Pasta Bella Incorporated

User Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

My fiance & I went to Pasta Bella last night for a casual Italian dinner. Don't be fooled by the other reviews: the food is disgusting and the service is deplorable.

The only positive part of the meal included the free garlic rolls and Greek salad (which was very good). We should have stopped at that point and asked for our check.

I had the Italian sampler expecting an array of different tastes. I guess the Pasta Bella guru's think that bland tomato sauce and cheep mozzarella piled in huge portions can make overcooked pasta taste authentic. The mystery meat in the lasagna reminded me of canned dog food, only not as tasty. The raviolis were decent, but can be purchased in bulk at Costco and cooked at home. Here's a hint to the cooks: try using fresh ingredients and shortening the circus-sized menu.

My fiance had the Mardis Gras Penne. This was the biggest waste of $18 I have ever experienced. Dried out, over-spiced, over-salted chicken and shrimp on top of overcooked pasta drowning in "white sauce." Who eats this crap? The Italian sausage and strips of sun-dried tomatoes were salvagable at least. She unfortunately had to stop eating after the first 8-9 bites because the mere saltiness of the dish made her ill. I felt my blood-pressure spike after biting into one of her shrimp.

The service was even worse than the food. A tall, awkward manager took us to our table without saying a word. We were then waited on by "Unibrow" Luigi, who was pleasant until he left the restaurant unannounced, leaving us without a waiter for about 30 minutes. A manager came to our table and could tell we were perturbed, so he said he would bring us some boxes. 15 minutes later...no boxes, no manager. We finally had a table cleaner get us some boxes and our check. But wait, here comes Unibrow Luigi in his Pontiac! He gets out of his car, comes to our table and asks, "How was the food?" My fiance sarcasticly responded with, "Umm, pretty good." He smiled, quickly left us and darted back inside. Simply unexcusable, 99% of the population would have been fired for an antic like that!

Shame on the managers, shame on the cooks, shame on Unibrow Luigi, and shame on the owners of Pasta Bella. $44 for an unforgettably bad meal. For that price, try a REAL Italian meal at Sotto Sotto in the Highlands or Pasta Di Pulcinella in Midtown.

DISGUSTING FOOD + ATROCIOUS SERVICE = PASTA BELLA

Comment on Review

Y! Updates An Update about your review will be shared via Yahoo! Updates Manage who sees your Updates

Post CommentCancel

User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I can't believe no one has mentioned their PIZZA!?! It is the BEST pizza outside of NY! I moved here from NY almost a year and a half ago, and have tried all the places that claim to make "NY-style pizza". Pasta Bella is the only place that truly has it - and they don't even advertise it! Worth a trip for the pizza alone, but everything else on the menu is excellent as well. We have also incredible service everytime.

Comment on Review

Y! Updates An Update about your review will be shared via Yahoo! Updates Manage who sees your Updates

Post CommentCancel

User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Love, love,love this place!: I love Pasta Bella! The atmosphere is wonderful. The food is awesome! Ginormous dessert case, excellent service. If you've never gone, please see what you've been missing!

Comment on Review

Y! Updates An Update about your review will be shared via Yahoo! Updates Manage who sees your Updates

Post CommentCancel