Bella Siena — Restaurant in Benicia

This week my husband and I had the best dining experience we've had in years, and we eat out a lot! Bella Siena is a rare gem of a fine dining restaurant on the beautiful Benicia waterfront, with a menu, interior beauty and charm, bay and bridge view, and expert service to die for. We made a 4pm reservation to be sure we could get a window table. Then every detail of our experience, from our perfectly prepared Skirt Steak Satay appetizer and really well made cocktails to our amazing, BEST EVER bread pudding (OMG!) topped with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream, and our very good cappuccinos. VALENTINO, our gracious, kind, patient, good humored, attentive server was also soooo well informed and so talented in his ability to describe the delectable specials and describe foods about which we had questions that he deserves six stars all by himself!! We have experienced many very good servers in our many years of restaurant dining, and yet Valentino managed to add to our experience and delight us on a level that we just won't ever forget. My husband raved about his entree, the Papperdelli ala Zaffarelli, and my taste of it verified it's perfection. My Vitello Piccata was unforgettably delicious, the veal perfectly cooked and the sauce simply amazing. Prices were entirely reasonable. Yet portion sizes were still generous. Yet we still managed to leave without leftovers because we simply could not leave one bite on the plate with any of our dishes. And the menu was so full of tempting options that we will be returning soon to try them and relive this glorious bayside experience. Bella Sienna is the relatively new Italian crown jewel in Benicia's quaint waterfront district. We live in Walnut Creek and a trip across the bridge to this already precious setting, where a walk around the quaint historic town of Benicia and peaceful waterfront was already a joy, is now for us a highly prized, EXCITING, and often to be repeated getaway! Go there! Go...

Had dinner there last night to celebrate my birthday. Place is nice, view of the water is great, ambiance is good.

Now comes the sort-of-bad experience... First, our dinner reservation was given to another couple so instead of a reserved table with the water view, we had the table closer to the bar area (which was not bad, just that we preferred a table with a view).

For a Tuesday night, the place was very busy. I think the staff were overwhelmed and management was not prepared for the foot traffic. In short, we waited for roughly 40 mins for the main to arrive. Not sure if there was a mixed up or they forgot our order but the table next to us was halfway having their dinner before our order was served to think we were seated first and got our orders ahead of them (my spouse was hungry already so we ordered right away 😅).

Then, the food... The crab cakes has good reviews so we tried it for starters. It was good, not a wow thing. Then I had wild mushroom ravioli and the pappardelle allo zafferano for my spouse. The ravioli was good, creamy sauce but not heavy. I really enjoyed it. The pappardelle was a little bit undercooked though (even compared to the texture of the ravioli). We didn't complain anymore because by this time, we were both hungry and we just wanted to eat. We didn't get desert (only coffee for my spouse) but they gave out a raspberry sorbet (if I'm not mistaken) as a birthday treat (and the sorbet was really good). Was not able to take pictures of the pastas, my apology. (Did I mention that we were hungry so we just ate the moment they were served? ☺️)

If it was not for the very nice, very friendly, very accommodating server (we didn't get his name, so sorry. I think it was Josh or something; wasn't able to introduce himself to us when he got our orders), who kept coming back, checking us up, and giving us a quick chat, hence keeping us calm 😅 while the long wait (kudos to him), this review would've...

Times are hard but still wanted to celebrate my birthday by going to “new” restaurant (new to us not new per se). Went to Bella Siena on a Sunday to celebrate. We made a reservation so we didn’t wait at all to get a table and even got to choose the table we wanted. Parking was on the street but there was ample space. Our server, Melanie was very nice and was constantly checking in. Service was amazing. Even my irascible hubby was impressed with the service. We don’t eat a lot so we only ordered an appetizer then went straight to the main course. We had Calamari for starters and it was divine. The coating was just right and it was not at all greasy. And most importantly, the squid was cooked just right so it was not chewy. I had the soup of the day , pumpkin something. I prefer clear soup over creamy soup but I still liked this one. Hubby ordered Kobe beef burger and he loved it! The last time he was impressed with Kobe beef burger was years ago (Garçon restaurant in Graton Casino). The meat was juicy and cooked to perfection. The burger came with an insane amount of fries. The fries were also above par but the amount was meant for more than one person, for sure. I ordered grilled pork chop and it was super yummy. Tasty and tender. I’m not a fan of mashed potatoes but I ate the mashed potatoes that came with the pork chop coz it was really good. Then for dessert, we ordered crème brûlée. I love crème brûlée but this one was extra special. On top of that, Melanie also brought sorbet with a birthday candle on top, on the house. Suffice to say, we left Bella Siena super full. More than that, my heart was full. Little gestures like the sorbet with the birthday candle makes a huge difference. My hubby and I will...