La Bella Napoli — Restaurant in Torrance

Recommend! Come here to eat!

Visit#1 here before #2 at end.

A small unsuspecting restaurant that is Authentic Italian, damn good, and reasonably priced.

Located within a strip mall, you find La Bella Napoli on a white sign in the middle of other little businesses. Parking is very limited but street parking available with a short walk. Seating inside or order to-go, credit/debit accepted. I had exact cash, they were fine accepting this.

Inside a view of the refrigerated in house made desserts, drinks and gelato surround the host check out stand. Behind a open window to see all the action. A few tables and chairs inside. Groceries for sale as well. Very clean, cute environment. Very well cared for.

The food, is the legit sh!t Italian, made by Chef Daniele, who is very nice. In fact all the staff are very welcoming and I felt I was treated very well here.

I love pasta and sauce. Having tried damn near every Italian restaurant in LA, I can say that maybe 6 are straight up perfect. This is one of them. It doesn't take a lot of ingredients to make good food, it takes fresh food and good skill.

The pasta is made in house, so is the sauce, the gelato, the desserts. All here. I ordered the spaghetti with meatballs and the lemon tarte (Torte Bella Donna). The spaghetti, al dente, true larger sized spaghetti noodles. The sauce, tomato deliciousness! With fresh basil, onion and spices. The meatballs, omg. Very large sized, will satisfy a big eater. They just melt in your mouth. Very very satisfying. I requested a piece of bread to go with pasta. It was homemade, crunchy outside, grilled, with a perfectly soft chewy fluffy interior, and great EVOO drizzled on top. The dessert, perfect , balancing the tart lemon custard with icing sugar that covers the pine nuts and a rich buttery crust. Divine.

This is simple true authentic Italian food. Made in the best way, it takes talent to make simple foods taste like a 5 star meal. I don't know why I hadn't been here before. Perhaps because I don't live in the area, but I will drive the 40 minuets to get to Torrance and eat here again.

I hear the pizza is out of this world too. If the bread could be considered my amuse bouche, I would blindly agree to this.

Visit #2: I saw the Boscaiola pasta dish right after I ordered last time. Craved it and had to go back. The very handsome and talented chef again prepared a very delicious meal. Thank you Chef Daniele and Co.! And to their best Customer Josh, whom I met both times and he is a very nice person who supports this restaurant...

Absolutely the BEST PIZZA in the South Bay! The sauce is the best I've had anywhere, including Italy, New York, for sure L.A., and anywhere else ever! The crust is tasty and thin yet still holds up well to the generously slathered sauce, and the thick creamy cheese is definitely not typical at most pizzerias. Plus the staff is gracious and accommodating!

You need to be aware that this is real deal Naples Italy pizza from chefs who must have come from there recently, based on their charming accents (though ordering by phone can be a bit of a challenge - lol!). Thus many of the toppings are very different than almost all other local pizzerias. They are much more like the famous L.A. restaurants Mozza and Spago, but so much better! The famous spots don't put near enough sauce, cheese or toppings on, and charge more for their tiny one person pizza than a 16" at La Bella Napoli.

So who cares about crowded parking, a small room, paper plates, and casual seating, when we get extraordinary Italian food straight from Naples Italy at prices comparable to an average pizzeria!

I'm not only a pizza connoisseur who can turn a trip to New York into a week long pizza tasting adventure, I am also a former managing partner of a very highly rated fine dining restaurant where our exquisitely trained chefs made gourmet pizzas just for me and my office staff. But even that wasn't as good as La Bella Napoli!

Thank you La Bella Napoli for offering the best pizza in the South Bay, and for me everywhere else in L.A., New York, and elsewhere I've traveled in at least...

Since I was born and grew up in Napoli, Italy, in the past few years I've been looking for a food place in the LA area where I can taste the real and traditional Neapolitan and Italian cuisine. After being disappointed by many famous "Italian" restaurants, finally I found this place and was really astonished about how they can make and serve the real Neapolitan cuisine and flavors here in the US. Considering that they don't have a wood fired oven, pizza is delicious and pretty much the same as you can have in Napoli. Pasta (I tried Penne al Salmone) is really good and desserts are super tasty (I'm particularly peaky with Italian desserts). And all of this comes with a price that is lower of an average "Italian" restaurant in LA area, plus in a friendly and cozy environment, simple and warm altogether. These guys succeeded in bringing here a real piece of Napoli....