Bella Italian — Restaurant in Fontana

It's in a little shopping center by the freeway. Google will get you to the shopping center, but finding the restaurant takes a little looking on your own.

My date and I came in on a Friday evening at 7:30. Place was about 1/3 full, with two or three larger groups of 7 or so. The staff needed some time to get to a point where they could seat us, but needed a little coaxing not to put us next to the open doors... In December.

I ordered the Lasagna, my date ordered the Lasagna Florentine. Waiter came back in 5 minutes and informed her they were out of the Florentine. She then ordered Angel Hair Primavera. Her Penne Primavera soon showed up! :) Despite that, the staff was very attentive, almost bordering in disruptive, but I cannot fault them for that, as I believe the opposite is worse. We had a waiter, and a waitress, and two servers checking up on us constantly. Undoubtedly communication between that much staff can get a little difficult.

We split a half carafe of red table wine, that at $10 I thought was very adequate.

The booth could have been bussed a little better, either I was sitting on some of the last guest's dinner, it the seat vinyl was worn, I couldn't tell, I was too busy trying to act cool for my date. ;) Hey, she picked the place... The interior of the restaurant looked a little bit more work than the age of the building, as if the fixtures came from a prior location.

It's hard to criticize good 'ol Italian comfort food. It was simple, the ingredients tasted fresh, and my date and I ate until we couldn't stuff any more in! Good, yes, fairly priced, yes,...

For our daughter's graduation we made reservations for 12 for dinner at Bella Italian on a Thursday night. The graduation ceremony was running over time and I knew the restaurant closed at 9 on Thursdays, so I gave them a call to cancel. To my surprise, the owner said he would remain open and insisted that we still go. When we arrived, we were pleased to find that a large table had been arranged for us in a room adjacent to the main dining room. The place was decorated very nicely with old world charm including romantic Italian music. Our eldest daughter (who arrived first) ordered a large pizza expecting that the kids would arrive hungry. It was by far the best pizza that any of us had had in a very long time. Each of the adults ordered a separate Italian dish and no one was disappointed. The quality of the food and quantity size of each plate was very impressive. The owner's son Pino oversaw every detail and made us feel like family. The service was amazing as platters of garlic bread and sauce never stopped coming and the water glasses never reached empty. We have been to many restaurants who try and rush you out at closing time, but not here. Just when we thought that it couldn't get any better, "Papa" came over to congratulate our "grad" and proceeded to sing her a song in Italian, along with a blessing, and a kiss on her on the head. She was so delighted, and when a complimentary platter of ice cream soon followed, it sealed the deal on a...

We hated it. I am not sure how this place is maintaining such a high score, but all I can tell you is .......... it is AWFUL. Terrible food, bad service, and this restaurant is filthy! The plate and silverware were dirty... old sticky film on the menus! 🤢 Its was so gross. The seats are totally run down. You fall inside of them so far, you cant get comfortable to wait for a seat or eat. I will never go here again. Doesn't anyone going here know real Italian food and hygiene!? Sorry, but I wouldn't call the patrons eating here aficionados with Italian food or foodies. This place is disgusting. I never write bad reviews. But...