Bella Vista — Restaurant in Bristol

We arrived a few minutes early to our booking, which they seemed to be unable to find, we were sat anyway, all good ( you would think) our server asked if we’d like water, we said “sure that would be great” only to find it charged on the bill at the end. We waited an hour from ordering for our starters and this was discovered when they brought us our mains.

We asked for a drinks menu, which was forgotten about and two new drinks appeared at the table and we genuinely believed these were given as an apology for the hour wait on starters ( it wasn’t we were charged for these too).

When we received the starter the calamari was a very thin layer of sauce and a few pieces of prawn/ calamari ( a table later received the same starter and theirs was a lot more put together) I then burnt myself on the dish, I hadn’t been informed it was extremely hot, which was is standard practice when placing a boiling plate from the oven in front of anyone (the table next to us who was getting starters as we got our dessert was told the dish was hot !!)

Our mains arrived approx 20 mins later starters were cleared and the duck was like warm at best. The lamb was great. By desserts that drink menu mentioned earlier was brought over and drinks were ordered. Could fault dessert was lovely.

We had to wait and chase for the bill which when recieved was a bit of a shock. Drinks we DIDN’T ORDER were on the bill. We asked to speak to manager at this point as we had been there nearly two and half hours, and received a rather disappointing valentines experience.

From the moment she came over she was rather defensive about the whole thing. We explain that we had to wait an hour for starters and that I had burnt myself on the dish, along with what we had wrongly thought were complimentary drinks for the wait which is how my restaurant would have handled such a incident.

She didn’t seem to care that we had a long wait, the drinks were wrong on the bill and were more expensive than what we asked for and that I had a lovely burn down my arm which I did show her.

She only complained to us that is busy and mistakes happen. We said we understood that and that’s why we hadn’t said a single complaint all night but after the series of events it was not fair to expect us to pay the full bill, when the drinks on it were more expensive than what we ordered.

Neither manager or waitress was around to take payment, we had to ask a lovely gentleman who gladly help us out.

So we left with a soured valentines, and a burn down my arm which is a reminder to...

Very mixed feelings for this place, so it's easier for me to do a pros amd cons

Pros *Good atmosphere and views if you sit outside *Main course was smoked cod and seabass, both were cooked perfectly and were delicious One of the staff, a female waiter who didn't mention her name, was quite nice and polite. *The side of fries was just too good, perfectly crisped.

Cons The two Starters we had were extremely disappointing, fried calamari was soggy, felt like it was cooked a while ago and just microwaved to us. *The Italian olives starter was just drowning in vinegar, it was hard to taste anything. The balsamic vinegar they had on the table was very runny, felt like water was added to it *The side of fried courgettes again was way too soggy and very oily, couldn't finish it

Lasty and the worst part of our visit, was one of the waiters,Who we asked them for lemonade(lemonata) , and he brought us a sprite!!

When I tried to argue his logic, he was adamant that this is what a lemonade is!! When I then asked him to take it back, he took it and walked off whilst mumbling things angrily! I mean what a reaction from a restaurant trying to convince customers lemonade is a sprite!

I got up and went after him to see what exactly was the problem, two other waiters came in and also tried to convince me that a sprite is considered a lemanata because that's how people like it in the UK!! Absolutely shocking even the nice waitress who was quite nice said the same.

She did come back and apologise several times to be fair, but anyway, I dont think the perfectly cooked cod will be enough for me to return or...

I have come here with my friend for relaxing evening and to try some Italian food. The general experience was very positive overall. The place's aesthetic is pleasant and had a general "Italian" vibe to it. All the staff members were very polite, accommodating and exquisitely friendly. As soon as a table was available on the balcony they asked us if we wanted to be moved there to enjoy the view. In particular, a man from the Balcans - I forgot his name - who speaks Italian, with whom I had a very pleasant conversation about the Italian culture and Balcanic traditions. Prices are a bit high considering the amount of food you get and some of the recipes they prepare they're not strictly made the Italian way, or at least they are not made as we would make them back home. But I do understand the need for adaptation when it comes to meet the needs of the UK clientele. The wine selection is surprisingly wide and I had the to try some white wine from my region, I was very happy about it. Food was delicious.

All in all, the place is perfect for a romantic night and I would recommend a table on the balcony to enjoy the view of Castle Park and the Avon when the sun is setting. Food presentation is lovely and even if is not the "truest" Italian experience, I would recommend it for a lovely night.

Left a well deserved tip. Everyone was...