Ristorante Bella Napoli — Restaurant in Rome

Just a few minutes walk from Vatican City but feels like you are well outside in a neighborhood. Mostly locals but the staff was happy to deal with some Americans. Our friendly early 60s waiter enlisted the help of a younger English speaking colleague but even without we would have managed.

We had cheese/meats, pasta, a meat course and grappa/limoncello to finish. All was very good with nice portions. The special was a fresh pasta with mushrooms they grow -- it was really nice dish. We started with a bottle of Chianti Classico Reserva and switched to a liter of the chilled house wine for the next round.

It was filled with what looked like local families and we shut the place down just after midnight. It wasn't 'fancy' but was nice and the...

So many restaurants in Rome seem to be rated 4 out of 5. How is one to decide? My advice is go where the locals eat. This restaurant had 80% locals yet close enough to walk from the Vatican. I had the risotto which was very tasty but a little under cooked for my liking. My wife had the lobster spaghetti which was 5 out of 5! We also ordered the mussels for appetizer which was in an amazing broth. Dessert we had the cake of the day which was just average. For drinks we had the house white wine. Not the best wine I've had but couldn't complain for 8€ for a litre jug! Our dinner total cost was 47€. Overall, a very nice vibe with a busy staff of older gentlemen who could easily be your...

We had to come back here a second time as the food and service was impeccable. We had a lovely young man as our waiter both times, I can't be certain but we think his name was Mirilo. He went out of his way to accomadate for me as I ordered something not strictly on the menu. The food is delicious, fresh and both times came out quickly and beautifully presented. Hopefully if I'm in back in Rome one day I'll be back and make sure I remember his name next time. I'd give Bella Napoli more...