As a former chef, I do not hand out stars easily. I agree with a previous reviewer that too many people give out 5 stars when everything is not perfect. I know I am not Zagats or Michelin, but a restaurant needs to really shine to earn 5 stars. That being said, I really liked Casona, service-5, food-3.5, ambiance 4. We were seated on the edge of the porch (25 degree night) yet we were very comfortable. Our waiter was attentive, really knew the menu, and ended up making very good recommendations. We had the crab cocktail special that was that was a bit pricey at $12.95, but turned out to worth every penny. The flavor combination of cilantro, mango and jumbo lump crab was fantastic. I really enjoyed my cheese empanadas, which had plenty of flavor and were nice and hot. The Caesar salad was the biggest disappointment of the meal. The whole leaves of romaine lettuce and large slices of proscuito made for way too much work, but the dressing was very good. This is a case of presentation getting in the way of the food. The entrees were the stripped bass with the best risotto I ever had, and a Churrasco steak that was under cooked. The steak, which was ordered medium, had tremendous flavor, but the thick end (about a third of the steak) was really rare. Our desert was a decadent flavorful 3 milk cake. I have long been a fan of Cuba Libre, and I am really glad to say that South Jersey can now easily compete with Philly when it comes to good Cuban cuisine. Love the BYOB ? our meal was under $100 before the tip.
Pros: good service and good food
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