bella's italian cafe

great experience and food. bella's is a comfy restaurant in south tampa...stopped in after searching around howard for somewhere to eat. i was dining on my own, but the wait was only about five to ten minutes (i read an issue of creative loafing while i waited...they have a plentiful amount of papers both tbt and cl). when my table was up they lead me to my booth.

the waiter, andrew f., came out quickly and welcomed me to bella's along with a piece of bread with a tomato spread on it. i mentioned it was my first time. he recommended some dishes, but i ordered my favorite italian dish, fettuccine alfredo ($10.99)...i'm a traditionalist. the waiter immediately went to place my order in and brought me my soda and some warm bread and butter.

the bread and butter were excellent. toasty and soft bread, though pretty filling. the fettuccine alfredo must have only taken about 20 minutes or less to come out, but the waiter still checked on me plenty of times to make sure i was enjoying my meal and to see if there was anything i needed. he was very courteous and genuine and you could tell he really understands how to provide quality customer service.

the fettuccine alfredo was probably one of the best ones i have had in tampa. unlike the italian kitchen, they used real fettuccine pasta that was perfectly cooked. the alfredosaucehad a unique and appetizing taste, it tasted like something i had while eating italian in california...certainly not something i have had anywhere in tampa. the parmesan on top perfected it and the portion was large and i had to take a box to-go.

after some indecision, i decided i would try a half-size of their tiramisu (my favorite dessert) and the waiter took my fettuccine alfredo and quickly boxed the leftovers. he even labeled the box with the date and put a smiley face on it, i felt like a kid...but then at the same time it's nice to see someone put so much attention into their job.

anyway, the tiramisu must have only taken about 5 minutes or less to come out and there it was a cake of goodness. the half-size was still plenty for one person and only $3.75. you still get the same amount of chocolate with it and the waiter poured it all over the cake, man that cake was so appetizing. it has to be one of the best tiramisu's that i have tasted (the only place i can think of that i like it more is hella's bakery in tarpon springs).

once the tiramisu the waiter brought me my check and didn't rush me out of the restaurant. he brought me some water to wash down the dessert. i was really impressed with the service here. if you get andrew f. when you visit bella's prepare for a good night of service.

the price is pretty good for an upscale italian restaurant. i spent less than $20 and ordered the fettuccine alfredo, a soda, and a tiramisu. while browsing the menu i came across their lunch menu which has many dishes for under $5! have to have lunch here someday.

let's get the negatives out of the way first: busy friday night (6:15pm); they don't accept reservations; no parking (had to turn my beloved vw tdi over to jake, the valet); seated adjacent to the patio doors (had to have been opened & closed 20 times during the course of our meal); jammed packed & loud, slippery (greasy) tile floor thorough; waite service was good when t.j. came around, but he was swamped...need a lot more servers; got my aglio olio at the end of my entree (ordered the grouper calabrese loaded with calamata olives & capers in a thick tomato garlic sauce...didn't see the benefit in ordering more redsauceon my side pasta & yet was charged a $.75 upcharge forsaucecomposed of evo2, butter, & garlic (all three of which are contained in the marinara sauce). wth?

now, the positives: the hot rolls, red sangria ($2.99/glass during hours of happiness) & grouper were outstanding. we were first-time diners, there as a result of purchasing a 4-diner $80 groupon for $40; the total tab came to $138, with a net out-of-pocket of $98 (tax & tip incl). in as much as well-prepared food offsets a lot of non-culinary shortcomings in the hierarchy of this reviewer, we'd come back.

the rest of the party enjoyed their meals, i.e. pollo lasagna, chicken parmigiana romano, & spaghetti with meatballs. jake was great!

the help was attentive and the food mediocre. i had a chicken pasta dish that disappointing. the quality of chicken was poor and there was little of it. thesaucetasted like to was a low end store brand. the pasta was even poor quality. i'd go to an italian chain restaurant before returning.

looks pretty, great hostess, ok food, horrible service. we typically don't dine at bella's because the service is generally not up to par, and tonight wasn't any different than our other experiences a year ago! except, this time it reminded me of asking a hamburger place to take "the pickle out of the burger". all i wanted was fettuccine alfredo without any garnish, chicken or even paprika around the plate. my party heard me say: "no garnish, all white, noodles and cheese please". i don't have to tell you it didn't come that way, but after the waiter gave me the shoulder shrug, he finally asked if i wanted it redone. my bad; why did i say yes?! i'm no chef but you would think when an order is not prepared to the patron's standard, the re-make should be considered a priority. well, not in this case. i also don't mean "jump every table's position because i'm special", however when several (as in 5 or 6) tables were served before my dish came back i stood up and asked to cancel my order. i hope you agree i had to do that especially since my party had already finished eating,not a good meal either. in their own words: "the redsaucedidn't taste that good". by the way, the waiter leaning and raising his arm in front of my wife's face to serve me my bread didn't help either, especially when he could have walked 2 feet to the other side of the table where no one was seating.

