Bella Italia

miapops

Great Italian, shame about the wait 11th September 2008

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I love italian food, and Bella Italia does not disappoint.

The restaurant was very busy when we visited, ad we did have to wait quite a long while for our food to arrive, which was not ideal when you're dining with two hungry children.

I found it to be quite noisy, although this didn't bother us too much as it just helped cover the noise from the whining children.

The food tasted great although the presentation was not fantastic, but this may have been down to the volume of people ordering at the same time. The children enjoyed their food and loved getting the crayons and books to colour in whilst they waited. They were also given a little toy camera to play with which was quite fun and distracted them a little from the wait.

All in all a good place to eat, if you are not in a rush.

dopeincredible

The Italian Job lot 1st September 2008

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Banking, in itself, is seldom enjoyable. It’s even worse when you’re drifting in and out of consciousness due to critically low sugar levels. This I blame on the BBC. They had moved Doctor Who *again*.

I was well on the way to town when I discovered this (Mrs Wifey was in the vein for clothes shopping, so I’d packed the TV guide for light reading).

I’d left the house hungry, planning to pick up something trashy from the Bakers Oven to tide me over till we could munch on something more balanced (half a glacé cherry, I’m told, is not a vegetable portion).

The Belgian bun plan was thus nixed, and I trudged home, reset the video and started the expedition anew. The physical distress of the ordeal, however, was starting to tell and the hunger storms were wracking my frail body. Twenty minutes later, the perspex barrier in the Halifax was the only thing preventing me chewing off the clerk’s juicy face.

The next few minutes are hazy, but when I came to, we had evidently made it to the closest place that didn’t hazard our path with staircase.

Richard showed us to our table with a buongiorno, a couple of pregos and a lilting Irish brogue. Extra marks were scored for bringing the mineral water without pointless lemon garnish, but subsequently lost by forgetting the olives.

True to the style of themed bistro chains, Bella Italia is decorated (by the numbers) according to its ostensible country of origin. Unrealistic it may be, but it’s much less gratingly executed than at Café Rouge, although at least the latter’s abuse of foreign tongues extends no further than a cursory bon appétit.

I reminded Riccardo about the olives – he responded in apologetic English and gave them to us on the house.

To protect my body from excessive suffering, my brain had been shutting down its sensors; with one bite of this manna they exploded back into life. I can’t objectively testify to the quality of Bella Italia’s olives, but at this point they were definitely at least the third best thing I’d ever eaten.

Regrettably, the campagna and quattro stagioni pizzas weren’t in the same league. They weren’t *bad* as such, but with Pizza Express or Zizzi offering twice as much taste for the same money, at least a third of Bella Italia’s menu is redundant.

rafasarmy

Bella Bella !!! 25th August 2008

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Bella Italia is a charming italian with an engaged, very friendly and proficient wait staff. The staff were very knowledgeable and friendly and they have great wine recommendations! The menu is diverse with selections suited to any palate. Their salads are delicious, masterfully mixing sweet, nutty and a touch of the right spice--It's a winner. Meat, fish and pasta all cooked to perfection--nicely presented, very ample and thoroughly enjoyable.
Everything on the menu is tasty beyond belief, and they have the best wine list. No wonder there is usually a wait to get a table from what i can tell.
We enjoyed the restaurant and was a hit with the kids.
Good value for money - clean - nice surroundings etc etc..... only bad thing was the wait due to how busy they were.

mrs8only

Italian pklace to go 21st August 2008

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If u love italian food this is the place to go.
It's a nice place with nice food
go on try it

Babyjade

okay 15th May 2008

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the food was good, but the service was slow, might have been short staffed, though they should have said if they were. i'd give it another chance.