Bella Vida Garden Cafe
| Address: | 406 Broadway, West Cape May, NJ 08204, USA |
| Phone: | +1 609-884-6332 |
| Site: | bellavidacafe.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 8AM–3PM 8AM–3PM 8AM–3PM 8AM–9PM 7:30AM–9PM 7:30AM–9PM 8AM–3PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
AL
Alexis Rivell
As a vegan, when I search for vegan-friendly restaurants, I make sure to peruse the menu and the descriptions, which I did for this place before deciding to try it. After reading that the breakfast menu is all day, I figured at the very least, I could have the vegan waffles that they offered on their menu. When I arrived at the restaurant, I was told not to look at the breakfast menu because we were now in the lunch slot. So, I looked over the lunch menu and found that some meals had vegan swaptions, such as vegan cheese. But, after the brief glance I was able to give the breakfast menu, I saw that the vegan options of facon and vegan sausage were paired with real eggs. That was a huge warning sign that the restaurant had very little idea how to create a vegan menu. This prompted me to ask if the bread on the vegan sandwich I ordered was, in fact, vegan. The waiter said he didnt know, and there was no way to find out because all of the bread came in clear packages except for the tortillas. He then said he would check, which, according to his previous statement, was impossible unless he were to call in to the place that they buy the bread from... well, about 30 seconds later, he came out and said it was vegan, and I am sorry, but it takes more than 30 seconds to find that out. I should know, as I have had to make these calls myself before to bakeries. How can a place claim to have vegan options if they do not offer their sandwich fillings on verified vegan bread? They desperately need to learn what vegan means. In addition to the issue with the food, the atmosphere was also in need of help. The staff loudly expressed their dissatisfaction with how their hours were assigned, and were cursing about it right next to the dining area-- in an open-floor plan. There was also a waiter who spoke smuggly about charming old ladies in order to get tips, and the entire establishment had religious decor and references. The menu had a "Noahs Ark" plate, and on the table was a book with a quote about God on it. If you are Christian, I am sure this is no issue, but, as I am not, I was uncomfortable. I would not go back, nor would I recommend this restaurant to anyone other than, perhaps, the show runners for Restaurant Impossible.
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GreenLasersRule Kimber
First time here. Ordered veggies with dip. Got loads of bread, some veggies and enough dip to put on a carrot. Told owner needed to balance out portions. He said he was busy. Couldnt care less. Stepped out to car and saw a waitress being consoled by other staff. She was just fired I guess or reamed out by owner. While we were there the owner walked around berating every employee. You could cut the tension. Every staff member was busting their chops and tried to provide great service but no matter what they did this arrogant owner just pranced around with his clipboard looking for his next victim. This place would be better served if he just stayed out of there. Very uncomfortable to see and other tables were commenting as well. We wont be back. Food was good. Be careful if plant based they use animal products not listed like in veggie pot pie no where do they tell you they use chicken stock. Nice for the waitress to let me know.
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A Private User
Had a great meal here with my family. The service was very friendly, and the food was great. Their calamari was ourstanding (fried and then tossed with a sweet/hot sauce). My crab soup was perfect and my wifes southwest scampi had a great flavor and just the right amount of heat for me. The scallops on my daughters salad looked perfectly done (nicely carmelized crust) - but she finished them too quicly for me to try. I was able to try my other daughters grouper - and it was also a hit. All this - and reasonably priced (I actually paid more the night before for a meal at the Ugly Mug - which was fun - but the food did not hold a candle to Bella Vida). We will definitely return on our next visit to Cape May. The only thing I found odd was the discrepancy between the outside look (bright artsy garden motif) and the inside look (lots of black and white) - but once we tasted the food, that was quickly forgotten.
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Kathryn Mattson
This restaurant is awful. The atmosphere is disgusting; dirty windows, linoleum tables, plastic chairs, moldy carpet, and an absolutely abhorrent bathroom. The waiter treated us apologetically, as if to say, please give me a decent tip despite the circumstances. I ordered the Vegetable Medley, which was advertised as a veggie stir-fry of ginger soy sauce. It was mostly tomatoes, which is disgusting. My boyfriend ordered the special, which was advertised as an 8oz steak with shiitake mushrooms. He got a sopping wet steak covered in stewed tomatoes. The waiter assured us that the mushrooms were in there somewhere. I have a feeling this place bought way too many damn tomatoes this week and were putting them in everything but the coffee. The only nice quality about this place is that it is within walking distance of Panicos, which is where we ate immediately after leaving this dump.
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A Private User
My family had a ‘reunion breakfast’ in Wildwood Saturday past (10/2/10) and afterwards we ventured to Cape May to spend the afternoon. It was a beautiful day and we spent the entire afternoon enjoying the shops and people watching. When we decided to find someplace for dinner we were fortunate enough to find your brochure in a display down on Washington Street Mall. My wife is strict vegetarian so your menu showed real promise and we decided to give it a go. Our meals were awesome: flavorful, fresh and plentiful. We were sorry to become so full we couldn’t eat more! The four of us shared a dessert which was just enough to send us away content and well nourished. You are about 80 miles away from our home, but trust that on some wonderful warm and sunny Sunday we’ll venture out for a day trip and end back at Bella Vida Garden Café. BN
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Chris Miller
Nice service and good food. One of the people in our party has Celiac and it was nice to go a restaurant that had plenty of gluten-free options. The portions were generous in size. We had a mixture of pasta and seafood dishes. We called ahead for reservations, but it was not crowded on a August Saturday evening. They are a BYOB establishment, about a third of dinner parties had brought their own wine. While the service was polite and attentive, the server did not ask us if we wanted coffee after dinner. It takes extra time to cook gluten-free pasta, youll need to allow an extra 10 to 15 minutes when ordering GF dishes.
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Caro Carrio
If you are ordering vegan, be aware. I ordered the vegan Rueben (tempeh and vegan cheese) - the dish came with some pieces of chicken and fish in between everything. I got a piece of chicken in my mouth without realizing and then saw another piece of fish on the plate. When I told the waiter, she acted like it wasnt a big deal and offered to replace the sandwich. It was very disappointing and they did not even offer to remove it from the bill. Will never come back - do not recommend. Obviously they share utensils and pans that they may not even wash between cooking meats and vegan meals.
