Inside Peter Sanchez-Iglesias's new Bristol restaurant

It will be a familiar story to many restaurateurs around the country who face a similar struggle to balance the books in the face of the rising costs, but the closure of Casamia felt like the end of an era.

The restaurant was originally opened by Sanchez-Iglesias' parents, Paco and Sue, in 1999 as a traditional Italian trattoria in a Bristol suburb. It was later taken over by the chef and his late brother Jonray, who transformed it into one of only a handful of venues in the area to hold a Michelin star.

Sanchez-Iglesias stepped back from the kitchen when it reopened in 2020 after lockdown and the restaurant took on a more experimental direction under former head chef Zak Hitchman. But ultimately, the pressures on the industry proved too much.

"At the end Casamia was how I always wanted it to be, very forward-thinking and different to a lot of other places," says Sanchez-Iglesias. "But running a very creative restaurant is difficult."

The chef knew that the model would have to change. He considered turning the site into a vegan restaurant but decided it would be difficult to get right, particularly sharing space with the family's Michelin-starred Spanish restaurant Paco Tapas next door. Eventually it was Paco himself who pushed for an Italian theme.

"My dad was like, ‘look son, if you do that people will understand it, and it's part of the culture and the vibe of what Casamia once was'."

New beginning

In November the site relaunched as Casa, a more casual Italian restaurant going back to the roots of the family business. The design is both sleek and cosy, with the formerly black walls repainted white and a mix of wooden tables and high seating spread around an open kitchen. Paintings and crockery from the original Casamia have returned, as have some of the recipes for potato ravioli and tiramisu. Casa remains a family business, with Peter overseeing the kitchen, Sue managing the accounts and Paco, now retired, giving his input on the food.

The menu takes on a similar format to Paco Tapas, with a selection of small and large plates ranging from a £3.50 antipasti to a £25 pork chop or £65 steak Florentine. Sanchez-Iglesias is keen that Casa be somewhere guests can visit for both a light bite and a drink as well as a larger meal of pasta dishes to share.

"We didn't want it to look like a place you need to get dressed up for. I want this to be a restaurant where you can pop in and spend a reasonable amount or go crazy and spend a tonne. Being able to hit those two demographics and everything in the middle means you get bums on seats because people want to come back for different [occasions], whether it's a celebration or a glass of wine."

The change in name was a deliberate choice to both pay homage to Casamia and drawn a line between the two restaurants.

"The reason we didn't keep the name is because we felt there needed to be a clear chapter to [the Casamia] story," he says. "For the moment that will stay closed until I decide to open it again."

In the short time since its opening, Casa has been trading well, but Sanchez-Iglesias admits the restaurant is not immune from the pressures facing the industry. He is firm that some costs must be passed on to the customer – don't expect to see a Casa ‘meal deal' launching any time soon.

"It's really important that a lot of people [in the hospitality industry] stay strong at this moment in time. You can't just panic and start putting down prices to get your restaurant suddenly busy, because I've experienced that twice through the last recession and when transitioning Casamia, and it doesn't pay off in the long-term – it just changes the direction of where your business is going. At Casa and Paco we'll keep our integrity and try to do things to the best of our abilities and hopefully people will see that."

Michelin ambition

Although Sanchez-Iglesias is clear on the reasons for launching a more casual restaurant, he retains the ambition which saw it successfully win a Michelin star. But, now with a young family, he admits his priorities have changed.

"I have on my phone notes on building the perfect restaurant, how it would look and how I'd want it to operate," he says. "But I keep going back to it and how it would affect me. There is always that little twitch of wanting to cook the very best I can do, but at the same time I'm a family man.

"I know the weight on your shoulders and what it takes to do [run a two- or three-Michelin-starred restaurant], and it scares the living daylights out of me. Once you get off, it's hard to get on that fast-moving train again."

As well as running Paco Tapas and Casa, Sanchez-Iglesias has overseen the Decimo restaurant at the Standard hotel in London's King's Cross since 2018 and splits his week between Bristol and the capital. While busy, he won't rule out opening any further venues.

"I'd love to open a British pub one day," he says. "We've got so many great ones [in Bristol] there would probably be no reason to do it, but you never know.

"My plan at this moment in time is to concentrate on the three businesses I've got while understanding the future. Do I want to open another restaurant in London? Question mark. Do I want investment? Question mark. Do I want to open it myself or in a partnership? Question mark."

Will the answer to any of those questions come any time soon? "I don't see any reason why I would want to do more [restaurants] but at the same time everybody gets ambitious," he says. "It just has to be the right place at the right time."

From the menu

Antipasti

• Fried semolina, Parmesan £3 each
• Mushroom arancini £3 each
• Caponata £6.50

Cured meats

• Mortadella £8
• Fennel salami £10
• San Daniele £16

Formaggi

• Gorgonzola £6.50
• Burrata £10
• Taleggio £6.50

Pasta

• Potato ravioli, mushroom ragu £16
• Double agnolotti £16
• Rosemary gnocchi £8

Pesce

• Trout, confit £12.50
• Scallop £16 each

Carne

• Braised beef cheek £22
• Lamb cutlets £25
• Steak florentine £65

Dolci

• Tiramisu £8
• Panna cotta £6.50
• Blood orange sorbet £5