Pizzeria Ristorante Bella Italia — Restaurant in Phang-nga Province

Omg... The 6 of us wondered... How did this restaurant score so highly, when none of us enjoyed any of the food they served? On the first night, they were full and as we were already hungry, we decided against waiting to be seated. So we agreed to come back the following day during lunchtime... And so we were back, and we were glad that there was almost no one else during lunch. It's almost like having the whole restaurant to ourselves! We proceeded to order 2 pizzas, 2 pastas, a tuna carppacio and some other sides, which we couldn't remember. Coming here full of anticipation only got us really disappointed.... Let me start off with the first pasta with olives... Can't really remember the name of it, but I don't taste any italian authenticity in it, and the pasta lack any flavour, other than the black olives that provided that bit of saltiness. I was hoping that the anchovies will give it that fragrance but the anchovies seem to have swam off somewhere and could hardly be found there... To be fair, we were told beforehand that it would be dry, so we shdnt complain on that, but then again, it was really way too dry. The aglio olio on the other hand was wetter, as there's the olive oil all around the pasta. On first taste, it was decent... But it's really just normal... One for us decided to take a bite and try the garlic... I mean how bad can garlic be in an aglio olio... She said it was really bad... And lack the garlic taste. I didn't quite agree with her, but definitely, I can cook better than them! We were also excited about the pizza... The crust was decent but we couldn't understand why they had to also cook the Parma ham, which made it really really dry! (To make ourselves feel better, we ordered another Parma ham pizza the following day at a Phuket town restaurant and it was SO MUCH better. That restaurant wasn't even Italian). Finally the tuna carppacio... It didn't came as expected and strange to have rockets on it... Probably to make it look and feel more Italian?? We proceeded to squeeze the lemon on it, and regretted... This dish tasted only of very mild olive oil and that sour taste from the lemon. Strange dish, perhaps trying to mimick some Thai or Japanese fusion raw tuna? Still, I managed to finish eating it as it was still pretty edible. At the end of the day, none of us were satisfied with this meal and we had to grab a bite somewhere else to fulfil our stomach wishes! Overall, this is a 3.5 out of 10. Am not sure if it's because the good chefs only work in the evening ... But to have such level of quality during lunch, I feel they might as well just remain open only for dinner services... So I will strongly discourage anyone from dining here during lunchtime.... For dinner... Only u can tell... But we will never, as there is no chance we will...

This restaurant is nice enough, and will deliver you your pizza fix in Khao Lak, but the food wasn't the best. We ordered bruschetta to start, perhaps it is simply personal preference but the best bruschetta we have had is where the tomato and ingredients are raw and fresh, like a salad, in this case the tomatoes were also baked and the mozzarella was melted which was nice too, but didn't quite hit like a fresh bruschetta. We had the Siciliana pizza, and were grateful for the range of vegetarian pizza options. The pizza sauce was lovely and rich but the pizza itself was overbaked which meant the base and crust was quite hard and crunchy, this was okay as the sauce was spread generously up to the edge of the crust. The ravioli was very good. We also enjoyed the Creme Catalana, which was very tasty.

The cheesecake on the other hand was disappointing, on the dessert menu elsewhere it specifies that the lemon cake is semi-frozen (semifreddo) but the cheesecake it doesn't, so you expect a cheesecake but you get what the owner describes as a gelato cheesecake (it's frozen). Except it isn't soft and creamy like gelato, it just tastes like a frozen cheesecake, and it was noticeably more frozen in the centre. The blueberries were frozen through, too. It felt like "cheesecake gelato" was an attempt to justify a frozen and improperly stored dessert.

The end of meal aperitif was a nice touch.

I read the reviews in advance, and have to say the owners comment in another review about withholding tips from staff who appeared less polite made me feel uncomfortable. It is for customers to decide how much to tip, and not for the owner to decide how many of those tips should be received by the waiting team.

Edit: I'm updating my rating due to concerns with the owner's response. My original review aimed to provide balanced feedback, highlighting both positive and negative aspects. While I appreciate that restaurants have different styles, my comment about the bruschetta was specifically about personal preference, not a criticism of its preparation. The owners response was pretty condescending on this point. Regarding the cheesecake, I'm disappointed by the inconsistency in the explanation. At the restaurant, I was told it was a "cheesecake gelato" and meant to be served frozen. Based on that description, I declined a replacement. The response here, however, calls it an "error." This discrepancy, along with the overall tone of the reply is unfortunate but very telling. I feel it's important to be transparent with future diners about my experience, including this...

Our food experience was fantastic. Flavoursome & authentic Italian cooking except for the gnocchi. I've never had spinach in my gnocchi. It was not mentioned in the menu so a little unusual for me. Probably wouldn't order it again though the ragu sauce was nice.

That's where our enjoyable experience ended & for this reason we wouldn't return. The service from the only female waitress was pathetic. Unfriendly, unhappy, no greeting, no smile, barely spoke a word not because she didn't speak English but it was her unprofessional manner. We have been to Thailand many times & this is the first time to come across a person so unpleasant. I gave her this feedback but there was no reaction from her & apparently the managers name was Yan - not sure if that was her or someone else? The bill said "served by Boss" Sandro, you need better floor staff!!!

We arrived just before 5pm for an early dinner so we were the only ones there at that time.

There are many good Italian restaurants in town so while the food was good here we will take our...