Cafe Bella Roma SPQR

02/21/09

nice neighborhood roman cafe

by radiancelee at Citysearch

ive drive by this little neighborhood cafe many times but decided to finally stop and give it a try today. the food was very good. homemade pastas, good lattes, friendly service, however the place was quite empty, but i think this place deserves a visit.

• Pros: tasty rustic cooking
• Cons: traffic noise if sitting outside

01/16/09

STILL THE BEST!!!!

by CarlosandLara at Citysearch

We have been going to this wonderful restaurant since it opened and have NEVER experienced anything but excellent food and service. This place is amazing. I especially like the rissoto, chicken marsala and steak. Everyone we've told to go has had the same experience.

08/11/08

What has happened to this place?

by maxsal at Citysearch

I, sadly, must agree with the reviewer of 6/2/2008. I have been going to Bella Roma religiously since it opened, and just adored the place, and its owners. It was so quaint and friendly. Then the LA Times review came out and it clearly went to their heads. Since then the food has consistently gone down-hill, the portions have become significantly smaller, and the service has become sub par, YET the prices have gone UP UP UP (fathom that!). The last straw was when they clearly botched an order of mine and the chef/owner flatly refused to admit to the error. This is how a loyal patron is treated (one who has sent countless people to his restaurant?!?). May I suggest some humble pie be consumed soon, otherwise I fear you'll go out of business -- and, the business has indeed been dwindling since the Times review, more and more every day (one would think this would bring back a more accommodating demeanor, but I guess not). I will continue to go periodically, as it convenient, but my recommendation for the owners is as follows: Come back down to earth, and return to a customer-satisfaction oriented goal, otherwise, we?re gone for good as well.

06/19/08

A Terrific Little Gem

by johnnycho at Citysearch

I've often relied on Citysearch user reviews for restaurants, and they've almost never let me down. This was no exception. I saw the reviews for Cafe Bella Roma SPQR here on Citysearch, so I recommended it for a friend's birthday dinner last night. It was a risk since none of us had been there before, but the risk paid off! We all had a wonderful dinner, and the birthday girl in particular loved the food! (She had the whitefish -- a recommendation from the restaurant owner.) We had a prosciutto thin-crust pizza and fried calamari as appetizers -- both were good -- not amazing, but satisfying. For dinner, I ordered a salad with pears and goat cheese and a spaghetti frutti di mare (seafood). I thought both were terrific -- flavorful, big portions, pasta nicely al dente. Service was a little slow at first -- there were two guys serving about eight tables -- and there's a lot of street noise from Robertson, but you get used to it quickly. Also, they don't have a liquor license, so you have to bring your own wine -- but they'll provide glasses and open the bottles for you. Notwithstanding the aforementioned street noise, the atmosphere is charming (the tiny patio is partially enclosed so you don't actually SEE the street, you just hear it). The raspberry custard we all shared for dessert (with a candle on top, for the birthday girl) was yummy! And the reasonable prices ($16 for my entree) make this an excellent value! I would definitely go back!

• Pros: Terrific food at great prices; charming atmosphere; big portions; lots of stuff on the menu
• Cons: Traffic noise from Robertson; service on the slow side; you have to bring your own wine (but they'll open it for you)

06/02/08

Highly disappointed with new service- food surprisingly sub par this time

by grpfilmrit at Citysearch

Very disappointed with this visit. We have been semi-regluar to Cafe Bella Roma. We previously enjoyed the food and service and had thus decided it would be a perfect place to hold a birthday dinner. This time around- we were treated to shoddy service and sub par food.

We made reservations for seven people and came by early in the day to drop off very nice wine to be opened and decanted specifically an hour before our reservation to enjoy with the meal. The chef had assured us. We arrived on time and were seated. The wait staff seemed confused that we had brought wine in earlier and had no recollection of us. After much fumbling around by the wait staff- they produced the wine still in its bottle- having just been opened.

The night went downhill from there. They completely botched our orders- appetizers, entrees and dessert, brought us dishes we didn't order and instead of taking responsibility for their mistakes tried to make it sound- in fact insisted that we, the customers, were confused. We were, by far, the largest party at the restaurant that night and, one would think, that would be able to assure solid service. The food wasn't cooked to order and I'm beginning to suspect that while they advertise the finest ingredients for the finest dishes- much of their food is pre-made and frozen. Needless to say- it was a huge disappointment- especially for what was supposed to be a special occasion. We won't be returning.

• Pros: indoor/Outdoor Seating
• Cons: Service, Food is average, ambience