Caffe Bella Italia

Terrible experience, customer service extremely poor, the only time I tried it got there 9pm and they close at 10pm, immediately told me we can’t make pizza because we turned off the oven, I told them I came all the way from El Cajon and you guys don’t close untill 10 pm, they just refused to make any pizza and offered to make me something else !!! Really, it’s like going to Starbucks and they tell me we can’t make you coffee, but how about some smoothie, it’s a pizza restaurant, I’ll never go back, my experience was the text Bol definition of disappointment, customer service is the main thing in any business and they definetly lack it

The food was INCREDIBLE!!! best Italian restaurant I’ve ever been to. The chef came out to make sure our food was good. Excellent customer service. Will be going again!

I have driven by this place hundreds of times, and we finally gave it a try last night because the restaurant we were originally going to visit has closed down. Now I’m kicking myself for waiting so long! From the top down, it was excellent. First of all, the atmosphere is absolutely warm and welcoming. The menu is bigger than we were expecting, but we were in the mood for pizza so that’s what we had along with splitting a salad and getting the Unilocal special bruschetta. Everything was delish — and authentic, according to my Italian boy friend. The service was stellar, too, but unobtrusive. If I had to pick just one word to describe Caffe Bella, it would be «restrained.» But not in a bad way at all — more like the chef knew exactly what to include and, more importantly, what to exclude from every dish. The blend of flavors and depth of flavors were incredible and so well balanced. No heavy, overly tomato-​y sauce or too much garlic and oregano — a common problem with San Diego Italian food. Kudos to the chef! Who, by the way, made the rounds of the tables in a very cozy, «welcome to my home» sort of way, which is always a nice touch. We topped things off with a cannoli — a bit spendy, yes, at $ 10, but huge and worth every penny. It may have taken us a few years to discover Caffe Balla Italia, but it certainly won’t take that long for us to return!

The best traditional Italian food in all of San Diego. The service was top notch, the food was top shelf and the place itself has enough charm for three restaurants. Love it. Seek it. Experience it. You’ll be glad you did. Simply amazing.

Great meal and Pasquale (the chef) was very sweet and the food was excellent, interesting and great wines as well. We went there for a Paint and Wine class which was super fun also.

Fabulous family dinner for 14 with incredible food. Presentation was great, service warm and friendly to the point of wanting our server in our family photo! The pasta is made there and tastes as close to Italy as it can be. Wow!
It’s not a place I would pay attention to if I walked by as it is not special to look at. But my, of my, their chef performs magic!
They presented an anti pasta plate that was an artful vision and tasty surprise!
We cannot wait to return! We’ve found our new favorite restaurant!

Excellent service, very comfortable & cozy, the restaurant is very charming as well. The food is delicious and the overall feel of the place is homemade. The pizzas were a personal favorite… they tasted very authentic.

My girlfriend and I were in town for a few days and we were relying on Unilocal to find a cozy restaurant for a Sunday evening. We stumbled upon Caffe Bella Italia and after reading some reviews we decided to take a visit.
Needless to say we were in awe. We were not expecting to find such a hidden gem. Not only is the food extraordinary and extremely traditional, but the service is impeccable. Our waiter and the Chef/​Owner both went out of their to assure our dining experience was memorable.
Every bite, every course, every encounter with the staff was phenomenal. It was such a pleasant surprise walking into Caffe Bella Italia and be treated like family. You can tell the staff and Owner are extremely passionate about their quality of food and service that it speaks volumes. This dinner knocked us off our feet.
Compliments to the Chef and staff. Please make this place a visit. We will be returning every chance we get. Grazie Pasquale

a solid 4 star.
what i love is their décor. unpretentious yet unique. the building, tables and chair looked a bit antiquated but comfortable and functional. like a true family restaurant.
the service was excellently attentive. i just loved the guy in charge. he’s like a softer version of the soup nazi with enthusiasm. we didn’t even need to order our appetizer because he knew what you wanted and he got it right. i don’t know how he does this day in and day out with this much enthusiasm. it seemed he genuinely enjoyed watching us stuffing our faces.
there is nothing to complain about the food except that they’re just above average. some dishes were better than the others. i had linguine with seafood and it was a solid 4 star but not five. portions were big. prices were reasonable.
definitely recommend if you’re in the neighborhood and want real italian.

Pasquale Corsicato, owner/​chef even came out to meet and greet his dinner guests at his restaurant. Very sweet man. His waiter as well. They have awesome Italian accents. They are straight from Italy which gives you a true Italian experience. Food was wonderful, and the place was a delight. Gnocchi was excellent.

I’m from Chicago, where Italian food is KING.
And this place is the only spot in PB with good Italian food.
Really small tho… not good for folks with claustrophobia
Bless UP _/\_

My mother in law and I are both pretty serious foodies and we loved this place! I would highly recommend the bruschetta, calamari and the squid ink pasta! All were delicious, fresh-​tasting, and portioned well!
We let the server guide our meal and he did so perfectly! We had many unique flavors that worked together and the wine paired well with every course!
Don’t let the location in PB fool you, this restaurant is very nice, and has really good food! Highly recommend!

