Bella Luna Pizzeria — Restaurant in Trinidad

Quick take: mediocre food and staff who put you and your family at risk. Save yourself and eat somewhere else.

Passing through Trinidad I searched for a well rated restaurant and Bella Luna was just about the best ranked place to eat in town. Waited in a line to get into the restaurant on a Wednesday night. In chatting with the locals outside they liked the food, I had high hopes but it turned out to be a meal I regret. Server was nice enough and we were seated immediately. When server was asked about the sausage on the “Paulie” and if it was anything special or was it just stuff from Sysco, she said it was Sysco and everything is from a bag. I’m a foodie, so this made me cringe. Bella Luna does make their dough in house, although I opted for the gluten free crust. My dinner companion said the regular crust wasn’t bad, it was the toppings that were mediocre. House salads were just spring mix with the same mozzarella they use for the pizza, a few canned black olives, and some red onion. Salad was just ok. My gluten free crust was run of the mill, but came to me with the edges badly burned. I ended up not being able to eat 1/4 of the pizza due to this. Now about the part where they will put you and your family at risk. I sat close to the kitchen so I could be by the wood pizza oven, and had a good view of the salad prep area. A woman who was coming on to her shift had her large purse on the prep table. This caught my eye because it is so unsanitary to do so. I realized she was rolling a joint on the food prep table and one of the other employees made a comment. With joint in hand, she put her purse into a milk crate under the table and went out of view. I could not believe what I saw. Children were eating in the restaurant that evening and she rolled a joint in full view of everyone, in an area where it will come into contact with peoples food. Disgusting. The bathroom was dirty and looked like they rarely clean it. The front of house seemed clean, but if they don’t take care of the bathrooms I can only assume they don’t clean the food areas well. From what I witnessed the people there do not care at all about cleanliness or...

Love Bella Luna. The staff are excellent. The food is awesome. The atmosphere is great.

That said, this is the 3rd time this year that we have ordered 16 inch pizzas and received 12 inch pizzas.

Perhaps the new ownership is less inclined to be honest with their business practices?

We've been customers of the establishment since it opened, lets go back to being honest and accountable and not gaslight our customers into oddball justifications for our advertised large 16 inch pizza being 12 inches (a small on the menu).

You can even look at the other reviews here on Google and see the large pizzas fill the box in the photos.

What's going on Bella Luna?!

That said, the waiting staff are all top notch people. We love Bella Luna!

• The above was my original review*

I've attached a Google screenshot of the voicemail "Sandy" left me. Who has "banned" us from Bella Luna for being irritated with the falsely advertised pizza sizes.

We will be more than happy to not return Sandy. We've never had a single complaint about Bella Luna until recently and your response of banning someone who is bringing up a valid issue about the discrepancy with your ADVERTISED PIZZA SIZE is disheartening.

Perhaps a franchise can give you some tips on how to make a 16" Pizza every time instead of a 12"? Their ingredients are no where near as good as yours, but their business practices are honest at least. Baking has been around for 1000s of years, I'm sure someone has an answer to your pizza size problem Sandy. Maybe just downsize on your menu? Or raise prices?

All we cared about was the honesty. I'm changing this from a 2 star to a 1 star now solely because of you Sandy. The Food, Service and Atmosphere will all remain at 5 stars though, because that is my honest review of the establishment and your employees. All your staff have been polite to us and we've never had a reason to think otherwise about your business until now.

Good luck with your business ventures "Sandy".

Take care with your false allegations...

I came here 2 years ago with my baby and had amazing pizza on our way to Colorado. We couldn't wait to return today. My 3 year old was really hungry, though, and I knew we couldn't finish a whole pizza between the 2 of us, so I asked for it to go over the phone 20 minutes before we arrived. When we arrived, we used the restroom as we're on a road trip. The restaurant had 1 other party, and was empty otherwise, so i asked if we might scarf down a lieve before we head out the door. I was told that I would be charged a "boxing fee" because I couldn't use my to go order as a reservation. Huh? I just wanted my pizza to be ready when I got there? Maybe that's a policy best enforced when you're on a wait? Literally every table was available... y'all look ridiculous turning away business with your staff standing there talking about last night. I was also going to order additional items and tip as a dine in customer. Instead, i took my pizza and left and did not spend any additional money or tip as a dine in customer. I no longer feel nostalgic about this pizza place. Your staff member also had the audacity to tell me that my son is standing right there as i questioned this policy. Yes, sir, if you cared about my son you would let him eat the lunch I just purchased at your establishment. Don't pretend to care about my kid. Shame on you guys. Gross vibe and attitude...