 This restaurant review was
undertaken on January 30, 2009
Italian food
on a cold winter’s evening is such a wonderful treat. On Friday
30th January 2009 I did just that when I visited
Bella Italia in the theatre district of Milton Keynes.
Décor
The restaurant
comprises of 3 sections of seating area; the first being
adjacent to the main door way into the restaurant ; the second
is to the rear of that section and the third is through an
archway to the right and which comprises of a raised section
which runs parallel to the main pedestrian thoroughfare. The
premises were clean, if a bit cramped, but more importantly on a
cold night were pleasantly warm. I and my guest were seated by
the windows and were relieved to note that there was no draft
emanating from them.
Atmosphere
The restaurant
had a busy feel to it, especially with two long tables adorned
with balloons for birthday celebrations. The sign of people
queuing to get into the restaurant is always a good indicator of
the success of a restaurant, my only concern being the fact that
people had to wait just inside the double door ways right by
where people were eating; in fact some people stood between the
double doors waiting to be seated. Booking is therefore a must.
Typical Italian pictures and art adorned the walls.
Food
The menu is
divided into Starters, Mains (which is subdivided into pasta,
pizzas and specials), and desserts with liqueurs and drinks.
Our waitress
was of Eastern European persuasion and her diction was a bit
difficult to understand especially when she was trying to
explain the names of Italian dishes.
The average value of the starters
is £4.95. I chose the Butterflied King Prawns baked in garlic
butter on a bed of rocket with tomato red onion and basil salsa.
(£5.50). Four well presented prawns adored the side of the plate
with the rocket salad in side. The prawns were slightly dry, but
still fairly tasty. The salad was tasty but as with most
restaurants was too much. In my mind £5.50 for 4 prawns and a
heap of salad is overpriced. It would also have been nice to
have had a small bowl of water to wash fingers in. My guest
chose the Calamari; squid flowered and deep fried served with
lemon mayonnaise (£4.95); a touch of basil or parsley would have
added colour to the dish, which was served in a brown glazed
bowl. To taste it was succulent, full of flavour with the lemon
mayonnaise exciting the taste buds.
I chose the Penne Pollo Crema
for mains, which is chicken,
pancetta
bacon, roasted peppers, red onion and penne pasta, topped with
parmesan, baked in the oven in a white wine and cream sauce. The
meal was somewhat disappointing as the pieces of pepper and
onion were far too big for the dish and overpowered the flavours
of the chicken and sauce. There was ample amount of food. My
guest chose the Penne Zafferon which cost £9.25. This was smoked
salmon with King Prawns with cherry tomatoes, spinach in a
saffron and cream sauce. The taste buds exploded with different
textures and flavours. The salmon was succulent and creamy and
each mouthful was received with a comment or groan of
pleasure!! Well worth the price.
I chose the Cheesecake Mascarpone
at £4.75. Presentation was limited and the cheesecake flavour
was sharp and certainly cleared the pallet. However the
breadcrumb base was very thin and could have been firmer to give
a more vivid contrast in flavour and consistency. My guest on
the other hand chose the Gioch Napoleon a smooth creamy milk and
white chocolate mousse layered with rich dark chocolate truffle
on fresh cream. Cost £4.25. Looks can be deceiving and the
flavour and contrast in textures and flavours were very exciting
and full of rich flavours. The base was thicker and added to the
enjoyment of each mouthful.
Overall this was an enjoyable meal
and evening. The service was efficient and relatively fast, with
waitresses continually moving from the serving place to the
tables. The food was enjoyable and overall was, apart from my
starter, value for money. An enjoyable evening, and one which I
would happily repeat with friends. |