Located in PB off of Garnet Ave, you’ll find Café Bella Italia.
Tip for parking:
A few spaces available entering from Garnet on the right side of the restaurant. Also, there’s parking across the street. Call for the exact spots. Lastly, check in for a free bruschetta.
Service was absolutely great. Our server was very nice, helpful with pronouncing certain dishes and was very attentive.
Food:
Burrata Prosciutto
Ravioli Pesto
E Paccar A Rrau– Neapolitan Style Ragu, Artisanal Large Tube
Shaped Pasta, Mix Meat with San Marzano Tomato sauce.
All the dishes I had were delicious. Love the ambiance and although the music was a little loud, they were bumping some R & B love songs. I loved it. Good for large groups and outside patio seating available. Definitely a gem in PB.

We tried last week for dinner, the ambient is cozy especially the patio.
The staff was really friendly and pleasant but the food so and so,
We had Pizza and Pasta, overvalued and overpriced

4 stars is pretty spot on with this place but it has potential to be 5 stars. After a paint night with a friend we sat on the patio to quench our thirst and feed our hunger.
Let me first say that although I’ve never been to Italy, this is exactly how I imagine food in Italy would taste, absolutely FLAWLESS! We had the burrata which was creamy and delicious as well a the garlic bread to start but the stand out dish of the night was the lasagna paired with a good cab. I have never had lasagna so perfectly made before and my friend enjoyed it so much that she ordered a second one Togo for lunch the next day! You could taste that it was freshly homemade and that the chef is truly passionate about his food. He even stopped by multiple tables to make sure everyone was happy and was such a nice guy!
The only reason I can’t give this place 5 stars is that our server was pretty awful. He seemed to be in no rush all night and we waited way to long to order in return. Simple requests like chili flakes for the food and lemon for our water were ignored– I did however receive the chili flakes in the Togo food bag :/​…
Regardless of our server, I would return back in an instant to taste more of the chefs food and give the service another try, could have been an off night

Really cute outdoor patio. Reservations were easy. LOVE the chef and owner. He was great.
Some of the food was hit and miss. Go with the steak dishes. You can’t go wrong with them. The MOST tender steak ever. You can practically eat it with a fork. House made chips on top of it. Loved the textures and flavors.
The pizza was good as well. :) We’ll be back for sure!

I have passed by this place many times and I have wanted to try it, but I never have. I signed up for a Painting and Vino class and it was at Caffè Bella Italia. I was looking forward to it. The food is so good. The Al Pesto pizza is so tasty!!! We also had a bruschetta and a caprese style salad, but I switched the mozarella for burata cheese. We also had a Tiramisu for dessert. My fav!
The service was also great! Bruna was our waitress and she was serving everyone who was doing the painting class. She was super sweet and attentive. She even made suggestions.
I look forward to coming back here to try more food items!

My friend made a reservation at this place on a Friday night for 11 people to celebrate her 22^nd birthday. Let’s just say this restaurant did not live up to the four stars it has currently on Unilocal.After we all got seated, we waited for at least ten minutes for the menu until we decided to ask for it. We told one of the waiter that we want the menu and he seemed a little confused. A minute later he came back with his colleague asking what was it that we wanted. Seriously?! Even if you’re an Italian that doesn’t speak good English, this is no excuse if you work in a restaurant. How can you not know what a menu is?!
After we got our misunderstanding sorted out, the menu finally came but only enough for a couple of people. The waiter apologized saying that there isn’t enough menu right now, we just had to share. Never in my dine-​out experience that this has happened before. It was ridiculous; but not as ridiculous as the long waiting time for our food. We waited for almost an hour and everyone got super agitated so we asked about our food. The waiter indicated that they’re all coming out at once that’s why it was taking a little longer than usual. Well let me tell you this, they did not come out all at once! Some people finished their dish while others were still waiting.
At this point, the only thing that can save this restaurant’s from receiving a bad review from me is if the food is bomb and amazing. Sadly, it wasn’t. I got the tomato sauce gnoochi and it was very average and definitely not worth the hour long wait. Towards the end, the waiter was very apologetic about what happened tonight and gave us a free bottle of wine and some complimentary dessert for the birthday girl. But seriously, at that point I’ve already lost faith and there’s nothing they can do (maybe except a free meal) that can change the bad impression they’ve made.

We decided to share our secret with friends and though everything, ambience, service and food were great– the expectations of our first visit here overshadowed the second.
Their staff and service is truly commendable and we felt like we were dining in a good friend’s house.
The food was good, but did not live up to the first time charm. The subtle, romantic flavors we had loved seemed to be overly emboldened by salt– and lots of it. The pappardelle salciccia porcino, still made in its homemade pasta with rich truffle sauce was delicious for the first few bites, but after a few mouthfuls– the saltiness was a bit overwhelming.
The pizza was delicious, came out quickly, and tasted of freshly picked ingredients. The bottoms of some slices were burnt– so the bitterness at times took away from the experience. The nice surprise — most pizzas are 50% off on Thursdays. Would definitely have to come back on Thursdays to try their other pizzas!
We also had the lasagna– which was rich and creamy, but tasted to me to be a little on the salty side.
For dessert– we had the lava cake and the tiramisu. The tiramisu was classic and not like the typical ones you get in San Diego, but more of what you get in Italy. Light, frothy, and absolutely delectable.

(+) Host had an Italian accent, so right away this place seemed legit. Servers seemed to be Italian too.
(+) Nice menu. The entrees that I were considering based on the ingredients were of course the most expensive!
(+) Good service. Water refills were on point. Couple glasses of moscato were nice too.
(+) My party of 2 were seated right away on a Friday night without reservation. Plus our food came out hot and ready in a timely manner.
Free bruschetta with Unilocal check-​in.