• Bruschetta $8.00 (shared)
• Spinach Salad $8.95
• Ravioli Platter (Squash, Mushroom and Crab) $22.95
• Tiramisu (shared) $6.95

We went to Bella with my sister and brother in law. They had been before and recommended it. The restaurant exterior is quite striking, the interior is nice, but the typical suburban look.

The Bruschetta was a bit disappointing to me, I am probably a bit more of a traditionalist when it comes to Brushetta. The served a big pile of tomato and basil mixture in the middle of the plate with toasted pieces around it. Which is fine, but the tomatoes I think were canned and we were there in the heart of tomatoe season so I expected a bit more. The spinach salad was nice it has some apricots in it which added a nice sweetness. The Ravioli platter was nice it gave a small portion of each of their three raviolis on one plate. I thought they were all good the crab being the best. I am not a big tiramisu fan and this did not convert me, but it was fine.

If you live near there, you might want to check it out. However I would not drive across town to go there.

• Wild Rice Soup $6.95
• Rigatoni with Meat $18.95

We visited Bella with Renee’s sister and brother-in-law. At the end of the meal, our brother-in-law declared, “I like it.” I agree, for the most part.

The food was generally good and well prepared. One downer: they used canned tomatoes in the bruschetta at the height of tomato season. The server claimed that Bella served the ‘best wild rice soup ever.’ I have had better, especially at the price they charge. So maybe if you get a free bowl of soup on your break, it’s great, but not-so-great at full retail price. The rigatoni with meat came in a generous portion and made for good leftovers the next day. So the food was good, could have been better, and it was relatively expensive.

The environment is comfortable. We sat at a large round booth that gave us plenty of room for four people. Televisions were visible from almost everywhere. This gave the restaurant more of a bar-and-grill or family-room feel than fine-dining feel. But that probably works well in the suburbs, where families are more common and children’s attention spans are shorter. Service was friendly and attentive.

Bella is not worth a long drive, but you should try it if you live nearby, it may become one of your favorite neighborhood haunts.