When the licensing issues that long plagued Casa 13 finally blew up last year, one of our Mediterranean favorites was forced to pack up and move to Balthazaar’s old space on Taikang Lu. The move came with a new menu and a new chef, and while the fare here is still solid, the restaurant’s lost some its “wow” factor.

Formerly renowned for its pleasant garden, skylight atrium and cozy interior, the new Casa’s ambience is decidedly different–it’s set in a vertical three-story lanehouse, dressed in dark wood with high ceilings with a spiraling staircase. The ghosts of Vargas past are still present. The venue is at once a touch Balthazaar and a touch Casa, adorned with pin-ups from the now-defunct Vargas Grill.

The new, larger menu now includes four variations on their lauded charcuterie board (now the Casa 13 Board, RMB145). This was a must for us, a tried and true test of the original menu, along with another holdover, the tender and lightly seasoned Ahi tuna carpaccio (RMB75). The board isn’t a far cry from the original, but it now offers less prosciutto in favor of a selection of other cured meats and a small glass dish of delectable chicken liver pâte rather than the larger clay pot that formerly accompanied the order. Baby mozzarella, marinated peppers and olives rounded it out.

The meat in our sizable beef cheek main (RMB130) was tender and succulent, though a few stray shards of bone ruined one or two bites. With chunky potatoes underneath and a hefty amount of sauce, it’s a fine stew. The chocolate lava cake (RMB60) that topped off our meal was indeed hot and gooey on the inside, but the outer crust was a bit dry and the vanilla gelato on the side a bit crystallized for our taste. We’ll be back, though maybe not as often as in the past.

DETAILS

What: Casa 13

Where: No. 7, Lane 155 Jianguo Zhong Lu 建国中路155弄7号

Tel: 6473-0820