La Bella Vita Ristorante

Reviews 6

RI

Richard H

Overall a very unimpressive experience. The atmosphere was louder than we anticipated, which made a quiet conversation difficult. The coffee wasnt hot or good, so that was sent back. The appetizers were good; my wife had the mushroom soup which she thought was acceptable and I had the Panzanella Salad which was quite good. Unfortunately the main courses were both disappointing. I had the worst veal Ive ever been served in the Scallopine di Vitello all olio Tartufato. The veal was grisly without flavor and the sides of potato and zucchini were under seasoned and the roasted potatoes were very dry. My wife had the Risotto al Chianti which actually made her laugh and comment that it looked like a prison meal since it was an unappetizing grey color. To me it looked like old porridge with peas mixed in. But she said it tasted good. The real surprise came when one of the owners checked on our meal and I politely informed him it was just OK. He clearly understood we werent impressed and asked what could be better. After mentioning the veal, he explained that all of their veal was bad and he wished they would have realized that before serving mine. In fact, he even stated that it was no longer being served that evening. He didnt offer to take it back or make something else. I didnt finish the dish and expected that our bill would be adjusted accordingly. I was surprised and disappointed that there was no adjustment on the bill for the inedible veal. But I didnt make a fuss and simply realized this was not the type of restaurant that understands customer satisfaction. The waitress took our payment and after processing it said her boss wanted to buy us dessert. This was offensive to me. Serve a $21 meal that was inedible and by their own admission should not have been served and then offer to make up for it with dessert? Thats clearly wrong and poor business. Needless to say we wont be going back to La Bella Vita.

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BR

Bryan Cash

I gave them 4 stars, averaging my last two visits - my first visit about 3 weeks ago was FIVE stars, but my last visit was, well, 3 stars being generous! About weeks ago my son and I stumbled across La Bella Vita and stopped in for dinner on a Saturday night. We didnt have reservations and it was quite busy so had a little wait, but not bad. We were seated and it was obvious the staff was a bit stressed by the busy chaos, but again not too bad. Probably just a bit inexperienced, but they were pleasant enough. I ordered the Veal Parmigiana and my 12yo son ordered the lasagna. Honestly, it was one of the best Veal Parms Ive EVER had!!! Perfect thickness, perfectly cooked, sauced, and tender. I was blown away. My sons lasagna was also amazing, and Im almost never a fan of restaurant lasagna. Theres just something about the way we make it at home that almost always tastes better. We were excited to return approx two weeks later to get more veal. Unfortunately this time around it was nowhere near as good. My son ordered the Veal Parm but it was not the same - thick, not tender, the sauce was watery (pooling in the side of the plate), and the breading falling off of the veal. Not good at all. I ordered the Veal Marsala, which was good but not great. My daughter ordered Chicken Parm (one of her favorites) and it was similar to the veal parm which wasnt very good. Disappointing experience to say the least considering how good it was on our first visit. And its not cheap so I expected better. Maybe just an off night, Ill probably give it another chance but it may be a while.

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PA

Paul Crutchfield

This is easily the best Italian restaurant in Colorado Springs. We were driving through town looking for good food after church. I noticed La Bella Vita, and after eating there, I realized it was a hidden gem. One of the customers spoke Italian to my family, and it brought back memories of my Italian Grandfather. If an Italian-speaking person goes to an Italian restaurant, you know its a good place. Im from New Jersey where we have some of the best Italian food in the country. Ive eaten at some of the finest Italian restaurants in New York City. La Bella Vita matches up. I recently was married in May and decided to have the rehearsal dinner at La Bella Vita. It was an excellent decision and Eric is great to work with. My family from New Jersey was impressed that such high quality Italian food was to be found in Colorado Springs. Anyone complaining that it takes 1.5 hours for a meal at a restaurant is obviously not familiar with fine dining. La Bella Vita is not a fast food franchise; if youre looking for prepackaged fast junk, go to the Olive Garden or Zios. If youre looking for high quality real deal Italian food, go to La Bella Vita. You will not be disappointed. I cant say enough good things about La Bella Vita. It is the only Italian restaurant I will go to in Colorado Springs.

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VA

Valeri Pighini

I have been going to Colorado Springs on business travel for many years and Im always looking for a little gem -- I believe I found one in this lovely restaurant. I ordered the special of fresh halibut with capers, sauteed in white wine and butter. The sauce was so light, nothing like what Im used to here in the States. The side was julienne vegetables and polenta with sun-dried tomatoes. I ate every bite and even had a slice of bread to get every last exquisite morsel of sauce. For dessert I ordered a Fonseco port and a delicious chocolate covered cannoli - oh my! I asked to see the bartender and hoped to talk about some of their wines as they had a wonderful Italian wine list. I was surprised to learn I was actually talking with one of the owners Tiziano Cestari. I ended up ordering a Vin Santo that he serves with freshly baked biscotti - just like Ive had as a child. I had such a wonderful time talking about food and wine, and really appreciated the time he took to talk with me. I was so impressed with this young person and the well-established restaurant he and his team are building. Im eager to bring friends with me next time Im in town. I highly recommend this delightful authentic Italian restaurant in Colorado Springs, CO.

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CE

Cedra Alianna

Came in with my family a little while ago. Ordered meatballs, lasagna, eggplant and a few others. My grandmother was born in Italy and after reading reviews she was excited for an authentic Italian meal. When we got the meatballs the flavor was okay, but they were obviously not homemade. They had that mushy, pre packaged feel. Then the entrees came out. The eggplant Parmesan was very dry and under cooked, almost crunchy. The lasagna was the worst of them all. I actually counted 11 FLAT, not wavy pasta sheets with cheese one in between 3 of them. Not to mention the cheese was only in the middle and did not spread to edges. Service was very pleasant and decor was lovely. Food, very poor. Would not recommend, ever. ):

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MI

Mike Nino

The food here is absolutely amazing and delicious and the establishment itself is beautiful and has a great ambiance. The only problem I ran into was the service. We went for my sister-in-laws graduation and we got more attention from the busser than we did our server. We would ask for simple things multiple times like bread or a spoon and wouldnt get it until we got tired of asking our server and asked the busser instead, who brought it right away. We were very gracious about it because a few of us at the table actually work in restaurants and we hate complaining. It was a special day and we really wanted to have a special dinner to celebrate, but we felt very ignored.

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