BELLA ITALIA
Formerly known as Bella Pasta
My first visit to a Bella Italia was a couple of weeks after returning from a holiday at Lake Como. My 10 year old son was very impressed that he could use his newly aquired snatches of Italian as the waitress greeted us in Italian, he ... Read review
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Advantages: Good food reasonably priced Disadvantages: Some tables are a little cramped
== BELLA ITALIA ==
=== Formerly known as Bella Pasta ===
My first visit to a Bella Italia was a couple of weeks after returning from a holiday at Lake Como. My 10 year old son was very impressed that he could use his newly aquired snatches of Italian as the waitress greeted us in Italian, he spent the meal throwing in what few words and phrases he had picked up in Italy!!
The restaurant ... .../>
RESTAURANT.......Our local Bella Italia is on the corner of Church Street, Lancaster, and is like a little piece of Italy in the midst of Lancashire. It is a small restaurant but - a little like the Tardis - seems bigger inside. A few tables and chairs are placed around the restaurant so on a nice day it's an ideal place to sit with a cup of frothy cappuccino or glass of wine and watch the world go by, especially on market day.
... more
BELLA ITALIA
Formerly known as Bella Pasta
My first visit to a Bella Italia was a couple of weeks after returning from a holiday at Lake Como. My 10 year old son was very impressed that he could use his newly aquired snatches of Italian as the waitress greeted us in Italian, he spent the meal throwing in what few words and phrases he had picked up in Italy!!
The restaurant we visited was in Lancaster, our home town, and at that time I didn't realise that it was part of a chain. I must say that we enjoyed our meal and found the prices reasonable, consequently we have returned several times since. It is on all of these visits that I base this review.
RESTAURANT.......Our local Bella Italia is on the corner of Church Street, Lancaster, and is like a little piece of Italy in the midst of Lancashire. It is a small restaurant but - a little like the Tardis - seems bigger inside. A few tables and chairs are placed around the restaurant so on a nice day it's an ideal place to sit with a cup of frothy cappuccino or glass of wine and watch the world go by, especially on market day.
Some of the tables inside the restaurant are a bit cramped, but generally the atmosphere and comfort is fine and there is a definate Italian feel to the whole experience.
FOOD..........as you would imagine the menu is Italian, and I and all my family have always been very pleased with everything we have ordered. I have never eaten there of an evening but we often have the special lunchtime offer which is from a set menu that is served in Lancaster between 12.00 and 5.00 pm, the cost is 1 course £5.95, 2 courses £7.95, 3 courses £9.95. The meals are chosen from the following menu :
FIRST COURSE Whole flat mushroom topped with cream, pancetta bacon and mozzarella cheese, baked in the oven.
Half a red Pepper stuffed with goats cheese, tomato and basil, served with salad garnish drizzled with balsamic dressing.
Toasted ciabatta topped with roasted vegetables in a warm mayonnaise and pesto sauce
SECOND COURSE
Thin Crust pizza topped with tomato, mozzarella, goats cheese and dolcelatte.
Spicy pepperoni, chicken, roasted peppers and red onion in a spicy tomato sauce baked in the oven with penne.
Mushrooms, spinach and penne pasta sautéed in a white wine and dolcelatte cheese sauce.
DESSERT
Sundae of vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and chocolate crunch, served with a café curl.
As well as this offer there is also a excellent A La Carte Menu and a blackboard with specials of the day.
My favourite meal I have eaten there is the Risotto Fruiti di Mare, a creamy risotto with prawns, mussels and calamari sautéed with green chilli and garlic - it is priced at £8.95 and is very good value for money.
FACILITIES AND OFFERS.....The restaurant is not really suitable for wheelchair users as there is no step-free access and the toilets are down fairly steep stairs, however there is outside seating available There is also a Braille menu available for any non seeing customers and also a large print menu.
Children are very well catered for at the restaurant, as well as the baby changing facilities and high chairs available there is an excellent children's menu which offers a play pack, a main course, dessert and drink for £4.95. The choices on the menu are :
MAIN COURSES
Molly's Macaroni Cheese Macaroni cheese with peas and sweetcorn
Meatballs and Mash Small meatballs in a tomato sauce with mashed potato
Penny's Cheesy Tomato Pasta with Chicken Spaghetti with a cheesy tomato and vegetable sauce and strips of breadcrumbed chicken breast. This is also available without chicken.
Sophie Spaghetti's Bolognaise Spaghetti topped with a meaty bolognaise with peas and sweetcorn.
Pete's Pizza Plus One Cheese and tomato pizza with one extra topping - either Ham,Pepperoni or mushroom.
Freddie's Fish Fingers Chunky fish fingerswith chips and either a side salad or vegetables
DESSERT
Ice cream Either Strawberry, Vanilla, Chocolate or Toffee Fruit fl avoured Jelly - Strawberry or Orange Banana and custard
The children can choose from the following drinks and if thy require a top up they can have one for just 50p,
Coke, Diet Coke,
Fanta Orange,
Lemonade,
Orange Squash,
Apple & Blackcurrant Squash,
Milk
Fruit Juices - Apple, Orange or Pineapple
There are even carrot and cucumber dipping Sticks with mayo or ketchup for them to nibble on.
