Bella Italia Restaurante — Restaurant in Mobile

I have been writing restaurant reviews for many years. I write good reviews for most restaurants I visit and I have written some bad reviews for places I felt did a disservice to the restaurant going community at large. But, I have NEVER had the opportunity to write a review for a restaurant that completely blew me away, like the restaurant we visited last evening. I need to go back and subtract a star from every restaurant I've reviewed in the past! (Hyperbole)

A guy I don't know, on Facebook, highly recommended this Italian Restaurant. We have had our own favorite Italian restaurant that we have loved for more than 10 years (Petrella's, in Cantonment). So, we tried Bella Italia, expecting to be able to go back and tell the guy "our favorite Italian restaurant is better than yours."

No such luck. From the moment we walked into Bella Italia, we knew we were onto something, starting with the sincere way we were greeted. Our waitress talked to us like family - telling us about the chef/owner and how he cooks everything from scratch and how he sourced many of his high end ingredients directly from Italy. (And huge, fresh shrimp from our local waters.) The Tiramisu is flown in from New York.

The food was amazing. Our waitress brought us out a complimentary appetizer that was so simple - some Italian bread, lightly buttered and seasoned, with some large flakes of parmesan, and a small bowl of dipping sauce that consisted of ranch dressing thickened with cucumber, dill and some other tasty ingredients. Wow!

I ordered a Salmon dish that rested on a bed of house made angel hair pasta and covered with a delicious house Alfredo sauce and wifey ordered a shrimp dish that consisted of some HUGE gulf shrimp on top of some cheese ravioli. Both dishes were served with hot garlic bread and everything was outstanding. Portion size was very generous, too.

For dessert, we chose the Lemon Italian cream cake. It was very light and refreshing and we were pleased with the finale of our dining experience.

If you're reading this review and shopping/evaluating which Italian restaurant to try out next. PLEASE GO HERE. You will not be disappointed.

This is my new favorite restaurant and it will probably...

We’ve been wanting to try this place for a while from reviews we’ve heard. It was beyond our expectations! Our server, Shelley, was very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. She checked in with us often and made sure that that our needs were met, she was great! The atmosphere was nice, clean, and comfortable. We (me, wife, mother-in-law) ordered the veal Parmesan, shrimp manicotti, and zucchini sticks that came with salads and garlic bread. Everything was incredible! Definitely some of the best Italian food I’ve ever had! The portions were quite large, I couldn’t finish the veal although I tried, it was so good (looking forward to having it for lunch today)! The penne with sauce that came with it was fantastic! The fried zucchini was cooked to perfection and the shrimp manicotti’s sauce was amazing. The garlic bread was also fantastic as was the salad. A very enjoyable dinner, highly recommend, and will definitely be...

Hidden jewel! I ate the spinach pastry and seafood manicotti with side Ceasar salad. The pastry was excellent if you like spinach and cheese in phillo dough. Nice large shrimp with a seafood white sauce on the manicotti. Very good but rich suace, what I wanted. Service was sharp but in a strip mall so the 4 on atmosphere. The decor was good though. They were busy and all tables full before my 6pm departure. I would recommend Bella Italia before the chain towards I65 but I beleive in...