La Bella Vita
“Good flavor good portion (had the lunch portion) and good price.”
“I decided to make a reservation off of yelp reviews and enjoyed the fact they spoke italian and were a smaller restaurant in Little Italy.”
“We came during the San Gennaro Festival on a Friday night and the service was as quick as can be expected on such a busy night and the food was delicious.”
La Bella Vita
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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It was one of those days where my partner and I where looking for a place to eat. We were kinda hungry but kinda not – during the afternoon mix where it was too late for lunch but too early for dinner, an hour or so before twilight slips in to rob us of the day.
We came across this place and decided to take our chances, we figured we couldn't really go wrong with the aromas of Italian food drifted down the street.
We were seated near the front which gave me a good view of the busy restaurant and my partner had a street view. Despite an almost packed house server was still good.
We settled on our dishes, the names of which escape me now – my bad, and placed our order. Before long, out came our meals, generous servings with just enough chaos on the plate to make it exciting.
The moment the first forkful entered my mouth and I began to chew I realised we had made the right decision. Is it possible for food to taste nicer with ever bit? The pasta was just that perfect al denote that makes chewing so enjoyable. The flavours were very present without being overpowering. You just forget time and space and continue to eat this masterpiece.
As I said before, neither of us were overly hungry but we both managed to polish off our pasta and by the end of it we were begging for more.
From memory it was a reasonable price all up. We left in high spirits and full tummies.
I was showing my boyfriend's family visiting from Vietnam around the city and they wanted to try out an authentic Italian meal. We started walking through Little Italy and were drawn in by the owner. He stood outside promoting his restaurant as all-Italian staffed with fresh food made daily.
There were slightly mixed reviews among our group, but leaning more toward positive. I had the lobster ravioli and enjoyed it. It did look and taste fresh. Furthermore, the food took awhile to come out. While normally that's a negative, I hope it means it was all made fresh and not microwaved. I tried a few of the other dishes around our table and enjoyed those as well.
I thought the staff was very friendly. Even though the restaurant was packed, he took the time to talk to everyone through a language barrier and explain and advise on the menu items. I appreciated the passion both the owner and staff showed.
I guess it depends on what you order…. The pizzas weren't amazing, but better and larger than in some other places in the area.
Everyone that ordered pasta (we were a group of 10) really loved it though.
The waiter was a bit weird, not acknowledging us, pouring water over the table next to the glass and doing nothing about it, clearing the plates the MOMENT you take your last bite etc…
Very nice owner though!
My friend and I came here for lunch during San Genaro feast. The restaurant is cute and cozy and I noticed it was very clean which is always a ++++.
Our server greeted us and brought us waters and some bread. We wanted sangria and he was able to bring us over a taste of it before we ordered the carafe, it was soo good. So we ordered a carafe of the red sangria and than ordered penne vodka and a margarita pie to split as our meals.
The food came out pretty quickly, but it was not as good as it looked. The vodka sauce was okay but nothing to have to go back for, and the sauce on the pizza tasted like it was from a jar. I was disappointed with the food because I expected that being in an Italian restaurant on mulberry street the food would be better than that.
I would defiantly come back for the sangria, but I would look for somewhere else to go eat next time I'm in the area.
Cozy, cute and can be romantic depending on the intent. I went here on a freezing Tuesday night for a Birthday Dinner. I was in love with the The speghetti Cabanera with the Bella chicken was sooooooo delicisous. If you are a white sauce lover , like me this dish takes the toast.
I also had the Lobster Ravioli which tasted good, don;t get me wrong but the dish was a bit too heavy. Heavy, meaning, a whole plate of the dish was a little too much for me to handle since the Lobster had a really poignant taste. I am a fan of family style a little bit of this a little bit of that so I don't get sick of any one dish. The Lobster Ravioli was definitely flavorful, but I had to take the other half home.
Definitely amicable waiter's, they made our night 😉
This place is a real gem in Little Italy.
Right from the start the service was great.We were given bread with pesto oil to start, and they talked us through the drinks menu. I asked a few questions about the food menu as there isn't much description, and the waiter went into a lot of detail and really helped me choose what to have. The Tagliatelle Pescatore was amazing – the sauce was really simple but delicious, with butter, white wine and garlic. The pasta is cooked al dente which really added to the texture of the dish. Paul had the Gnocchi Napolitan which was nice and cheesy, and the gnocchi wasn't to squidgy which I often find a problem.
We were really impressed with this meal and I'll definitely look to return when I'm next in NY.
It seems many of the restaurants along Mulberry are asking all the pedestrians if they would like to eat. All the restaurants have their menus facing the street so you can have a look at it before going in.
My wife was in the mood for pizza and being on Mulberry I'm sure we were going to find a place the only thing is my wife prefers a white pizza (no red sauce).
We were sort of hungry as we walked basically from Union Sq to Washington Sq to Katz' on E Houston only to find it was just too busy. We walked over to Little Italy and happened to come across La Bella Vita and we chose this place because some of the other places didn't have a bianca pizza.
Pretty much immediately we were able to order drinks and water was brought to us right away. I had ordered a Peroni and my wife had a glass of wine.
We started off with the bufala wrapped in prosciutto which is always a nice starter. The waiter also dropped off complimentary bread with oil and balsamic.
I had ordered the veal parm while my wife did end up ordering her bianca pizza. The wait staff brought all the usual add ons for our meal (pepper flakes, oregano, garlic powder) and grated parm was already on the table.
The service was friendly and it was served pretty fast. I ended up having 2 drinks and my wife ended up ordering a latte as well.
So that's 3 drinks, an appetizer, 2 entrees and a latte and it came out to about $68 after tax.
The service was attentive, the food was good and the ambiance was fine. It was a nice place to have lunch and the prices weren't out of line. The portion sizes were acceptable as well and I didn't leave hungry.
I've been to many Italian events, restaurants and this place gave us what we expected as far as quality and value. The service was above average. Overall the experience was definitely a positive one.
There's nothing sexier than a cozy Italian dinner with a bottle of really yummy wine.
Picture this: Returning from a long, arduous traveling trip to touch down and rest your tired paws at a restaurant that overlooks the streets of Little Italy. While it drizzles. The street lamps and lights dimmed. The smell of the city. The background noise of laughter.
The food: We were hungry. Ordered the bolognese pasta, the mussels in white wine, the paella, to name a few. Dipped crusty bread in a mixture of olive oil and balsamic vinegar dusted with sprinkles of sea salt and fresh cracked pepper. Smiles from ear to ear. Bellies full.
The memories: Niagara Falls and Canada. Let's do it again. And let's eat here, again.