There are also student discounts available at the restaurant and Tesco Clubcard vouchers can be redeemed there and there are vegetarian choices.
All in all the whole experience of dining at the restaurant was very pleasant and reasonably priced
"Summary: A great experience for a little taste of Italy in England"
Advantages: good menu, nice atmosphere Disadvantages: prices are a bit high
...and enjoyed. You've guessed it, Bella Italia (previously Bella Pasta) was one of those places, so could it live up to my first visit. When I first went here the restaurant seemed to be very big on pasta dishes and didn't really sell much else. This was good though because there was a huge variety of dishes and so much choice that it was a great menu. They have changed their interior now a well so it's a whole new dining experience.
I am reviewing ... ...major difference now from the Bella Pasta menu to the newer Bella Italia menu is that they have minimalised the pasta section and now have fish, pizza, meat and more starters. This is good as it will probably appeal to a bigger range of people. I wanted pasta so I picked Penne Pollo e Crema which was very nice. I was going to go for Lasagne but decided on this. There is linguini, spaghetti etc. They also have grilled meats, salads and panini's and ...
ms19 04.07.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Bella Pasta
Bella Pasta. Just typing the name makes me hungry. I'm known in our halls of residence for my, let's just say, 'picky' eating habits. Fruit, vegetable and meat are all dirty words as far as I'm concerned. My standard daily food intake concentrates on things of the bread and pasta variety. As a result, I very rarely eat out which can be a pain as meals in restaurants are a very social thing and quite frequent, even for broke students. I'm trying to ... ...to the topic in hand. Bella Pasta is one of the few restaurants I can not only find something I like at, but also one I enjoy. Their menu, which is pretty comprehensive, lists various pasta and sauce combinations, but as the staff are more than happy to point out, you can mix and match as much as you want. Who cares if bollonaise is meant for spaghetti - you want it with penne? You got it! This is great for me as I can get my pasta just how I want ...
zoe_page 14.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Bella Pasta
Advantages: Great food service and value Disadvantages: Very busy and short of room and privacy
Bella Pasta have a chain of restaurants across the country, 63 at the last count and still growing! They would fall into the same category as Pizza Hut and Pizza Express with regards to prices, they aren't exactly cheap but won't break the bank either. Me and my partner have visited the Bath chain on a couple of occasions and have enjoyed our meals there immensely. Being a chain restaurant, I wouldn't be able to say that every single outlet is of ... ...would advise to pre-book at Bella Pasta but it depends on how much of a rush you are in really.
The table itself was very clean and very well presented with an Italian style tablecloth and candle. Our assistant who was to look after us gave us our menus and took our drinks order. The table we were allocated was in my view a little too close to the other tables, on looking around everybody else was in the same position. Personally I like privacy ...
WormThatTurned 07.03.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Bella Pasta
Advantages: Always clean and tidy Disadvantages: none
I recently went to Bella Pasta with my mum and dad. As you walk through the door you are greeted by a member of staff who asked you whether you wanted a smoking or non smoking table, and then you were handed the menus and shown to your table. I thought that it was very good the way that you could have smoking or non smoking because people that dont smoke dont want to be put by people who do. On the menus they have a wide range of different Italian ... ...because i get full! When you ask for your bill, you dont just get the bill on a plate they bring you some lemon sweets to finsh off your meal.
I am always impressed with Bella Pasta and never have that many problems.
Excellent all round ...
gem_rad 13.08.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Bella Pasta
...unable we ended up in Bella Pasta.
We were welcomed at the door by a smiling waitress and she then took us to our table and passed out the menus.
She was extremely friendly and did not rush us when we were deciding on our drinks. I always hate the feeling of being rushed.
The atmosphere was good as there were quite a few people in the restaurant. Two of the group ordered pasta and two ordered pizza.
I have to say those of us who ordered the pizza ... ...by far the best and nicest that has served me in a long time and the food especially the pizzas are good.
I definitely recomend Bella Pasta to anyone.
The toilets however were disgusting as the floor was covered in water ( I hope it was water anyhow)!!!!! ...
paprika_c 15.02.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Bella Pasta
Value for Money
Standard of Menu
Atmosphere
Standard of Service
Cleanliness
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Mamma Amalfi is an Italian themed restaurant, similar to the likes of BellaPasta. It is an ideal place to have a meal with a group of people as there is so much variety in the menu there is bound to be something to please everyone.
There is a good range of seafood, vegetarian and meat dishes, which is great as I can take my non meat eating friends there without feeling guilty that they have only one option on the menu.
There are also quite a few dishes that are not either pizza or pasta so even those who dont particularly fancy an Italian should find something they like.
I am not an expert on Italian Cuisine and have no idea whether this is at all like authentic Italian food but I really enjoy the rich and flavourful sauces of their pasta dishes, and have had some of my best pasta dishes there.
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leilla 29.09.2006
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