Casa Benedetto’s Italian Caffe

We went for lunch a couple of days ago. Had the clams casino, excellent. The pasta e fagioli soup was the best I’ve ever had. We had penne a la vodka and spaghetti with meat sauce.
The portions are generous and the food was outstanding. We were full but had to try the
canollis which didn’t disappoint. What a great meal. The service was outstanding as well.
I definitely recommend it and would definitely go back.

Great Italian food ! First time we went it was delicious! Second time … Different meals… Even better. I LOVE eggplant and this has to be the best! My boyfriend isn’t a lover of white wine but their Pinot Grigio is excellent.
Keep in mind when going they DO NOT take credit cards.

Absolutely delicious. Ordered the Zuppa de Pesce and it was chock full of the freshest mussels I’ve tasted, plus shrimp, clams and calamari. My husband ordered the Sausage and Peppers and loved it. Our waitress, Erica, was attentive and knew the menu inside and out.
Fun and funky little old house out by the beach. It was cold the night we went, but will try the outdoor dining next time. Vilano Beach is worth a detour to see the old 50s style main street and eat at this hidden gem of a restaurant.
One word of warning: they only take cash and debit cards, so don’t rely on your credit card here.

Whatever it takes, whomever you need to sleep with, whatever money you need to bribe from someone… somehow, some way… don’t leave this world without letting your soul be fed with this magnificent food! When we visit St. Augustine, this is the place we head to before seeing any historical sites or hitting the beach. We travel all over the world and no meal has surpassed the food that we get here. What are you waiting for? Go there now!

Run run run with cash or debit cards (that’s only what they take) to Casa Benedetto’s! We happened along this local Italian restaurant while riding bicycles and it happened to be lunch. Good wine selection, homemade desserts and authentic Italian fare. Yummy tampenada served with the bread. The eggplant rolatini was light and cheesy and then sausage and peppers with pasta was great — my spouse said it was the best she ever had and I had to quickly correct and say that it was ALMOST as good as mine! LOL! The service was excellent and owners present and interactive with all customers. If we had found this place sooner in our vacation we would have eaten there every night!

Amazing Christmas Eve dinner. Carrie did a great job taking care of us. Highly recommend. The salmon was incredible, and delicious wines. Can’t wait for our next visit.

Food is very good. Prices are good but you have to pay with cash or debit card if you go! Enjoy!

Very disappointed. Ordered Chicken Cacciatore. Huge quantity. Pasta was boiled to perfection but the chicken was horrible. Carbonara came with bread was amazing.

Outstanding! A cute, little mom and pop Italian restaurant right next door to our hotel… You don’t feel like you are in a restaurant, you feel and are treated like a guest in someone’s home… Everything was so amazing that we came back the next night just for coffee and dessert.

The food was awesome. This will become one of our favorites places to eat. They don’t take credit cards but will take debit cards. Very comfortable atmosphere. I felt like I was at my grandmas house and not a restaurant

Stopped in for dinner on the first night of our visit to St. Augustine. Can’t say enough about the food. It was fantastic.
To atmosphere is great. Sort of a little house converted to a restaurant. Frank Sinatra playing in the back ground. Very cute décor.
The chicken strachiatella soup was wonderful. Very full of flavor.
Everything we had was terrific. The service was great as well.
This place has set a very high standard for the rest of our visit to live up to!

first off– cash, check or debit card ONLY
we had lunch there and Ericka was our server, she did a great job going over the specials and brought us some bread with butter and an excellent eggplant spread for it! dog friendly– she brought Layla some treats and water, and said hello. food is cooked to order and worth the wait.
family run with a long history of restaurants in New York and south Florida. i had the peppers and Italian sausage on wonderful bread. my wife had chicken parm, it was huge and delicious.
we came back for dinner the next night and we met J the owner and we had a pork chop stuffed with spinach, mozzarella, tomatoes and it was incredible! the only reason we did not go back a third time was they are closed on sunday. come and enjoy a good meai

Awesome food, great atmosphere, very friendly owners and staff ! I have been to many Italian restaurants and this one is one of my favorites. If you’re visiting, or are a local let’s show this place some love!

