I am not sure where the confusion was but she took our plates away to remedy the situation. When our plates came back their was some red sauce added to the broth. So what we had was some runny liquid that was a brownish color. We ate the concoction because we didn't want to make any more fuss. When I asked the server if this was the same sauce in my friends gnocchi... a thick red sauce, she answered 'yes'. Clearly, this was not the case. She apologized for for the wait but that was it. The veggies in our pasta consisted of a few peas and a few mushrooms in the soupy brown mixture. It was the sticker shock that really made us incensed. At $16 a plate of gluten free pasta with veggies....please! Don't give me some corrected version of what I should have had. The owner who walks the floor didn't apologize nor were we offered and drink to compensate. I have worked in the service industry and this is NOT how to keep customers. Seriously disappointed and will not be going back anytime soon. read more

Very good. The service is slow but that is in keeping with a European meal. Go with some one you enjoy and have a bottle of wine. You won't be rushed in and out. Many of my friends from overseas comment about how Americans eat and go but do not spend time taking. Now the food. Excellent. We had a special filet dish, the veal and pollo. My son was home from college and the relaxed atmosphere gave us lots of time to catch up. We had the cannoli and flourless chocolate tort. read more

My husband and I recently had dinner at Casa Cosenza. Had the Calimari for the appetizer, ok nothing to rave about. My husband had the Veal Marsala which he enjoyed but the side dish of broccoli was mushy and cold. I had the bucatini which was over salted. read more

Just had dinner. Excellent service. The food was outstanding Definitely a great Italian restaurant

We came for a birthday dinner a few months ago for the first time. The food was good but my 22 year old felt the atmosphere was a little formal for his taste. It's a large cavernous type room with light colored furniture so it's not especially intimate or cozy. The service was very good and friendly. It would have been nice to offer pizza on the menu in addition to the fresh pasta and meat/ seafood dishes. Although we live nearby and the food was good I really don't feel compelled to return. It was more the lack of ambiance for me. That's something I look for when I dine out. read more

Hidden Gem!! I've heard great things about this place from 3 different people... when I finally tried it my self I couldn't agree more. Fresh homemade pasta, great ambiance, friendly staff, live music, and last but not least very authentic!!! My go to new favorite Italian restaurant. I've had a great experience!! Oh... and not to mention that I asked for a plate that wasn't even in the menu: (my favorite pasta dish) Linguine Alla Vongole With clams in a white wine sauce... they made my plate with no problem at all and it was unbelievably delicious. I mean... no other restaurant would make me a plate that wasn't in their menu, I am truly impressed and so grateful. Many thanks to the owners ( husband and wife) which are from Italy, personally greeted us and the wife is the chef... she was so nice...It can't get any better than this!! read more

Such a great meal...6 adults, 2 13-year olds, a few courses, a few bottles of wine and all of if was delish! Our waiter Sparky made the night even better. Can't wait to go back. I wish I took pics but we all inhaled our food. Authentic Italian food is hard to come by in FL and this was the real deal. Fresh ingredients, home-made pastas...just perfect. read more

Absolutely our favorite restaurant! I can rave about everything. Personal favs-appetizer of rolled egg plant is incredible. The steaks are always perfect, and the Veal Marsala is the best anywhere in North America. Great people! Great food! Always recommend. read more

My husband and I came to Tampa from Georgia got a little vacation and on our first night in town we ordered from Casa Cosenza. IT WAS AMAZING! We got into town kinda late and didn't want to get dressed up so we called in our order and the gentleman that took the order was so pleasant and nice I believe his name was Tyler but I'm not positive. We were running a little behind on picking up or food and they were getting close to closing time but when we got there we were greeted at the door, and greeted by whom I believe to be the owner standing by the bar and who was so nice and friendly. The service of everyone we encountered here was perfect. Although we did not dine it it is very beautiful on the inside and had a nice atmosphere and I believe they had a pianist earlier in the evening which is cool. Food was delicious, I had the Tagliatelle Italia and my husband had the Pollo Piccata. Super fresh and tasty food. Authentic Italian food in the middle of Florida and we will definitely be back!! read more

