Betulla's — Restaurant in England

I was dubious about going here. My fastidious nature toward food hygiene and quality has always meant I never fancied attending, but I hold my hands up and admit that this view is purely down to how the restaurant was operated when it was "Laurels". Its worth pointing out that it hasn't been Laurels for many years and that the current owners have been running the place for several of those.

I must confess, because of my (extremely misplaced) prejudice, I've been missing out on a fantastic place to eat. We attended for happy hour and around 40% of the menu is available with the happy hour discount (personal estimate). However, don't let 40% put you off - the menu is extensive for a small restaurant so 40% of a large menu gives plenty of selection! My partner and I are planning several trips to go and try everything - unusually for me, there were a lot of menu items that sounded extremely appealing.

To start, we shared a garlic bread with pesto. I'm not a fan of pesto but my partner wanted to try it, so of course we tried it. As a result, I'm a complete convert to pesto. It was delicious. You could tell that the dough had been made freshly and spun at the restaurant. It's the garlic bread I've had. (Note - the dough for pizzas is also clearly made there; I spied on other people's food, wishing I could try everything).

For mains, I had pasta arrabiata and my partner had spicy meatballs. The pasta was cooked perfectly and the meals sublime. Although both dishes were slightly hotter than expected, this was a pleasant surprise and by no means 'too hot'.

Portion-wise - they were ideal. A shared garlic bread and a main each and we were both pleasantly full, but too full to try a desert (which is good - it's another excuse to go back!).

Drink wise, we had two pints of blackcurrant and soda and two pints of coke. In terms of the staff - they were excellent. Attentive, good humoured, friendly and well presented. They had good knowledge of the food and were more than happy to put food in a box for taking home (we finished ours there and then, but it's good to know that you have the option if you have a smaller appetite).

The decor is also excellent. For such a hot day when we attended, the restaurant was cool and fresh. I don't envy the kitchen staff, but we were very comfortable.

Now, to the best part: the price. For two mains, a shared (and make no mistake, it's share-sized) starter and four drinks, the total came to... £27.00. For comparison, for similar meals in other restaurants in the area, we've never been charged less than £45-50, and quite often the total is over £60. It is, without a doubt, the best meal I've had for less than £40.

It's not even necessary to attend during happy hour to get a good deal. The full price of mains is between £10 and £12 from what I saw (with the exception of steak etc as usual). During happy hour, the prices of mains (for those dishes available with the deal) drops to £7. I'd happily go back at any time of the evening, and I'd still almost certainly save money over other restaurants...

Betulla's is a highly popular Italian restaurant in Ulverston and it is easy to see why - portions are generous and food is generally tasty. However, I left feeling a tad underwhelmed from my experience.

We ordered a calamari starter, a carbonara, a bolognese, and a pollo picante.

First, the good points: the sauces were really tasty and well-balanced. The carbonara was very nice, with hints of smoky bacon balanced out with just the right amount of cracked pepper. The bolognese was rich and flavourful, although I found it a tad too sweet. The portions were also very generous and I felt very full after my meal.

Now for the negatives. One common thread running through all the pasta dishes was the complete lack of Al dente cooking; all the pasta was overcooked. Al dente pasta is something I consider to be crucial, and this was a very significant flaw in my opinion. Further, the calamari was also overcooked - crispy and delightful batter on the outside was let down by dry and tough squid inside.

Service staff were prompt, polite, and efficient. They worked well despite the full house.

Overall, Betulla's is OK for a simple Italian dinner, especially at the Happy Hour (5-6pm daily) prices. It's OK,...

I usually don't write long reviews but in this case I can't skip it. Massively disappointed. So here it is.

Had take away for the family as we were staying at Airbnb opposite and the place was fully booked.

I ordered for myself Betulla's Pasta Della Casa. In the menu menu it mentions it has chicken and bacon, well, it didn't have any of that. Few slices of peppers with couple of cherry tomatoes and some pieces of mushrooms with hardly any olives. Pasta just tasted spicy, and sticky with almost no sauce, didn't taste any parmesan in there. Honestly the most horrible pasta dish I've ever had. I wouldn't have spent £1 on that.

Tasted also the calzóne with chicken from other family member's dish. Was the chicken left over from some other dish and the next day became filling for the calzóne? Massive pieces of chicken having their own taste and that taste of having been cooked days ago.

Tasted my wife's lasagna and was somewhat decent.

Garlic bread/pizza was nice.

We hadn't eaten food all day as we were out and were hungry, so I did not come back to ask why there was no bacon and chicken in the pasta and tasted as a meal that some kid was learning to cook. I was cooking better pasta at...