We happened across Casa Benedettos by chance as Unilocal did not reveal it when we were looking in the neighborhood. We cruised town and as we slipped into the 1950s complete with period signs all about we spied Benedettos. After checking Travel Advisor and seeing a 4.5 with 1100 reviews we opted to stop for lunch. Only after having a superior lunch did we see the very mixed Unilocal reviews. I really do not know what happened to others but we had a lovely time. Do not expect speed and allow yourself to slip into a slower time and you should be ok. Have a glass of wine and take the time.
The Italian bread that was served is probably the best I have had in a restaurant. The crust was firm and crunchy and the inside was warm and delicate. The whipped herb butter was lovely and the eggplant caponata was an interesting and tasty addition. I had the lunch portion shrimp pomodoro over homemade fettuccine which was out of this world. The sauce was rich and well balanced with just the right acidity. The texture of the pasta was spot on. Overall this was my favorite meal in the Jacksonville area in 2.5 mo

Beware-​Terrible Italian food! The greasiest excuse for a veal piccata dish we’ve ever had. If an Italian kitchen can’t even make a minestrone that tastes better than canned, foodies know better than to order a $ 20+ entrée and expect it to be satisfying. Because we’re locals, we tried to give them a shot, but we will not be back. Oh, and the owner is so pompous he acts like he’s doing you a favor just letting you dine at his establishment… What a disappointment!

Loved Barrancottas back in the day at this location so saw lights there and thought we would check it out.
The Good…
The building is of course amazing! Mid century architecture, 50’s groove!!!
Portions were very generous!
The Meh…
The food was good, but not great. Tasted like Spankys to me but not Barrancottas, or Aruanno’s by any means. (Places I use to enjoy in St. Augustine)
Overpriced IMO.
The could be improved…
Asked for a soda; got a 16oz plastic container with no refills for $ 2.25
(It would have helped to have no refills communicated to me when I ordered it)
For us we won’t return or recommend but others may love it!

I visited this restaurant on 02÷06÷15. Good food, but very poor décor. I had chicken scarpiello, and my wife had shrimp parmesan, both dishes where good not great. When the bread came out I asked for olive oil, and instead of pasta my wife substituted mixed vegetable.
I got the bill, and I’m from NYC and i’ve eaten in some of the best Italian restaurants around. I have never seen a surcharge of $ 1.95 for olive oil and $ 6.95 for a tiny portion of vegetables.
I was outraged, I don’t mind paying $ 21.95 for shrimp parmesan in a dive, but $ 1.95 for olive oil?
I complaint to the waitress and the owner went hiding in the back. I told them that I would never return. Oh the waitress told me that hidden on the menu somewhere it says $ 1.95 for olive oil.
Stupid stupid restaurant, by the way this the same place that was closed down by the board of health in St Augustine for having mice and droppings

