This place has some of the best guacamole ever! Try it with the house made chips and you'll be so happy. The food is locally sourced from Athens, never frozen or microwaved and absolutely delicious. Prices are a tad high but that's expected for fresh, local food and worth it. During the evening and weekends it can be busy due to being a popular place for students but grab a local beer on tap or margarita and you'll be just fine.
Environment is off the charts. Love ordering breakfast (local food!!), eating, then going to less crowded bar area in the morning to work. So cool.
Been here many timesbut the food seems to have list it's edge. New cooks I assume. Need to step up the seasoning. Bar side is nice though.
Excellent cocktails and drinks at the Bodega and Bar, but if you want to dine-in get ready to wait at least 30 mins for a seat! It's worth the wait though! My favorite is the massive burrito filled with rice and fried mushrooms with their great verde sauce.
(Great vegetarian options with large sized portions)
Easily my favorite Mexican restaurant ever. The food is amazing, but it will take some time, so don't be in a hurry. Excellent for vegetarians and great drinks, as others have noted. I miss the days of their jarred salsas (particularly their salsa verde and garlic salsa). As for recommendations on food, I don't think there's a wrong choice. Just pick something that sounds good at the time and you wont' regret it.
Decent food if you can ever get seated on the weekend. Slow service most of the time, but typically worth the wait.
I've been going to Casa Nueva since the mid 1990s. It has changed in appearance over the years, but still remains my favorite Athens restaurant. Terrific food, vegetarian choices, great cocktails, and enjoyable atmosphere.
The wait is long and the service mediocre, but the food is incredible. I'm not a patient person at all, but I love the food and will wait on this stuff. I recommend a light snack before hand if you're even slightly hungry.
Really great food. Our greeter on this occasion was pretty short with us, but the server was good. It takes forever to get your food here - if you are in a rush or really hungry, you might want to come back another time. It's a co-op, so I appreciate that everyone working there really is in it for good reasons, but it's hard to wait so long for your breakfast!
If I'm being totally honest, when I first moved here 9 years ago, I was pretty skeptical of Casa because it wasn't your run of the mill Mexican restaurant as I had anticipated it being. I started really enjoying their drinks (the infused vodkas are to die for) and eventually decided to try the food again, which was a great life choice on my part because it's absolutely delicious.
This may sound odd but I noticed that as my love for the Athens local community grew, my endearment toward Casa also grew. Casa uses local ingredients and gives their employees a livable wage (which is hard to come by in the restaurant business).
I definitely recommend Casa to anyone, my only advice is to go there understanding that it's not comparable to Gran Ranchero (so to speak) in terms of being a "typical authentic Mexican restaurant"
Casa is Outstanding. The food was great, very tasty. And they are a no tipping establishment, ensuring that the wait staff are being paid fairly.
Honestly, it's my favorite place to eat in Athens. The food is always fresh and delicious. The drink selection is plentiful and the staff is always so delightful.
Casa is an Athens staple. It can fairly be said that it's food is good. Good, in a "remixes of the same items" kind of way. The ingredients are quality, and the place won't let you forget how local and sustainable they are. That's the best of Casa.
The worst of the place is more substantial. Never make plans surrounding Casa. Your chance of getting a table in the afternoon is next to zero. Wait times are always upwards of 45 minutes, during which you're expected to booze yourself at the bar. This would be avoidable/acceptable, if the establishment took reservations. Bewilderingly, given its local fame, it doesn't.
If indeed you find a table, expect no usual standard of serving courtesy. The staff are brusque, unprofessional, and have neither a dress code nor uniform. They share the irritating habit of using the first person possessive "I have X" when listing the day's special items. Only if you appreciate chatty, casual staff will you enjoy being served.
Simply put, if the standard of Athens cuisine is marked by willful casualness and pretension over ingredient sourcing, Casa is a gem. By higher standards, not so much.
Delicious food, good options for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, cocktails and a wide selection of beer available. There is both a restaurant side with full menu and table service or you can eat on the bodega side with a limited menu, order at the bar, they'll give you a number and you can pick up your order at the kitchen window when the number is up. Highly recommend Casa for those new to Athens. They also have live music and dance nights at night. Bloody Mary bar on Sundays.
Awesome! What else would you call a place with delicious, locally sourced food that is employee owned? Their menu has a Mexican flavor. Their seasonal, scratch-made salsa's are heavenly. Their staff is friendly and welcoming. Oh yeah, they mean it when they say, don't tip your wait staff. If you insist, they will donate the money to one of the charities they support. Awesome, right?