Bella Bistro

This was the latest restaurant try for my girls' brunch. A friend of a friend suggested it, and it was a very good suggestion. It's a very small restaurant that was converted from an old garage, but it's comfortable and has a good atmosphere. It's in the Old Town Arvada neighborhood. There's a small bar when you walk in, and then the dining room on the right where you can look into the open kitchen. If it's warm out you could sit outside too.

We went on a Saturday morning before the Broncos game, and there were only a couple other people there. We started with mimosas which were excellent and served with a strawberry on the rim of the champagne glass. I rodered the brie stuffed french toast with nutella, and my friends ordered the apple dutch baby and the med (poached eggs with cous cous). As is customary at our brunches, we all tried a little bit of everything....and it was all really good.

The service was very friendly and prompt. We were never waiting very long for anything we asked for.

The only thing that was odd about the restaurant is the restroom. There's only one, and it's unisex....no biggie. However there's a statue of a Spartan in there that's almost lifesize and very cartoony. It's a little off-putting when you're in there. Otherwise, great restaurant!

Attention to detail!
In every single way!

The food and drinks were outstanding.
The service was extremely attentive, without being over the top.
The ambiance was upscale; and yet . . . somehow comfortable and homey.

I wouldn't hestiate to recommend Bella Bistro to the Queen of England, the "F" chef, or to my favorite little old great-grandmother. I would drive across town or across the country to eat at Bella Bistro again.

Thank you, dear friend, who took me here for Easter Day Brunch, I couldn't be happier, or my tummy fuller!

We walked in on a Friday night prepared to wait and have a glass of wine. We did not have a reservation and that seemed to be a problem for them for some reason. The hostess told us it would be about 40 mins and we would probably have to sit at the counter. When we said we'd go to the bar for a glass of wine she said that was fine, if we could find a spot even though there was room at the bar. We waited a very long time for a glass of wine. The bar tender was clearly there to serve the tables not the people sitting at the bar. It was finally the owner that came out and made some recommendations and poured us a glass of wine. The wine was just poured and we were notified that they had a place for us - a table for 2. It was about a 20 min wait and wasn't at the counter so I'm just not sure why the attitude.

The food was fine. Not great. We had the Caprasi appetizer. The tomato wasn't the best. The entrees were good enough. We had a scallop and lentil dish and squash ravioli. As others have said it was very crowded with tables packed into the small space. It was brightly lit - I would have liked dimmer lighting and a litlte more ambiance but it would have been impossible to navigate the tight space in lower light.

Over all impression was eh. The food was just ok and the personalities of the staff were really lacking. Not likely to return.

Bella Bistro rocks. I was trying to think of some alliterative witticism, but I just can't. It is just really good food!

It is a very small restaurant (converted reupholstery garage, so says my car man husband). You may overhear your neighbors' conversations and obnoxious mispronunciations of fine Italian words. You may hear them order iced tea and a Coors light (the HORROR) at a place that ONLY serves Italian wine?!?! Hello! Sign of quality right there. Try to ignore your fellow customers and just go with the flow. Take your server's recommendation on what to order from the wine list. When in doubt, ask the owner (the cute blond with the cute yellow Jeep out front). She has travelled all over Italy and brought what she has learned back.

Our waiter the few times we've gone (Adam?) is awesome. He went to culinary school himself but now he works there as a server. He knows his stuff. We went on pizza night and he provided sound recommendations. But really, he couldn't go wrong. The food is so good you couldn't pick a bad meal.

Yeah, so....pizza night. We have ordered the lobster pizza (delicious), some sort of steak pizza, a veggie pizza, and almost everything on the menu. All fantastic, reasonably priced, and share-able, if you're into that sort of thing (I'm not). I do not share my food well, especially when the food is as good as BB.

I am rambling, I realize, but I just don't have enough good things to say about Bella Bistro. You should go there ASAP. Go on pizza night (it was Tuesday, last time I was there) and try as much as you can afford to. You will not be disappointed!

One of my snooty patooty friend of a friend suggested this place. I've seen it so many times but never been drawn in to try it. Our server was the wine guy from the quaint wine store the next street over. I'm fond of him and he has always given me excellent wine recommendations at the store, so he earned this place an extra star.

The happy hour wine is a crap shoot, you pick red or white and they give you whatever they are trying to get rid of. The food was painfully slow. We had bruschetta and a cheese pizza. It took an hour. It wasn't worth the wait. And mysteriously, extra glasses of wine wound up on our bill. There were 4 of us and we didn't want to quibble about it so we just paid for it and left. Next time we will be going to the Thai place next door. It smelled SO good and I guarantee we wouldn't be waiting an hour for it.

This place may have to be named my official favorite Arvada brunch spot.
Two friends and I came here for a nice Sunday brunch. Now, there are a couple rules to follow when it comes to having a Sunday brunch with the gals.
#1. If the establishment offers mimosas, then you must drink them in mass quantities.
#2. We all have to order something different from eachother. Eating off of your neighbor's plate is not only encouraged (in order to partake in what else the restaurant offers), it is mandatory.
#3. Give eachother constant reminders that calorie counting is a bunch of b.s. and that brunch is meant for eating and laughing - not starving and crying.