We own rental property on Vilano and visit often. We were very excited to see a new place opened up because there aren’t many places on the beach to eat at .
We ate here for dinner. I immediately told our server I hate a gluten and soy ALLERGY. No problem she assured me so we ordered our drinks .
My daughter is type 1 diabetic and was in the process of checking her blood sugar and getting her insulin ready when the waitress returned with our drinks. She stopped short when she saw my daughter testing her blood sugar and walked away. She returned with 2 other people who all 3 stood there staring at my daughter discreetly giving herself a shot. She uses an insulin pen which looks like any other ink pen and has a needle about ¹⁄₃ of an inch long. When we are out she doses in her tummy so she had pulled she sweater up about an inch to expose skin. All of this is done under table level. Thankfully my daughter didn’t realize that the staff was gawking at her or she would have been mortified. In 10 years we have never had an issue like this. When I brought this up to the owner she actually suggested my daughter go to the restroom to take insulin. How degrading and unsanitary. I am truly shocked at the lack of compassion and maturity aimed at a little girl dealing with an awful disease .
We were brought salad and bread and ordered. I passed on both but my daughter ate them and said they were both ok .
Fast forward an hour later and my daughters insulin has kicked in and her blood sugar has dropped so she had to drink a juice from my purse .
Thirty minutes later our meals arrived. Daughter got chicken parm and said it was ok. She barely are any of it and didn’t want to take it with us. I got an eggplant dish with cheese and sauce. It was ok as well but at some point I got contaminated with gluten. I have since found out the kitchen uses the same pots and utensils for gluten free dishes and everything else. Gluten can stick to a pot or spoon even after washing and most places have a set just for gluten free. Remember I stated it was an allergy. The owners response to me getting I’ll was that they thought it was just a lifestyle choice (does it matter ???) despite me clearly saying allergy and that my immediate illness (severe tummy cramps) was a virus. Which it was not. As a nurse who has celiac I am aware of what gluten poisoning feels like .
The cherry on top of the evening was several visits by what we found out was the owner who was soliciting reviews for another review site. He was smoking an e cigarette (yes as he came to our table) and had his shirt unbuttoned down about 5 buttons. He never introduced himself and had little to say other than to ask about the reviews .
I feel bad that this local place is struggling so bad. As a property owner on Vilano I always enjoy local places. Sadly I cannot recommend Casa to my local friends or renters (I have 4 units). To have a bad meal is one thing but to be attacked and told we were wrong via a review response just shows how unprofessional a business is. My review was honest and accurate and I tried to give them the benefit of the doubt but the refuse to take constructive criticism (get a set of gluten free cookware!) .
I know they will leave a similar nasty response here and that is fine because their responses show exactly what kind of people they are. Also I found out from «the other big review «site that their reviews are under investigation since they had so many complaints that the positive reviews were left by friends/​staff or were bought.

We absolutely love this place.
The food is authentic delicious Italian.
The portions are huge. The price is right. The service is first class and the family owned feel is warm & welcoming.
Welcome to Vilano. We are excited to have you & will be regulars.
Cheers.

Date of service: Oct 11, 2014
Meal: Dinner, Eat in
All Ratings out of 10:
Quality of food: 8
Food to Spend Value: 8
Quality of Service: 8
Overall Rating: 8
Italian is my favorite kind of food. I also happen to be half Italian, meaning I find it extremely challenging to find Italian food I am willing to pay for or that tastes better than food I can make at home. I was in the mood for Italian in St. Augustine (of course I usually am anywhere I am!), but I wasn’t convinced I would find a worthy place. Unilocal led me to Casa Benedetto’s, and needless to say I was quite happy!
We started off with the arancini (deep fried stuffed rice balls) as an appetizer. They were extremely well prepared and delicious. I was also quite impressed with the red sauce that accompanied them, as that is typically something that a lot of Italian restaurants don’t do very well (which seems counterintuitive but true to my experience). The complimentary bread that is served was also delicious!
Given how impressed I was with the appetizer, I decided to take a risk for my entrée and order eggplant. Eggplant is very easy to overcook or cook poorly in general, and I will typically not order this from a restaurant. I did not regret my choice. I ordered the eggplant rollatini, which for the uninitiated is like a stuffed eggplant parmesan. It was savory, scrumptious, delectable, and all around delicious. It was also accompanied by red sauce and pasta, and I was completely stuffed by the time I was done. I was hoping to try some dessert, but I had no room whatsoever.
The portions are huge, the prices reasonable, and the recipes are bonafide. The place is small and homey feeling, which creates a nice ambience. I could imagine this might result in long waits at times, but we went pretty late on a Saturday and had no issues getting seated. I hear they just moved to a new location, so I don’t know if small is still a problem or not. I will definitely return when I am back in the St. Augustine area. If you are a fan of Italian food, take the advice of an Italian food snob and visit Casa Benedetto’s.