so here is the real reason i'm writing this review on an easter sunday: not only the waiter told me i was not going to be charged for the dish i ordered (no kidding, since i didn't wanted anymore nor did i eat it). but when the pseudo manager, at least i believe he was the acting manager tonight, came and also said, "i'll be sure not to charge you for the fettuccine", that did not sit well with me. i have a good job, i promise, i can afford the $20 the dish cost or i wouldn't have taken my party to dinner. i wasn't looking for a free meal!! all i wanted is to eat at the same time as my party and yes, i take the responsibility for asking "to take the pickle out of the hamburger".

oh my what great lasagna!! and the basil tomatosaucewith grilled shrimp over linguini was yummy. long wait but worth it.

there’s a lot to like about bella’s – the décor and ambiance are bistro chic, the food was really quite good. ours is a judgmental group headed by my cheftastic husband whose opinions are coming from a place of great food knowledge and experience. how do you take a fabulous italian who cooks fabulous italian food to an italian restaurant and expect not to hear his opinion? so i’m taking him out of the mix entirely because for the remaining seven in our group there was definite thumbs up approval. i love dining in this trendy soho area of florida – if i squint i can almost imagine myself back in new york city (and yes in this dream sequence i’m about 30 years younger and absolutely fabulous). there’s a lively energy to this part of town and we see it mostly as we’re leaving for home around 8 and the young’uns are just arriving decked out for a night of fun. kudos to them. i enjoyed lasagna with bolognesesaucethat was cooked perfectly. others in our group tried the standard spaghetti a

good!. bella's has a very modern interior design that does not particularly strike me as a place serving authentic italian cuisine. however, this feeling is soon vanquished the moment i sat down and sampled the bruschetta. it was delicious in its simplicity. i sampled an array of nice appetizers of which i found the mushroom caps to be the most satisfying (the mixture of white winesauceand sausage in the mushroom was fantastic). for my main entree i ordered the pear sachets. i have had this meal at many italian places and have found only the better quality locations capable of preparing the pasta correctly. the sachets at bella's were phenomenal. i was incredibly impressed by the elegant preparation and the amazing flavor being both sweet and savory. i also sampled from from both the chicken and regular lasagna and found both to also be quite good. if you looking for a solid italian meal before a night out, bella's is the place to be

i had dinner at bella's italian cafe the other night after driving up howard ave. looking for a place to eat. after successfully finding parking (the lot was packed) right in the front (score!) i walked inside to put my name in to eat. the restaurant was packed, but it only took about five to ten minutes to get seated. i was seated in a booth and the waiter immediately brought me some water and some bruschetta and started helping with my order. bread & butter i decided to order fettuccine alfredo (i'm quite a traditionalist) and the waiter, andrew f., quickly put my order in and brought me some warm bread and butter. this waiter had to be one of the best severs i have ever had in tampa bay and frequently checked on me throughout the night to make sure my meal was satisfactory. within about 10 to 20 minutes i had my fettuccine alfredo arrive at my table. the alfredosaucewas just as good as the waiter said it would be, a unique taste…reminded me of asaucei had in san francisco once

it was ok. italian food tends to be overpriced at many restaurants and bella's is no exception. the food is ok - the calamari is too heavily breaded and it took away from the delicate flavor of the squid and they serve bread with butter, of all things. i had to request olive oil and red pepper flakes to dip it in. the bologonesesaucefor the pasta was the one highlight of the menu. seeing how this place is owned by the same people as square one (the burger joint), it's pretty much what i expected - nice atmosphere, too pricey for the quality of food and service, but hey - it's in soho so it must be trendy and great (note the sarcasm)

very good. food is very rich with lots of taste. the portions were generous enough that none of the four of us eating could finish our meal. i had the star pasta with a gorgonzolasauceand topped with salmon. thesaucewas rich and a perfect combo with the sauce, and the salmon was very very good (and not in the least bit fishy as i have often encountered elsewhere). i do not recall the other dishes, but one was a ravioli, one was covered in a meat sauce, and the third a tomato-basedsauceon past, and all three were quite good. the price is great, with the most expensive dish being in the $20 range. average price seemed to be around $15. the food was great regardless, but the price made it a steal. definitely recommended

best italian food! don't miss it!. i drive all the way from clearwater just for the chicken lasagna!! thesauceon this dish is amazing!
ask for a little extra when you order!
you'll love it!!!