Bella Aquila Restaurant
| Address: | 775 S Rivershore Ln #100, Eagle, ID 83616, USA |
| Phone: | +1 208-938-1900 |
| Site: | bellaaquilarestaurant.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9PM 11:30AM–9:30PM 11:30AM–9:30PM 10AM–8:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
A
A Private User
I am from Seattle, but visited Boise last weekend. I picked this restaurant after reading a review in the Idaho Statesman. My mother had visited the restaurant once before and said her chicken parmesan was mediocre. She had not intended to go back but the review was so good, I assumed she had been there on an off night. I am now wondering if the reviewer has every tried authentic Italian food. I know there are better places to eat in Boise. We ordered the calamari, the caprese salad and cioppino. None were above average. The calarmari was overcooked (tough with a cornemeal batter). The tomatos used for the caprese salad were tasteless. It is tomato season, but those used in our salad tasted like store bought tomatos in December. Both the mozarella and tomatos were cut in too large of pieces to be enjoyed in the same mouthful. The cioppino was completely disappointing. I expect a 20$ entree to be cooked with fresh ingredients. The tomato sauce and paste were obviously from a can--- too salty, sweet and full of preservatvies. Cioppino should be a seafood stew. I questioned the waiter when served thinking he had mistakenly brought a seafood pasta dish, only to find out this is how it is served at Bella Aquila. The dish consisted of a very think, dark red sauce (poorly made and HEAVY on the tomato paste) over spaghetti noodles. The scallops were the little bay scallops. The dish came with 2 mussels, 2 clams, 2 shrimp and maybe 6 bay scallops. Again for the price I expected more seafood of better quality. The waiter came back and asked about the meal. I mentioned that cioppino is not traditionally a thick sauce over pasta. He mentioned that I was the second customer who commented on how cioppino should be made. Hello? Its a stew. I have had much better Italian food from a chain restaurant, and can certainly cook better for myself at home. I should mention that the outdoors patio is beautiful. The bread is served with a nicely flavored pepper butter. I would recommend this place for a glass of white wine and maybe the clam appetizer. I didnt have them, but clams are hard to mess up. Save your appetite and money for dinner somewher else after the sun goes down.
ME
Melissa Gibson
I went to Bella Aquila yesterday for brunch with about 9 other people. To start, the mimosas were advertised on the menu as "bottomless" and we could not get anyone in the establishment to refill our glass after we had 1, let alone do it with a smile on their face. At one point, one of the waitresses was even disrespectful with her tone when we called her over to our table and she asked "who wanted a refill?". We were ignored when we raised our hand and even given dirty looks. I ordered a cashew chicken salad to eat. Most of it contained crunchy noodles, hardly any cabbage, lettuce or chicken. Another person at our table ordered some sort of steak and egg dish. The steak was so over cooked it looked like a hockey puck! It didnt even look tender at all. My overall opinion of this place as it was my first time visiting.. HORRIBLE! I have heard many positive things and couldnt wait to try it yesterday. We showed up at 11 and stayed through the lunch "rush" which consisted of about 6 or 7 tables till 3!! This place will be out of business in no time with the way they treat their customers. And I can totally understand why this place was not packed on a Sunday afternoon. Go to the Bardenay across the street, better service, and way better food for your money!
A
A Private User
From the owner who greeted us at the door forcing herself to smile to the waiter who had no idea about the wine list I was extremely disappointed with this restaurant. We read the reviews on ehre prior to going and decided we would give Bella Aquilla a chance. Once we walked in the waiter did not even let us sit down and get comfortable before offering us something to drink (which they messed up anyway). Everything was very rushed the owner kept creeping around with his mean-mug stalking all the tables and ruining our appetite. The high chair provided to us was not very safe and the straps were dirty and I wont even get started on the uncomfortable metal chairs we sat on. The food was disgusting lacking any sort of flavor but had tons of grease. I think they just dump canned chili on the plate and call it minestrone soup. My little cousin ended up getting sick and losing his dinner due to the grease. Its a nice looking place but thats all it is. I wouldnt recommend it to anyone.
A
A Private User
It must have been an off day for the Sept. 5 reviewer because our experience was the complete opposite (I hope they spoke up and talked to the owner). For me, the Treasure Valleys restaurant offering is well below par due to a lack of vision, quality service talent and customer demand -- until now. From the woman who took our reservations to paying our check, every step of our experience at Bella Aquila was professional, seamless and delightful. Our server was knowledgeable and helpful; answered all of our wine, cocktail and dish questions; made recommendations; and helped us find the right dish. Finally, the quality of food should be a lesson to valley restauranteurs. The salad greens were crisp and fresh, as if just picked that afternoon. Our appetizers were savory. And our dinners were outstanding. If only we left room for dessert. Next time.
WE
Wendy Chan
It is really baffling why this place is highly rated on yelp (and also on google, relatively speaking). The service is ok, the atmosphere is quiet - there was only one other table besides ours and only 1 staff on duty. The decor is pretty old school. The calamari was a disaster and I really dont think it was edible. It looked like curved fish fingers and had the weirdest texture. Definitely not actual calamari! The bruschetta was too sweet. So was my dish - it was some chicken dish. Everything was too sweet and didnt really taste up to the quality of even the setting of the restaurant. I gave it 2 stars because the service was good and I was comfortable but the food is so bad that I wouldnt come here again even though its really convenient for me.
A
A Private User
We look forward to every visit to Bella Aquila. We are fortunate enough to be able to walk along the Greenbelt to Bella Aquila. The restaurant is family owned and the owners are usually on premises. The atmosphere is always pleasant and friendly and the food excellent. We have tried several of the pastas and most of the fish dishes; they are all wonderful. The spinach salad is great. Sometimes we just have late afternoon wine and appetizers and then enjoy a pleasant walk home. There is wonderful outdoor seating right along the river! The prices are really reasonable for the quality. We have not had the Sunday Brunch there yet but look forward doing so soon!
JO
Josh Hamby
This place was amazing last year! My wife and I went in April for her B-day. What a disgusting nightmare mess of food, and service. We had to return the apps, one entree, the other they wouldnt take back, and the dessert was garbage. The Calamari was chewy like rubber, like it was near rotten. The server said "I understand if you dont want to come back here." Instead of I dont know, sorry everything is disgusting. It isnt like we ate the food and then tried to send it back, it was so bad we had to send it back right from the get go. Manager came out and couldnt care less. Seemed like we burdened him with our complaints about the garbage food. NEVER AGAIN!
