A poor Italian (Bella Italia in General)

Member Name: Shellywelly

Product:	Bella Italia in General
Date:	19/11/08 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Italian food, decor

Disadvantages: Italian food done badly!

Recently my partner and I were meeting his mother and Aunt in Birmingham for Lunch as we only had a couple of hours spare we needed somewhere that was conveniently located so it was close enough to the train station and Bull Ring and somewhere that was quick to eat in but not fast food. Usually if I am eating in Birmingham I would head to Brindley place and if anyone is thinking of dining in Birmingham I would highly recommend heading there!

Anyway as we had little choice we decided to head to Bella Italia.

What did we order and what was it like?

I ordered Cannelloni with spinach and ricotta, this was brought out in a hot dish, there were 3 cannelloni tubes stuffed with some spinach and ricotta and topped with a drizzle of tomato and béchamel sauce. As soon as I saw it I though wow this is a small portion! And the taste was horrid! It was so bland that I had to have a drink after every mouthful! As I was with my partners mum I didn't want to kick up a fuss so I ate as much as I could!

My Partner had Meatballs and spaghetti and said he thoroughly enjoyed it.

My partners mum had Lasagne and although it was also a tiny portion and looked very thin, she too said it had a lovely flavour.

However my partners aunt who ordered Penne Fresco which consisted of goats cheese, spinach, tomatoes and pine nuts, she had a search for her goats cheese and seemed very unconvincing when she said she was enjoying her food - much as I expect I seemed unconvincing too!!

We also ordered some garlic bread to share and it was sticks of garlic bread that were drizzled in garlic butter and were very yummy!

The Staff:

The waitress that served us was very friendly and helpful although we did have to remind her that she had not yet warmed up the baby food that we had requested on a few occasions, we also asked for a highchair on the way in and had to ask again once we were seated as it had not surfaced. However saying that there were hundreds of staff but our waitress seemed to be the only one doing any work!

The Restaurant:
The décor was very pleasing to the eye and was as you expect with a Italian theme, with deep ruby reds and mahogany tables.

Overall and the bill:

Our bill came to £60 that was for 4 main courses , 4 soft drinks and 4 coffees. Not bad I suppose if it was a evening but I felt it was over priced for lunchtime as most other restaurants reduce their prices for lunchtime or do lunch deals such as 2 courses for £7 etc. All in all the experience was not a bad one but I wish that we had just taken advantage of the bratwursts on offer at the German Christmas market and then gone for a dessert and a coffee somewhere in the bullring afterwards!

Summary: Alright but not worth the price.