Bella Roma Pizzeria & Ristorante — Restaurant in Vancouver

FOOD EXCELLENT…. Impaired, abusive server

We requested a table near the heaters as we were dining with my 80yr old mother. The restaurant had 2 other tables seated, the male host seated us perfectly. Away from the other patrons under the heater. Our impaired server started an altercation immediately with the male host in front of us saying “we were her reservation, we were her table.” He agreed that she could serve us but where he had seated us gave more space. She was wearing a mask so at this time I could not smell the alcohol on her breath. She poured us water and noticed my mother’s side plate had a chip, she immediately threw the kitchen staff under the bus saying that it was not her fault and they set the table. At this time my mom asked for warm water without lemon…. We then ordered, I asked for the the penne pollo to be shared with my mother, my adult son ordered a pizza and my adult daughter ordered the Linguini Alla Vongole with white sauce. After some time we reminded her that we were still waiting on the hot water, she apologized, she was tired and brought the water. The cup had a large chip and when we mentioned it to her she apologized and said her BOSS needs new dishes because they were all chipped. She brought out two penne pollo dishes and I said we had ordered 1 to share she said she never heard that and “I guess you’ll have left overs”. Okay I thought, I have these 2 university kids with me who would probably love leftovers… she then brought the linguini and pizza “Ladies first”she said. My daughter pasta had RED sauce and large chunks of fish, my daughter asked, “ Is this the Linguini Vongola?” Yep said the drunk server…. My son said we’d like to see a menu, my daughter said she didn’t think it had fish. The server went to check the menu and then came back apologetically that she had made a mistake punching in the order but assured my daughter it was the most popular dish they serve )Linguini Alla Pescatore) …. My daughter said I do not like fish so I’ll just share my brother’s pizza. My mom and I also had extra penne pollo so we shared with her too… so the drunk server took the UNEATEN Pescatore dish back to the kitchen and made the Vongole to go. We ate the delicious food and found humor in our situation. We were ready to go, asked for boxes to pack up our leftovers and she brought over the packed Vongola and the bill… she not only charged us for the pollo we never ordered but also for the pescatore 20.99 which we sent back vs the Vongole 18.99 that we had to take home as take out because she made the mistake…. My son paid with grandma’s credit card and only tipped $5, because he didn’t want her to be out of pocket. She apologized for the mistakes but that she was feeling tired and I said “ Maybe if you aren’t feeling well, you should call in sick because it reflects poorly on the restaurant.” And then she lost it and told me she was human and made one mistake, I corrected her and said, actually you made several mistakes, she then took down her mask and raised her voice and said, “ I HOPE I NEVER SEE YOU IN HERE AGAIN, I am a great server and some people come here JUST FOR MY SERVICE!” That is when I smelt the stale stench of wine on her breath…she wasn’t tired she was DRUNK… I said to the owner and other workers who were just standing witness to it … the food was excellent but the service was not. He said sorry she is tired and kept repeating it as we left… she did grab my arm as I was leaving and apologized as said she’d like...

Misleading photos of desserts. Unhappy with how they dealt with it. It's a trap.

My husband and I went to the restaurant hoping to get a nice and much needed break from caring for our baby. We have dined in and taken out from this restaurant over the years and we always feel the food is good enough for us to go back when we feel like having pasta.

Tonight we ordered smoked salmon penne in rose sauce, straciatella soup, caesar salad, creme caramel, and Banana Doria. The smoked salmon penne dish was delicious. The noodles were perfectly cooked, the fish was tender, and the sauce was flavourful. The soup and salad were very average. My husband liked his Banana Doria. However I was disappointed at my Creme Caramel. I ordered it because it looked like it would give the night/meal the perfect ending it deserved.

When the Creme Caramel was brought in front of my eyes, I was confused. However I knew not to judge a book by its cover so I took a bite. The texture was off and the taste was "off pudding" 😂 I told my husband that it's kinda weird and he took a bite (he said it was okay) and then I took another bite to make sure I really didn't like it.

The waitress then came after my husband devoured his Banana Doria. She asked how we liked the desserts and I said I don't like mine. I pointed out that the dessert looks nothing like the photo on the menu. The waitress said the photos don't represent the actual food and she paraphrased what I said about the dessert. She then went to talk to someone (I'm guessing the owner?) and came back to say there's nothing they can do about it (meaning we would still have to pay for it). She asked if we want a box to pack up the leftover dessert (lol no thanks!) and again said the photos on the menu aren't of their food. I asked what the owner said and she basically said it is what it is.

Why Google photos of caramel pudding and put on the menu to mislead customers? It's like posting a very Photoshopped selfie on a dating website. I got catfished 😱 Maybe they made the smooth and delicious looking dessert and someone accidentally sat on it before it was served to me?

It was only $8.99 but the unpleasant experience was not worth it.

See the photos I took and be your own judge.

I will still go back for their pasta but maybe not for a while until the bitter taste in my...

I am sad to write this review. I used to go to Bella Roma all the time and it used to be one of my favorite places...but not anymore. Quality of food and service has definitely deteriorated over time. I have had a couple of bad experiences there but the most recent one was when I went with a friend and we ordered a ceasar salad, beef bolognese, and chicken penne pasta. The salad was great except for jaw breaking croutons. We just couldn't eat them otherwise we would have ended up at the dentist. Both pastas did not have any salt nor flavor. Both were mushy and overcooked. The beef bolognese lacked the sauce and there were barely any beef in it. The chicken pasta was dry and barely and sauce. There were tiny pieces of chicken and the past was overcooked. When the bill came out, I did NOT tip, and rightfully so. I don;t understand why such quality of food would come out when the restaurant was empty an they were 6 employees in the kitchen (including Jimmy the owner).

What happened Jimmy? When was the last time that you tasted your food? Do you know what's coming out of your kitchen?

I was heart broken and sad as it seems that quality has gone down over time. Thank God there isn't a lack of other Italian restaurants in Vancouver that are amazing.

I think that I have given Jimmy and Bella Roma more than one chance and i was still disappointed, so I moved on.

If you are starving, don't care about the quality of food and you want to shovel anything down your throat, then go to Bella Roma. if you want to enjoy a great pasta or pizza dish, then do your research online and pick a good restaurant either in downtown or on...