Bellanico Restaurant and Wine Bar — Restaurant in Oakland

During a lifetime of restaurant dining, there are a few experiences that stand out as truly memorable. Some are memorable because of the exceptional food or a special occasion, while others are impossible to forget because they leave a particularly bad taste (either figuratively or gustatorily). Our experience at Bellanico falls in the latter category, as it ranks among the worst restaurant experiences we have ever had. We have been customers at Bellanico for many years and enjoyed dining there in person prior to the pandemic. Since the pandemic, we have ordered takeout a few times.

I placed an online takeout order at 4 pm and requested pickup of our order at 5:15 pm. An email arrived at 4:08 pm confirming that my order was received. As part of our efforts to support the industry during the pandemic, I included a 15% tip even though this was a takeout order. We arrived at the restaurant at 5:18 pm to pick up our order, and my wife was told the order would be ready in 5 minutes. Ten minutes later, she was told apologetically that the restaurant had neglected to turn on their iPad, so they were not even aware that we had placed an online order until moments earlier. So, it would take another 15 minutes before our order was ready.

At this point, our dinner is delayed by half an hour, our grandson is getting restless in the car, and I have no way of changing our tip, which was predicated on the assumption that we would receive good service. I recognize that mistakes happen, but in a situation like this, some form of compensation beyond just an apology is fair and warranted. While we’re standing outside the restaurant waiting for our order, a guy wearing a white chef’s jacket doesn’t identify himself but asks if he can help us. I start explaining that we placed an order online at 4 pm for pickup at 5:15 pm, and before I can finish, he interrupts me with excuses – ‘we’re busy, we just changed the menu today’, etc. The message was, we’ve already apologized, what more do you want? I said, well, it seems like you could consider comping us something, maybe a few desserts. Chef replies, SINCE YOU ASKED ME TO COMP SOMETHING, I’M NOT GOING TO COMP YOU ANYTHING, and walks away.

This was infuriating. An honest mistake is forgivable, but this degree of rudeness from any service professional is unacceptable. There are a multitude of better ways to decline a request for compensation if you disagree with me. No way are we going to eat this guy’s food tonight, tomorrow, or ever again. We cancelled the whole order, demanded a refund, and went somewhere else for dinner. There are plenty of excellent alternatives for dining in Oakland. There’s even another Italian restaurant just a few steps away that has...

When I think of a word that comes to mind in describing this place, so many fight for my attention. There is one, however, which stands out amongst the the bunch: terrible.

Everything we had was essentially flavorless, greasy, and seemed to be haphazardly thrown together. Except the sword fish. That definitely tasted like fish. But in the most unpleasant sort of way.

The rabbit stuffed ravioli came as 6 (or was it 7? Who's counting.) wonton looking pouches sitting in a dish of butter. They were stuffed with a dry paste which reminded me of what those fancy cats from the 90s used to eat - anyone remember Fancy Feast commercials? Yes, you say? Come here for the nostalgia. The sauce had clearly broken and no one in the kitchen noticed (or I suspect cared) to do anything about it.

As mentioned, the swordfish was noticeably fishy which was only partially covered up if combined with the dry potatoes and lifeless broccolini in a single bite. There was also some red colored accompaniment which reminded of cut up canned chilies doused in vinegar. This was then carefully slopped atop said broccolini. Truly the stuff of nightmares.

Before these plates came, we were treated to three greasy, poorly seasoned squash blossoms sitting atop some odd shredded zucchini and squash salad in a mystery dressing. Oil was the predominant flavor here, though intuition tells me they were going for something else. Someone in the kitchen may benefit from learning how to fry properly - just a suggestion in the event management is paying attention to this. And at 18 dollars, this was robbery which didn't even require my venturing down to international boulevard.

Our server was nice enough but left our empty water carafe sitting on our table the entire meal. There would be no refills to rid our mouth of the fishy aftertaste graciously left by the swordfish steak. Another food runner spilled a drink on my wife's foot, but hey, at least they apologized. Ambience wise, we didn't catch a glimpse of the inside as we sat out front. This allowed us to make awkward eye contact and fake smile as if to feign enjoyment as the occasional overly curious passerby would linger and sometimes inspect our table. If you looked beyond that forced smile, these eyes were saying run. Run very far away. And take me with you.

This place is a total disaster and absolutely something to avoid, particularly when you consider so many better Italian options around town. The prices would have been not terrible if the quality wasn't as it was. There is unfortunately not a single redeeming quality about this place and it is unworthy of your time, money, or attention beyond...

I visited this restaurant with my family for Father's Day lunch based on local Reddit recommendations, but unfortunately had a very disappointing experience with the service. The most concerning issue was that we were never provided water throughout our meal. Every other table had glass water bottles, but despite multiple servers bringing out our courses, no one noticed or addressed that our table was without this basic necessity. I had to specifically request water when our second course arrived, which should never happen at any restaurant. The service was consistently slow despite the restaurant being only partially full with several empty tables and adequate staff visible. It took 50 minutes from arrival to receive our first appetizer. We had to wave down servers for attention, as did other tables around us for both ordering and getting their checks. When our polenta arrived, no utensils were provided - spoons were quietly placed on our table well into the meal without any acknowledgment. The food quality was mediocre and didn't compensate for the service issues. This experience really fell far short of expectations. The restaurant may have potential, but significant improvements in service attentiveness and basic hospitality standards are needed. I hope this was an off day, but I can't recommend based...