Isabella’s Bistro & Salumeria

My husband & I found this place by accident last week & decided to give it a try. We were happy we did.
I love the rustic interior, and comfortable chairs.
The food was delicious. My husband had chicken francese, and I had lobster stuffed ravioli. We had the Tira misu parfait for dessert.
I went back a few days later for girl’s dinner out. We sat on the patio.
The service was great, and food was still delicious. My friends enjoyed their meals as well, and we’re happy to learn of this place.
My friends had the chicken marsala & lobster ravioli. I had chicken francese. We all went home with extra for later.
I also had the fried mozzarella appetizer. Delicious!

Our server, Kay, was great. The food was superb! Stuffed Chicken & Shrimp Scampi was wonderful! My favorite Italian Food in Richmond, Highly recommend this restaurant!!! GOOD casual vibe, with an upscale menu!

This is an authentic Italian restaurant with fantastic dishes, I haven’t been able to try everything yet, but hope to do that. The Eggplant is amazing as are the Chicken dishes, and if you are a brussel sprout fan, this is the place for you! You will love the food and the quaint atmosphere, and for warm nights, the deck is fantastic!

The potato gnocchi Bolognese was the best I have ever eaten; the sauce was perfect with tiny pieces of celery that were still crunchy– kudos to the chef. I finished the meal with a piece of lemon basil cheesecake that was so good I almost cried.
Portions are huge so come hungry.

This is one of our FAVORITE spots in Midlothian. My husband loves the lasagna and I like the shrimp francese. I have also had the chicken Marsala, which was yummy as well. Great selection of wine. There is a great table that seats 8 in the middle of the room. We cannot wait to get a group of friends together soon!

Great service, large portions, calm atmosphere and no wait on a Saturday night! We had calamari, 24 layer lasagna, Chicken Parmesan, and Chicken Piccata — all wonderful! Our server, Jessica, was fantastic! She kept drinks filled, brought out more bread and even gave my toddler extra cherries upon request. We will definitely be return customers!

I saw some great reviews for this place on here and I bookmarked it to try. Went here with my wife, two kids, and a work acquaintance.
I was hoping/​expecting a legit Italian place making some great in-​house pasta. If it was then the prices would be reasonable ($ 25-​$ 35 /​dish before alcohol, appetizers or dessert)
Nothing was really all that great, which really bums me out.
The good:
Interesting location
Waitress was friendly
The bad:
The food
Website unavailable, missing the menu
The Informational:
Just be aware the place is tiny. There is a large family style table in the middle and a handful of booths/​tables around the perimeter, but really it is quite small.
So my dish was chicken picatta. I cook a lot and I’ve made chicken picatta for myself several times. I’m no great chef and I kind of fumble my way through balancing the saltiness of the capers and the bite of the lemon, etc… All of my home attempts came out better than what I got here. The flavours just weren’t balanced and didn’t marry well… I left most of mind un-​eaten (a rarity.)
My wife got shrimp scampi, and once again my fumbling attempts at home were better than what we got that night. She orders shrimp scampi *ANY TIME* she sees it on a menu and 9 times out of 10 is licking the plate to get the last of the butter and garlic. This night she had over half left and turned down a to-​go box. There just wasn’t any of that rich cooked in garlic and butter flavour that you really expect.
My daughter got the jumbo shrimp francaise (which I’d never heard of.) This was the most passable of the dishes that I tried. Shrimp were cooked well, sauce was good but the lemon got a little over-​powering for my tastes, but that could have just been because I tried this after a couple bites of my chicken picatta.
My work acquaintance got a fish special (I don’t recall what it was) and his polite reaction (as I was the one that chose to try a new restaurant) was «Oh it was OK» I didn’t press him for any details, but having heard him rave about food on other occasions, this was not a rave review.
Summary:
This was really a let-​down for me. Having travelled and worked in Europe it was such a treat to have to many great little Italian restaurants available over there. We really had nothing comparable here. We either have high end Italian, or we have pizza shops and there is a dearth of anything in-​between. That’s what I was hoping this was.
Maybe I got caught on a bad night or something based on all the other reviews here, but for these prices there shouldn’t be any bad night for a group of 4… if it had been one bad dish I could understand and I’d probably give it another shot because there was some hope that it was just a bad night, but all of our dishes were passable. I left feeling hungry, unsatisfied, and like I had wasted my money with no bright spot to recount. I don’t think we’ll be going back.