Outstanding! Went for lunch today and I was amazed by the place! Beautiful appointed and wonderful service gave way to some of the best of Italy! Freshly made pasta, sauces as breads made for a lunch that could have lasted until dinner! I will be a regular here! read more

As I have read on other reviews, this place is fantastic.. A few things that are absolutely critical in my assessment of a food establishment and this place didn't disappoint. From the moment you are shown to your table you are greeted with super friendly service and a super clean dining room. Then water, warm bread and oil/vinegar for dipping are placed on your table and your drink order is taken. From there the choices of food, the appetizers and the wine list are excellent. Our water glasses were never lower than 2/3 and our server was there to check on us regularly. The food was perfect and soon as we needed our check it was on the table. Clean, friendly, efficient, amazing food and reasonable price. We will most definitely be back! read more

Surprisingly amazing Italian restaurant in Oldsmar. Handmade pasta, bread, etc.....you can't go wrong. Really cute atmosphere too!

More people need to know about this gem in Oldsmar! Love the vegetarian options and the tasty wine list. Have visited multiple times and have yet to have anything less than an excellent experience. Having so many vege-friendly options has been a pleasant surprise. The Risotto Cacio e Pepi, Ravioli del Giorno and Penne Tricolore have all been hits, even with omnivorous friends. Don't be shy, ask for wine recommendations - the staff won't lead you astray. When you do go, don't be in a rush. The service is in no way slow - we have had excellent servers every time we have stopped by - but this ain't fast food! read more

My wife and I recently had a wonderful first diner at Casa Cosenza. Our evening started out with a warm greeting and seating at the bar, since we had no reservation, and the place was full . This restaurant can change the beginning of service with a change of bread and their herb butter, both very poor and in need of an update. The rest of the diner was polite, prompt and very good. We would recommend Casa to our friends. read more

Home made Pasta! Need I say more? I love the atmosphere clean and classic. The tables are not packed next to each other and the acoustics are great! You can have a conversation even though the place is full. Service is very good. The bruschetta is really delicious too. I would pass on the roasted potatoes, they are cooked well but nothing too special. read more

I ordered special with a Caesar salad. Mt partner ordered chicken caccatori. I have to say my salad had only wilted lettuce and 2 croutons. the dressing was a mayo based dressing and no bite or lemon or anchovies flavor. the special was supposed to have clams calamari mussels and salmon in a white cream sauce. what I got was a bowl of undercooked( not al dente) fettucini with 8-10 muscles, sum41 1 was rotted which contaminated the entire dish and smelled of rotted Seafood. I return the dish back to the waiter. waiter was ok but he continued to ignore me. a good waiter would have complimented the wine. a local place but was disappointed read more

Laser sliced overcooked veal accompanied by an overcooked, 3 oz portion of "homemade" pasta for 6.00 extra? Awful... Maybe a bad night. Unsure what was thinner, the prosciutto or the veal. Wayyy overpriced for portion size. read more

This has to be the best Italian place we have found in Tampa. Super friendly staff, great food with large portions and a nice sized wine list. BONUS: they also accommodate gluten and dairy sensitivity! We will definitely be taking all of our family and friends that visit to this place for dinner in the future. read more

it's our first time here and everything taste amazing. Ambiance is perfect,music give you that feeling of being overseas...interior design is so homey !!! the chicken Parmesan is so delicious ,carbonara as so good and al dente!! We will definitely come back to this place !! read more

So enjoyed my birthday dinner at this lovely restaurant! We had excellent service and the food was fresh and very delicious. Our server was a young man with impeccable manners and answered all of my questions with a smile! He remembered it was my birthday, and delivered a group of singers with my italian style cupcake! The prices were very reasonable for the portions and the wine from Montelpulciano was perfect compliment to our pasta dishes. I'm planning to enjoy another meal there as soon as I can! read more

This is a charming small restaurant located in s charmless strip mall. The menu is limited but the food is exceptional. This not a mass market kind of place. read more