La Bella Pizza — Restaurant in Chula Vista

It truly breaks my heart to be writing this review, as La Bella’s has been such a big part of our family’s story. My husband grew up in La Bella’s, and fondly remembers the times Kitty and Papa would wave to him from the kitchen door as he walked by, gave him free pizzas, and even sat him on the counter to talk while making pizzas. When we met, he introduced me to the magic that was La Bella’s pizza (and lasagna!), and it quickly became our go-to date spot, and when our oldest was born, our place of choice for a family night out. When we moved from California, it was the place we missed the most, and the first place we went when we moved back. When my husband enlisted in the Army, and once again, we had to leave, it was the place we reminisced about, and the first place we would come whenever we would visit San Diego. My husband retired from the Army this past spring, and we were fortunate enough to be able to make our way back home, excited to come grab a pizza for dinner once again. On August 1, 2024, my husband surprised me with a family portrait session at the studio near La Bella’s. It was one last portrait in his uniform, a throwback to the pinks and greens of WWII. After our photo session, we decided to finish off the evening with a pizza from La Bella’s. My husband called in our order, and we waited just outside until it was ready. After the 20 minutes we were told had passed, my husband went inside to pick up our order, still in full uniform. He was immediately met with glares from a member of the kitchen staff, and as he was walking out with our pizza, this staff member commented “It’s just a Halloween costume”. It was loud enough for my husband to hear and to know it was directed at him, even without it being said directly to his face. My husband served honorably for 15 years, and would have gladly continued to do so, had the Army not determined that the injuries he received as a result of his service left him totally and permanently disabled, and medically retired him from the service. The attitude and behavior displayed by this staff member left such an impression that, after more than 30 years of patronage, we have not returned since. As a family, we are deeply hurt and disheartened by my husband’s treatment, and if this kind of unprofessional, disrespectful display is something that La Bella’s now condones, we will not...

It saddens me that I gave this place one star. This place is really awesome and the staff is really cool, but tonight (12.26.21) my party of 8 came into the La Bella Café and Games entrance because we were told that the restaurant was short staffed so there were only very few tables available and since we had a bigger party we'd be better served on the other side, which is understandable. The problem is with the hostess she was pretty rude to begin with, but I tried to understand since it was a busy night. The wait was one hour and thirty minutes, we were on our way out but then the owner, Tony came out and asked for our parties name and asked what we were waiting for, my friend let him know that we were waiting for a friend that had to use the restroom and that we weren't staying because the wait was too long. Tony said, "no, there is no way the wait is that long, give me a moment and you'll be seated shortly." We stuck around then Tony asked the hostess to give us a table and she told him no, that there was a waiting list and we had many parties ahead of us, which to be honest there were no parties waiting because she was rudely turning them away. So my friend asked if we were going to get a table and she proceeded to tell us in a rude tone that it was one hour and thirty minute wait. Said that Tony doesn't know what he was talking about. My husband asked to talk to Tony since we were told that we were going to be seated and the hostess was refusing to give us a table after she was told by the owner to do so. The hostess rolled her eyes and asked for Tony, and Tony then said to take the corner table that has not been used, there were several tables available and no parties were coming in, she called a party for Rachael and they were a no show. I could not believe how rude this hostess was, wish I knew her name, but she had purple streaks in her hair and really looks unhappy working there. I mean she was rude to us she was rude to other people was even rude to the owner! We decided to leave as we did not want trouble and did not want our food to get spit on. Thank you Tony for trying to get us a table, but perhaps your staff needs to reminded who the boss is there. She should be grateful she has a job because these days not everyone can afford a living here barely even keep...

This is my third visit to Bella. I won't mention the previous two just yesterdays dilemma. What's worse than going out to a meal and it not having it go the way you would like? Recommending the place to family and spouting off how great it is and then having it not go the way expected. First off (how I dislike to use that term) the food has been, is and probably will be great for a long time. The waitstaff however is another story altogether. We ate in the first dining room. We were greeted right away and were asked for our drink orders. It was obvious that our young server was new to employment and to the service industry. We were a table of four. We all ordered sandwiches. Forty-three minutes later the first sandwich came. Five minutes later the second sandwich came. When asked what the problem might be the server immediately stated it was the 'boys in the kitchen'. I had full view of the kitchen's service window. There were a lot of stares our way and I was actually a little embarrassed for the server. My guesstimate was that the server just forgot to turn the order in and she was frazzled because of it. For minutes later our third sandwich was delivered. Five more minutes later my sandwich finally arrived. I applaud the 'boys' in the kitchen for banging out the food as quick as possible. The food was incredible. Unfortunately in the restaurant business there are two factors in my opinion, service and quality of food. Bella, you're wonderful. Server(s), make note of how the well seasoned servers at Bella handle their tables. Good...