La Bella Vita Ristorante Italiano — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

We loved the dining experience!! We (4 of us) arrived at 5 (last-minute dinner reservation) for a birthday celebration! Since they just opened, we had our pick of seating in one of their dining areas. That said, it wasn't 30 minutes later and the restaurant was full!! The wait staff was very attentive and plentiful!! Two of us started with drinks, which included a Dirty Martini (my wife loves them) and a Black Walnut Old Fashioned (the Birthday honoree)! They both said the drinks were delicious and provided a light buzz (which says you got what you paid for (full strength)!! We were brought fresh bread that was light and airy along with oil and vinegar for dipping. We were surprised it didn't come with some herbs in the oil. I asked for butter, and it was brought to the table right away even though it's not typically offered that way. We were offered appetizers but declined hearing the portions were generous. The meals themselves were excellent!! If you had the special, it came with sides; if not, then you chose ala carte. My wife chose the special, which was Salmon in a Lobster Tomato Cream sauce with Roasted Potatoes and Spinach. It was perfectly prepared and presented! It was flavorful, very filling; and sampled by everyone at the table!! We also had the Linguini alla Vongole Thin flat noodles sautéed with garlic, olive oil, Crushed Red Pepper, clams, white wine, and Parsley. It presented well and tasted good but was bland. The clams were plentiful and very tasty! The birthday honoree had the Rigatoni alla Carre; Sundried Tomatoes, Large tubular pasta tossed with Chicken, fresh Mushrooms, and Artichokes in a homemade Pesto Cream sauce again super delicious. I had the Lasagna Bolognese, which was also good. That said, it seemed like a small portion for the price (this was the only (in my opinion) small proportioned meal. I was glad I ordered the Mista salad with my meal to help fill me up. We also had two Cesare salads, and they were typical salads but again generous in proportion!! We finished the meal with the chef, making a special desert for the birthday honoree. It was a puff pastry topped with chocolate. There was writing on the outer rim of the plate, wishing a very happy birthday!! Why only 4 stars? We sat in a booth that needed to be replaced. When we tried to slide in, the springs weren't existent, and all of us felt like we were sitting on the floor. The table was literally at my chest, leaving me to feel as though I needed a booster seat! All-in-all was a little expensive, but we had a great time! I'd...

The food was great. Service was good. It was my first time coming here to La Bella Vita Ristorante in December 2018 since I've moved here to Colorado Springs 20 years ago. I'll definitely be back. The general manager shared that they are getting ready to remodel the inside. Im excited to see what they do, and it'll help the ambiance for sure. (This was my first review)

This review continues for my 2nd review starts of coming to La Bella Vita about 3.5 years later after the remodel, that I came back on June 24, 2023. The owners did a good job. It's very light and airy in both sections of the restaurant. They kept the decor and tables simple, which I like. I loved that all the servers are Italian and dressed similar, all black with a bright blue apron. 💙

We started the meal with very dried bread and olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping. I must highly suggest changing the bread served for this. They over toast it, and it's so dry.

We tried 2 of the 3 specials they had. I love a good ravioli. This ravioli was cheese and spinach. The pasta was nice and thin, not too chewy, and the rosa sauce was flavorful. We ordered two spaghetti bolengnass, and the chicken piccate. All were tasty and had that authentic Italian feel to the dish. We shared 2 appetizers, the pan/bread salad, and calamari fritters. The calamari fritters tasted like they were air fried. I appreciate that they weren't oily, but they were too small of piece size, some tasted overly dehydrated. It was good, though, and the tomato sauce to dip in was delicious. The salad was very basic and lacked depth and character for that salad. All it had was diced cucumbers, small sliced cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella balls, store bought croutons for the bread, and a light lemonany salad dressing with No extra parmesean cheese. It was very boring. I wouldn't order that again.

We ordered the tiramisu and the spumoni ice cream 🍨 for dessert. Both were great. They make most all of their desserts in-house. The service was great! They kept our water glasses full, which is huge for me with service. One of the managers came out to great the tables to check on us at the end of the meal. The price was on the high side, and the total bill came to $152 without any alcohol or extra drinks. They do offer a 10% military discount, which helped. This was overall a nice dining experience at La Bella Vita Ristorante. Come check them out in...

My daughters and I visited this restaurant on Thursday the 17th of March while on Springbreak. We were sat down after made to feel like we inconvenienced the host team by not having a reservation, as the restaurant just opened and was empty with the exception of 1 other family. We were then sat directly at the back’s of the other family in the adjoining booth and they were talking and it was like we were in their conversation. It was weird especially due to social distancing. However, that family moved shortly after we were seated. We then got our drinks and placed our food order. My girls ordered the lasagna and I the Chicken Marsala some garlic bread and a Caesar salad. The garlic bread came out well before our meal making it cold and hard by the time our meal came so we did not even eat it. The Caesar salad was so small and not a good flavor so we didn’t even finish it. The lasagna was watery and also unflavored, neither of my daughters finished it. It basically looked like soup with melted cheese and a large noodles. The Chicken Marsala had good flavor, but was on a bed of thin watery juice and the chicken was as thin as paper. The spinach was unpleasant to the eye but tasted like spinach. The potatoes were good and had good flavor on their own so I ate those up quick. The overall presentation was disappointing to say the least and for our bill to be almost $100 for the 3 of us, we agreed we should have went to Olive Garden, but we always try to support local businesses when we vacation. It’s just this was a disappointment. Suggestion to management is go to other restaurants to see how they make their presentation of the meals and replicate it because the Chicken Marsala at Olive Garden is the best I ever had and the chicken is actually a full chicken breast not a deli slice. As for the lasagna at Olive Garden, it is moist, flavorful, and perfect sauce and cheese consistency. I had high hopes for our dining experience here and hope this review adds some perspective to what quality is produced moving forward. We did not take pictures as we usually do when our food looks presentable. But those that have been here know my...