Bella Trattoria — Restaurant in San Francisco

Tl; Dr: Food is good, service is abysmal.

I ordered dinner an hour before dinner service in hopes that I could pick it up right when they open and save some time on the way home from picking my kids up from school. When I got there at 5:15 PM, they appeared to have lost my order, claiming that something was wrong with their iPad. So I waited. How long could it take to whip up two pastas, right?

Context: I just picked up my toddlers from preschool and was hoping to pop in and pop out quickly, but that was not the case. We waited and waited and waited, and if you know toddlers, they are not very good at waiting.

While we waited, I saw three different to-go orders being picked up and each time a different staff member came to see which order was mine. My toddlers couldn’t sit still anymore and were running in circles at the front of the restaurant while we waited and were chastised by one of the employees, telling us to be careful not to damage the newly refurbished banquet seats. I asked him where my food was and he just shrugged and told me that they were working on it.

This was after waiting for almost 25 minutes. I did NOT want to be there, especially with my two toddlers in tow. This is exactly the reason why I ordered ahead. They didn’t offer me anything for the trouble. Glass of water? Extra app or dessert? Nothing.

Note: we were the only ones there waiting on an order. Besides the handful of patrons at the bar, the restaurant was empty.

Finally I saw another order exit the kitchen and brought out to the front. It just sat there on the bar for a few minutes and no one acknowledged that my order was ready. I went up and grabbed my food and the poor hostess was very apologetic when she saw me storm out. They seemed to have her running in circles as well.

This experience sucked. The food is pretty decent (always has been) but if this is how they treat a customer, I’ll gladly head out of my way to avoid Bella. It’s not like decent Italian restaurants with a basic bar are in short supply in the...

My wife and I celebrated our anniversary by visiting the Pompeii exhibit at the Legion of Honor Museum. After learning about the fascinating Roman artifacts, we naturally had a taste for Italian food. I suggested that we go to North Beach and find a restaurant, but my wife recommended that we could probably find a nice place close by in the Richmond district where there would be less traffic, and the parking would be easier. We searched Google for an Italian Restaurant, and Bella Trattoria with 4 ½ stars appeared. It sounded like just what we wanted. The exterior appearance is unassuming, which caused me to hesitate, but fortunately, my wife urged me on. The inside turned out to be quite attractive, and our waiter Felipe greeted us quite warmly right away. I immediately felt good about our decision. He was friendly and witty and was very attentive without being intrusive. He seemed like someone with whom we could be friends. Felipe started us off with some unbelievably delicious bread that was soft and warm. He served it with delectable sundried tomato aioli. I had to exert considerable self-control to not fill up on the bread and ruin my appetite. Felipe also brought us a complimentary sample of their Bruschetta, which was a delightful surprise. Anyway, we enjoyed the lentil minestrone that we shared as our antipasto. My sweetheart had the Pasta Norcina, and I had the Gnocchi and Mushrooms with Creamy Gorgonzola Sauce. Felipe helped my wife choose the perfect wine to pair with her meal. We both very much enjoyed our entrée. We had some delicious Vanilla Gelato and a decaf cappuccino for dessert. One thing that my wife mentioned, was that we never felt rushed or hurried even though the dining room was filling up fast. After we paid our bill and said goodbye to Felipe, we mentioned that we were celebrating our anniversary. He then insisted that we stay a bit longer for a complimentary glass of Prosecco to celebrate. Overall this place exceeded our expectations and was a...

Our family drove up from Cupertino and we were not disappointed. I am a huge fan of Google reviews and this place exemplifies why. This is an unassuming venue. The restaurant features a pool table and bar. It has a very "local" atmosphere and one could be forgiven for walking past. That all said, my daughter chose it based on the (Google reviews) 4.6 stars and the (combined) number of reviews. The four of us agreed to go "family style" so we could sample each other's plates. We were not disappointed. All we can say is WOW! Every single thing we ordered was among the best any of us have ever tasted and we are very picky when it comes to restaurant dining. We have our Pho place, our Japanese place, our Hot Pot place etc...and now, despite being an hour away, we now have our Italian place. We ordered the following:

Gnocchi Sorrentina (potato pasta) Pizza Margarita (cheese pizza) Pappardelle Al Burro (spinach noodle version with sausage and mushrooms) Tagliata Al Gorgonzola (steak with mushroom gravy) Tri Colore Salad

They also brought us the following: Fresh Bread Toasted Bruschetta Formaggi Misti for desert

Every single item was amazing. The (from the oven) fresh bread was the best bread we ever ate in ANY restaurant! We all liked the Pappardelle Al Burro the best. We had a spinach noodle version (it was the daily special). None of us have ever had the Formaggi Misti desert before and now it is one of our all-time favorites. It is a creme gelatin block with a delicious berries & syrup mix topping. It isn't a custard and it isn't a flan but it is something similar...and delicious! The service was second to none. It's obvious that the staff here really love what they do and they do it very well indeed!

Thanks for making this our daughters (19) favorite birthday meal ever!!!

We will all be going back to this destination restaurant as it has moved to the top...