Casaléna

I love Casaléna for lunch if you’re around Woodland Hills, and it was great going with a group because we were able to share many dishes family-style. It’s very trendy both inside and on the outdoor patio, with a variety of very cool chandelier light fixtures inside and a mostly-covered patio (although bits of sun do shine through). Now that the weather is getting cooler, outdoor dining at Casalena is the way to go. Lucky, even as a group of 8, they were able to accommodate us without a reservation with a minimal wait time. We were also able to easily find street parking nearby. Seven Must Order Dishes if you’re sharing: 1. We loved the Hamachi Crudo ($23) so much that we ordered two! It came with ponzu, serrano, and topped with crispy leek, and was a good combination of refreshing and a spice-kick with the pepper. 2. From the Lunch Specials Menu, we loved the refreshing summer Cucumber Watermelon Salad ($18) even though it’s fall. It also has lemon, feta cheese, passionfruit vinaigrette, and basil oil, and the passion fruit wasn’t as strong as I was expecting. 3. The Whipped Eggplant ($16) under the To Share section of the menu is vegan and comes with pickled pepper, pan de cristal, & olive oil, and it was so creamy and delicious. 4. The meatballs, also under the To Share section of the menu, were a crowd favorite. The Wagyu Meatballs come with ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, a significant amount of pomodoro sauce, and topped with parsley. 5. For Mains, the Butterflied Half Branzino ($29) is gluten free and comes with chimichurri & grilled lemon. The Branzino was great, especially with the chimichurri sauce, being perfectly crispy on the outside and soft meaty on the inside. 6. Another Main, the Steak Frites ($29) actually went really well with the chimichurri sauce leftover from the branzino! A hanger steak, I recommend it cooked medium or medium rare, and it comes au poivre with a large quantity of French fries. If you’re not ordering the Branzino, make sure to ask for a side of chimichurri to go with your steak. 7. The Shashuka Verde is a good brunch option if you go in the morning. This was my first time having green Shashuka (green-over-red seems to be trending in LA?) and it was good to share alongside other items to avoid having too much acidity at once. The group collectively agreed that the Limoncello Slice ($14) was the best and the Apple Tart ($14) is the second best dessert. I especially loved the sauce and fresh berries on the limoncello. The Tiramisu ($14) was too cakey and the least enjoyed by the table. While there was a good presentation on the dessert themselves, no shared plates were brought to the table even though there were 8 of us with 3 desserts. Beverage: For brunch, next time I’d like to try a coffee. The orange juice had a funny taste to it and I wasn’t able to force myself to finish it - I’d just skip that. It said it was fresh squeezed, maybe one of the oranges was on the older side? Or maybe it was a different type of orange than I’m accustomed to? The very saucey Tuna Tartar ($23) was not my fav, and wouldn’t fall on my reorder list. It came with avocado, pickled ginger, cucumber, fresno, micro cilantro, ponzu, and togarashi crisp.