Bella Bistro is a very charming spot. The decor is wonderful. Whoever thought a converted car shop could be so cute! They have a nice patio area for the warmer seasons. I will say that the life size Roman soldier statue in the restroom was strange. Just go see for yourself..

The food was excellent. The mimosas came with fresh strawberries and the coffee was just right, not too strong or weak. I enjoyed the dish with German style pancakes with caramel. I was surprised to find that the pancake didn't become soggy after time went on. The meal included potatoes and sausage. As to comply with Rule #2, I sampled the brie stuffed french toast and the poached eggs with couscous and goat cheese. I found the french toast to be way to sweet for me, but the eggs and couscous were marvelous.

Our hostess and waitress were very friendly and attentive. Our glasses were always full and we were always being checked on.

I am looking forward to trying their dinner and lunch selections. But for now, two thumbs up on the brunch.

This review is for a dining experience on Thursday August 4th 2011.

First and foremost Bella's Bistro has very good food; unfortunately price, service, and ambiance also are a portion of the dining experience. If I were to judge them on food alone I would have given them five stars, hands down. I chose three stars for the following reasons.

I chose to minus one star for ambiance. This restaurant is in an old service station with patio furniture that in its self is not a bad thing, in fact that can be a real neat dining experience. Although, charging 30 dollars per entrée in a gas station, seated in patio furniture is. The local beers I ordered were 8 dollars each served in a can. That is ludicrous! And selection was slim to say the least as was the wine list. Along with being seated in patio furniture, we were packed in like a sardine, again that is not a bad thing, but being charged 30 dollars per entrée in said ambience is.

I chose to minus one half of a star for service. The service started out very nice for the amount of people in the establishment (the place was packed). But the more patrons that exited the establishment, the worse our service became. I assume she was doing her closing work, but I say wait for closing to do your closing work.

I chose to round down to three stars due to the price, the place is overpriced. Also the fact that they do not have a few standby menu items was a down fall. A child's menu would be a plus, as well, if you are too good for children get a full bar!!! 205 dollars (with a tip) for a family of 4 can be an acceptable price, if the establishment had a proper store front, a full bar, furniture, and all other expected accoutrements. HECK YA I'd happily pay the piper so to speak. But in this case I was slightly dissatisfied.

Although next time I am in the area I will check in on them. Fingers crossed they put on their big boy pants, belly up to the bar and get an appropriate storefront. Or get real and charge and acceptable price. Also if the owner is on the floor greeting guests, they should check in on everyone, especially in a place so small (it seems garish not to). Especially if one chooses to sit down at tables with a select few, while ignoring others, one never knows who is watching. It is all about appearance.

The food is great guys, except for the peanut butter chocolate torte; I assume the chef confused salt for sugar. Perhaps that one should not have been served to guests, or at least tasted it first.

GO BIG OR GO HOME!!!...SERIOUSLY!!!

We stopped here late one night on our way to Winter Park Ski Resort. It was basically a drive-by; we were hungry for Italian and the restaurant came up on our GPS listing of nearby Italian restaurants. We showed up without a reservation, but they treated us like we were one of the regulars. Very classy.

We started with a bottle of Zinfandel (very nice) and the Baked Brie, which we would highly recommend and are tempted to try to make ourselves. What a treat for an appetizer! Between the five of us, we had Greek Salads, pizzas, Prawns and Pasta, and the Oven-Roasted Chicken. Everything was delicious and well presented. The boys would have preferred more cheese on the Margherita pizzas but said that they still hit the spot.

Good service, friendly waiters, delicious food, and a unique venue. We'd definitely eat here again.

Nice, elegant and friendly dining in Arvada. Not bad for a converted gas station.

I was treated to dinner at Bella Bistro a few weeks ago. We sat at the chef's counter, giving us a front row seat to the exec, sous and pastry chefs, and their ministrations. Bella Bistro's cuisine is Italian in origin, but encompasses the whole range of continental fare.

I started with the Gnocchi appetizer, and the Duck Confit main dish. All was delicious. Watching the chef prepare, and present our dishes was a unique experience. Chatting with them during down time was also a treat.

I was taking my folks out to dinner and they recommended coming here. How convenient that this place happens to be right next to my favorite Thai restaurant in Arvada (and across the street from a cozy brewery).

They have a weekly revolving menu that always includes a few customary pizzas. My mom ordered the lobster, truffle oil pizza which was surprisingly light. I ordered the flatiron steak which was cooked to perfection with some nice Italian seasoning. The servers were very attentive and helpful as well.

I guess the main reason I'm rating this restaurant with 3 stars instead of 4 is because I was rather underwhelmed. The food was nice, but I can't say anything stood out in a way that would make me definitely want to go back. In all honestly, this place probably deserves 3 1/2 stars.