Bella Cocina Catering — Restaurant in Lake Forest

Shocking yesterday was my first time trying Bella Cocina. I work minutes from this restaurant but it didn't catch my attention all this time until yesterday. My friend and I came here yesterday for lunch. Bella Cocina is located on MacArthur in between Bear & Bristol in a small outdoor shopping plaza. You can't miss it, next door to a 7-11 & Tapioca Express.

Bella Cocina is an interesting concept serving both Italian & Mexican cuisines. Walking into the restaurant, I was quite impressed with the decor. It has a warm welcoming feel to it and would be perfect for a social gathering with friends and/or a romantic night out. You must order at the counter, then the server will bring you the food.

My friend and I decided to share these 2 dishes:

-- Chicken Fajitas: originally the Cajun Pasta caught my attention but of she had to think the same, so I chose this. This will be the last time ordering the Fajitas plate. The food was bland (lacking basic spices) and just wasn't pleasant. Luckily, my friend didn't mind the flavors so she ended up eating it. The portion was rather decent served with flour or corn tortillas, beans, rice, chicken, guacamole and sour cream. It just wasn't for me. -- Cajun Pasta: this was more like it. It was a bit on the oily side, but it was flavorful. Fettuccine pasta with a cream sauce served with chicken & bread. This was the clear winner for me because nothing was left over.

Overall, I had a good experience at Bella Cocina. Some minor takeaways were the distasteful chicken fajitas and language barrier with the guy behind the counter. I had to ask for an extra plate 3 different times and ended getting a bowl. Sigh*. It's not big deal but come guy a plate and bowl are not the same thing. Luckily, these were minor issues but will not prevent me from coming back. I will stick with the...

This is my favorite restaurant! The food is amazing- I have literally never had a bad dish here. It's the perfect place for my husband and I.. He loves Mexican food and I love Italian food so this menu is perfect, as they have half and half on the menu. The strawberry & blueberry chicken salad with their homemade vinegarette dressing is to die for! The pasta, lasagna, and pizza are all delicious. The shrimp civeche is one of the best I've had. You really can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Not to mention the service is wonderful! Everyone there is so nice, the food comes out fast, and they even display the food beautifully! You can tell Bella Coccina takes a lot of pride in providing great food with great service. In a world where customer service is fleeting, this place provides hope that people still care about bringing a great experience to dining out. Highly...

So, i walk in to this establishment and the manager is carring a personal conversation with the customers in front of me for aprox. 5 min. as i wait patiently this man clearly see's that i am ready to order and he continues to ignore me. I finally go up to him and ask him are you going to assist me? He rudely responds, "one moment sir, i think its rude for you to interupt me like that"! I replied, "i think it's rude of you to make me stand in front of you for 5 minutes hearing your personal conversation"! He responds by saying, your rude sir, whatever, can i take your order? I responded by saying, never mind, you just lost a customer and i am going to write a review online about my experience! He replies " my name is Leo, go ahead"! My suggestion to you Leo, is, talk to customers for 5 minutes or more on your own time or down time, other wise you will have no...