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My guest and I adore Italian food
and had heard mixed reviews about Bella Italia. We decided to
give it a try for ourselves on a Saturday evening. It was fairly
busy when we arrived at around 7pm; and as they do not give an
option to pre-book; we did have to wait around 15 minutes to be
seated. They took our names and recommended we go for a drink at
one of the nearby bars whilst we waited. When we arrived back at
the allocated time, we were shown to our table straightaway.
Décor
The restaurant is divided into three subsections; and I must say
I felt rather sorry for those people who were seated in the
first of the three areas: tables placed right by the entrance
with people queuing to be seated alongside them whilst they
tried to enjoy their meals. The second section was an enclosed
area through an archway which looked as though it would be ideal
for a group meal or meeting and the last area was through a
larger arch and consisted of the main floor and a small raised
platform area. Our table was within the raised area, and was
positioned in the corner.
The restaurant is decorated to a
good standard and consists of Italian themed pictures and wall
displays from pieces of Italian artwork and photographs, to
posters of different pasta types.
Atmosphere
There is a pleasant, comfortable atmosphere on entering Bella
Italia, and once you are seated you are absorbed into this
traditional Italian cafe, with the light Italian music, and
gentle bustle of other diners adding to this mood.
Food
The menu provided a huge choice of delicious sounding options. To
start I chose
Gamberoni, £5.25. King prawns baked in a garlic, tomato and chilli.
The prawns were full of the deliciously rich, complementary
flavours of the garlic and chilli.
My
guest chose
Bruschetta, £4.25.
Toasted
focaccia bread with plum tomatoes, red onion, basil and rocket
leaves.
My
guest enjoyed this starter immensely; and commented on the
textures - the bread not too soft under the moist tomatoes.
For the main courses there
was a huge selection including traditional Italian pasta, pizza,
and grill dishes, as well as some delicious sounding salads,
fish and meat dishes.
I
opted for the
Penne Pollo e
Crema, £8.50.
Chicken, pancetta bacon, roasted peppers, red
onion and penne pasta, topped with parmesan, baked in the oven
in a white wine and cream sauce. This arrived in a piping hot
dish, with it’s amazing aroma of flavours enticing my taste buds
before I even tucked-in! The dish was delicious - the well
chosen ingredients each adding a new taste sensation. The
chicken was well cooked and full of flavour, whilst the sauce
was lovely, and was subtle enough that it did not overpower the
other tastes.
My guest chose Carne Mista £8.25.
“Mixed
meat” in Italian!” Spicy pepperoni, smoked ham, tasty Italian
salami and pancetta. My guest has got to be the biggest lover of
pizza I know. Bella’s offering was far from a let down - I think
his statement summed it up… “What can I say… lush!” The thin
base was the perfect consistency - the soft dough was not
over-cooked to a crisp, like you find with some pizzas, and was
adorned with a very generous helping of meat pieces and cheese.
Now for
dessert! I plumped for the Fondente al
Cioccolato. Warm melting chocolate pudding
served with crema inglese. This is a very rich, and rather
sickly chocolate dessert. This didn’t quite meet my expectations
and I would have called it more of a ‘chocolate torte’ than a
‘chocolate pudding’. However, if you are a big fan of chocolate
and can bear the sickliness, you will probably find this tasty.
My guest’s choice was The
Godfather. Nutty chocolate fudge brownies, vanilla
and toffee ice cream with chocolate crunch, chocolate sauce,
fresh cream and wafer curls. My partner showed immense
gratification of this creation! His ‘oooh’s’ and
‘ahhh’s’ made it perfectly clear that this desert is a real
winner! A great take on the classic ‘choc-brownies and
ice-cream’, with its scrummy extras of chocolate crunchies,
curls, and sauce.
Service
The service at Bella Italia is not entirely up to standard; they
do take slightly longer than is expected between courses;
however it must be said that the food, whilst not outstanding,
is still worth the wait. The waiting-staff clearly work hard,
and whilst their efforts are duly respected, I did feel that it
was a little unprofessional to complain about their personal
problems to one-another in front of customers.
I would say that the overall
experience was a positive one and with a little more effort from
the staff, Bella Italia would be one of my choices for a meal
out - whether it be with friends, family or for a date. |
