ciao bella italian grill

...everything that came out, was a complete surprise (and chef came out, each time to explain each dish) & it was all beyond our greatest expectations.

great atmosphere. good menu variety. food is good and tasty. service was friendly. patio is small but really nice - shaded in the evening. prices were a smudge high but not entirely unreasonable. over all - a very good experience. to the reviewer who compared it to olive garden: seriously? nothing wrong with og but they are the applebee's of italian food... this place, ciao bella, has soul and spirit, and much better food. i recommend caio bella.

not good. ordered the chicken piccatta. the chicken had a rubbery texture to it, i couldn't even finish it. my husband's pasta dish was fair at best. this is a typical crappy italian restaurant for the typical uneducated memphis palette.

i have a theory. if it takes the chef over 30 seconds and several breaths to describe his carefully prepared dish, it’s probably going to be incredible. in fact, it might even cause a culinary explosion in every single one of your taste buds. one of my favorite dishes of the evening that sparked this theory indeed had the longest description, so lengthy i had to hear it twice and slowly to get it all down. here’s the complete description given to me and christopher by chef brannon: chilled orzo pasta salad tossed with the house dressing, baby greens, red onions, roma tomatoes, black olives, feta cheese, and baby heirloom tomatoes. (explosions definitely erupted.) to say our meal at ciao bella is one of the best we can remember is not an exaggeration. i also say this not because our fine dining experiences have dramatically decreased due to financial problems (that’s a whole other story), but let’s just say i’m officially tired of eating taco bell nacho supremes

ciao bella is my favorite restaurant in memphis! i love the food and the atmosphere.....if you haven't been, you're missing out!

follow up review.... i have now been to ciao bella in person; my last review was of take out. the place is in a strip mall which i generally would be vehemently opposed to....but they managed to pull off a nice atmosphere with both the indoor and outdoor seating. beats me how because i was absolutely surprised. the service was awesome. i mean from the moment we walked in to the second we left they were johnny on the spot with seating us, taking drink and food orders, the timing and delivery of each course, on and on. couldn't say enough good things about the staff. the food was not the best italian i have ever had, but by memphis standards (sorry memphis chefs and cooks you just don't know good italian) it was very good.

i saw a complaint about the pizza and i haven't tried it so i can't comment. however it should be noted that the author of that complaint recommended carrabas...really? got any other good recommendations? like say olive garden or macaroni grill? seriously?

anyway i still don't get the greek foods on the menu but the tiropitakia and spanakopitakia are delicious. i guess southern italy is supposed to have come from mediterranean influnce or something...i don't know? anyway all in all really good place no complaints whatsoever.


-----09 jun, 2010-----

really good...italian?...restaurant.. so this is a combination review from myself and my wife. she actually went and ate there and was nice enough to bring me takeout. her review of actually visiting the restaurant was that her server was great and the restaurant was clean and nice. she said her food was very good and the prices were reasonable. prices be d@mned...she paid so i will just comment on the food. she lugged it all the way back to midtown and it was still warm and very good. i had the patistisio...probably spelled it wrong...yummy. so here is where i put the question mark behind the word italian in the title...half the menu here is greek food. good greek food but greek food nonetheless. so i guess if you are looking for a full italian menu well not here...but if you are looking for a very interesting selection of greek and italian this place is a good starting point! i will eat here again for sure.

speaking of the regular menu, it's pretty impressive. there are pizzas, pastas, italian-inspired entrees and plenty of seafood. i couldn't decide between the pasta and seafood, so i went with the lobster ravioli ($18). the orange and white striped pasta was much spicier than i thought it would be. i think part of the spice came from the roasted red pepper cream sauce, but the pasta definitely had some flavor on its own.the raviolis wer

overrated and overpriced. pizza is ok, not great
pasta dishes were overcooked and tasteless.
the atmosphere is great and the service was very good.
go to carrabas or brooklyn bridge for real italian food.

great place!. had another great meal at ciao bella. its hands down the best italian food in mid-south....don't miss the veal picatta and the daily seafood specials are outstanding. nice bar too.

great italian. great restaurant, great service & great food. we love to come here to celebrate birthdays! i have never had a bad experience here.

great food, great atmosphere, great service! i will be returning again and again!

awesome!. the food and service was wonderful and amazing! we each order an entree and passed it around to sample. we ordered the chicken ravioli, lobster ravioli, scalopinni chicken parmasean, and pastisio. for dessert we ordered tiramisu, chocolate lava cake, and chocolate mousse cake.

excellent food!. great atmosphere, friendly service, large portions of fresh delicious food, great wine list, great value.....what else can you ask for in a restaurant?

from the pizzas to the fish to the pastitso to the salads....everything is delicious!

still a fan. we went to caio bella again last night and it is still delicious.
the food is excellent. the dining room is warm and cozy.

we ordered the following:
escargot for appetizer
fume blanc for the wine
1 person greek salad to share
chicken carbonara & shrimp alla toscana

the escargots were fragrant and prefectly cooked.
the greek salad was good, not spectacular but very well done.
the pasta dishes were a nicely prepared. i do have to say that the shrimp in the shrimp alla toscan was perfectly prepared. cooked just right where it was not hard and rubbery like many other restaurants nor was it undercooked. it was perfect.

i've been here many times before for functions in their party room and have had thier small appetizers which i have always thought were good. but the dinner service here is excellent. i have to warn that it is more on the expensive side but they do a wonderful job in the kitchen with the preparation of the meals.

i would definitely recommend this place but be ready to spend a little here. next time i might try one of their pizzas.

some of the best pizza in memphis!. ciao bella is delicious. they have an excellent wine list, friendly staff, and most importantly, delicious food. i always order the pizza. the greek pizza is one of my favorite pizza's in memphis. the salads and side items are also good.