This was our first time to dine here and it surpassed all our expectations. We had heard it was delicious, but that word isn’t enough to describe the food. Best Italian food we’ve ever had in Richmond and even better than some we’ve had in Italy! The atmosphere is so warm and inviting and our server, Kelsey, was friendly, knowledgeable, and prompt. The front end manager checked in with us at the end of our dinner to make sure everything was satisfactory. The portion sizes are very generous. I challenge you to begin to finish their main courses. Our table had the lasagna, chicken Marsala, and beef braciole… all superb. Pasta and desserts are all home made. It would be fun to sit at the bar later in the evening and just have dessert too. We will be back!

The lasagna, bread & dipping oil are good; the spaghetti is ok but the kids didn’t like the meatballs. The carbonara with shrimp was poor & lacked flavor, creaminess and had tons of sun-​dried tomato hunks in it for some reason, this after raving accolades from the waitress. They were not very accommodating with menu changes either for kids. The waitress seemed annoyed with our constructive & polite feedback too. After the check, it took her 15 minutes to bring canolli (to-​go) because she was taking one of her smoke breaks making us all annoyed as we were trying to get home. Noted a few customers waiting at the hostess stand before being seated. Our family & out of town relatives had fun despite this, but I’d be surprised if it lasts which is a pity. And it’s too bad I tipped as much as I did, but that’s ok, we just won’t return.

I was very impressed, went here tonight on a date with my wife. we don’t get out to nice quiet dinners enough anymore and are new to Midlothian so reviews helped me pick a restaurant. The reviews are spot on, nice small, quaint atmosphere. Our server Josh was great, service was excellent and we were happy with his recommendations. The food was terrific, and a pretty good value for a 3 $$$. I had the Chicken marsala, wife had lobster ravioli… We had to ask for extra bread to soak up the delicious sauces. I will definitely go back.
Ps– Lemon-​basil cheesecake for dessert was huge and incredible!

I have never had a bad meal here. Great service, generous portions, delicious bread and cocktails. Also, they did a great renovation on what used to be a lackluster space. It is not so fancy you that you feel the need to dress up, but it is upscale enough that you don’t seem out of place if you are dressed up. The staff is great, too!

Food and service were top notch. We decided to try this for dinner with family and we’re not disappointed! The server was knowledgeable and on point with refills and requests. The lasagna is by far the best we’ve had and make sure you bring an appetite because the portions are generous.

We decided to give this place a try as we drove down the road. I am so glad we did. Absolutely delicious find! We will be back many times.

This is a very cool place! Very good food and service. Can’t wait to go back and dine al fresco on the outdoor deck. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Loved it!

My husband and I went to Isabella’s for dinner tonight and everything was excellent. Our waitress, Megan, was very atttentive and pleasant. My husband had the Mahi Marsala and I had the Shrimp Scampi. Highly recommend for lunch and dinner! You’ll love it!

Amazing house made pasta and fresh baked
bread! Adorable ambiance! Friendly staff and owner! Definitely a must try for anyone who loves authentic Italian food!

We had dinner here tonight and everything was delicious! I hope more people check it out. There are not many restaurants around that serve homemade pasta. We had great service and great food!

A new unique gem for Midlo. We dropped in after a movie and received great service and had wonderful meals. We will definitely be back and highly recommend!

Great food and service! I ordered the whitefish marsala and it was delicious. The flash-​fried calamari was tender. Nice home-​cooked touch to the food; I always love fresh, home-​cooked pasta. I will definitely return to try other dishes!

Absolutely delicious and beautiful décor. Ambience was perfect for an intimate dining experience! Went there for lunch today and Lauren was our server. Lauren was very attentive and knew the menu well. Lots of delicious options! I had the Mixed Green Salad with dried cherries, candied walnuts, goat cheese… FABULOUS! I will be back for dinner and can’t wait! This is a GREAT addition to the midlothian food options!