Ring the bell for Bella Pasta (Bella Pasta)

Member Name: radams

Product:	Bella Pasta
Date:	10/02/05 (468 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good choice of dishes, Not bad prices, especially for London, Student discounts

Disadvantages: Doesn't seem as cheap in the provinces

I’d seen Bella Pasta restaurants, in just about every city I’ve been in there seems to be one somewhere, but hadn’t ventured in until I finally visited the branch in Leicester Square, in the hurly burly of central London.
There are many throughout the UK – 64 in total at the moment. Not many in Scotland (only 6) and Wales (only 1 – in Cardiff).

I love Italian food, so Bella Pasta was a natural choice for me, but I’ve tired of the Pizza Huts of this world, so wasn’t sure how it would be. In the end, I was pleasantly surprised.

Good choice of pasta – from around the £7 mark, for the linguini with rocket pesto, or if your after a really cheap meal out the Penne Pomodoro, with a plain tomato sauce, is only £4.95. There are a few veggie choices – the Caserecci Aspargi sounds especially wonderful, with asparagus, courgette and spinach (£6.85)
Pizzas are also in the region of £6 to £8 (Margerhita is £4.95), and you can get extra toppings for 95p each.
I can recommend the Rosemary and garlic potatoes (£1.95) These came with a cheesy mayonnaise dip – perfect for what I wanted. Other side dishes include garlic bread (£3.95 for enough for 2 people), side salad £2.95, and herb diced potatoes £1.95.
I haven’t had a dessert, but they sound delicious – around £4.00. Tiramisu, panna cotta with orange ice cream, lemon tart, creamy cheesecake, tartufo (chocolate ice cream bombe) – anything there that tickles your fancy?

I had a good meal deal, the menu espresso, where you get 2 courses for £7.95. That’s a starter and a main course, no choice of having a main course and a sweet, so that’s aimed squarely at those of us who like savoury things rather than the sweet-toothed visitor. There’s a choice of 4 different starters and 4 different main courses. Garlic mushrooms followed by tortellini pesto was fine for me.
Now £7.95 ain’t bad for central tourist-area London, is it?

There are also special discounts for students – which vary from branch to branch. For example, 20% off Monday to Thursday (London), or Monday nights 50% between 5 and 10 pm (Lancaster, term-time only). So don’t forget your NUS card, if you’ve got one!

Bella Pasta is reasonably priced, has a good choice of dishes, and definitely has the edge over some of the other high street chains (Pizza Hut, Franky and Bennys). It feels slightly more upmarket than these, somehow.
Still fine for your Saturday lunch between-shopping, though.

Summary: