Bella Italia restaurant — Restaurant in Bedford

I am only giving our latest experience a 3 because the pizza was good. Sadly, I would otherwise give a 2 or 1. I don't enjoy leaving low ratings, especially at a time when the economy is like it is now, but in this case I feel it's warranted. We arrived at the restaurant a few minutes after 8. We knew they closed at 9 and planned to order quickly, eat quickly and head home. There were no other guests in the restaurant when we arrived. We were seated at a booth which had zero lighting. All of the lightbulbs were blown overhead so it resembled candlelight. We got up and asked to move. Another couple came in and were seated at the same dark table. After a couple of moments, they also got up and asked to move. Then, a THIRD couple came in and were seated at that same dark table. They too asked to move. Looking around, we began to realize that lightbulbs were out on every fan except for one. The young woman who seated everyone was obviously annoyed to be at work. She practically rolled her eyes when we walked in. The young woman working at the cash register was the same way. Totally annoyed... Our waitress started out sluggish but did change her attitude quickly and was fairly nice. We knew she was probably tired and totally understood that. The other two, however, weren't putting in an ounce of effort to be polite. I worked on a restaurant for a few years and know it can be tiring work, but you can't treat customers as though they're a bother. Do that and they won't come back...

We live locally and may give Bella's another opportunity but it probably won't be soon after this experience. I would like to reiterate that our...

When you grow up in an Italian-American family in New Jersey, you have no choice but to love Italian-American food. After moving to Virginia, I longed for good “casual” Italian food. Lynchburg has a few “upscale Italian” restaurants but their menus are all pretty much the same and are lacking authenticity. Those places serve chicken parm, lasagna, ravioli- nothing exciting and their menus are minimal.

Trust me when I say this. Skip those restaurants and come here. You won’t be disappointed.

The owner, Lori, makes you feel like family. Interacting with her is part of the experience! She’s incredible and truly cares about pleasing her customers.

This place is no frills. It’s not fancy, but it’s the closest thing I’ve found to “New Jersey” Italian food. If you’re from the Northeast, you understand. This is a casual spot that’s good for any occasion.

I have yet to have anything on their menu that wasn’t delicious. Their menu has a ton of variety and there’s something for everybody. If you like vodka/pink sauce, you can’t go wrong with theirs. If you like thin chicken cutlets in your chicken parmigiana, this is your place.

Looking for Italian groceries and goodies? Don’t forget to check out their Italian market before you leave.

I would highly recommend visiting Bella Italia, even if you have to make a small road-trip to get there! You...

If i could give a zero rating I would. Went with a group , they were expecting us. First impression was it was cold. Really cold. Had to wear my coat during lunch and my feet in lined boots were cold. There's a wall heater but it wasn't on. Our orders were taken in a timely fashion but we waited an exceedingly long time for food. We were promised bread after waiting about an half hour but it didn't come for another 20 minutes or so. After several requests for our food, it finally came out in stages. My dinner salad was full of water to the point my croutons were soggy. My husband's Reuben was awful. He described it as the worst he's ever had. Our son's calzone was undercooked, missing items and soggy. Another couple at our table had toppings missing from their pizza and it was greasy. No one in our entire party was happy how the meal went. It was our first visit and we will never be back. Yes it was that bad. We love supporting local business and frequent other locally owned restaurants but this one is...