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Bella Moto
Rating Details »
Categories: Bakeries, Gluten-Free, Vegan
Neighborhood: Arlington Center916 Mass Ave
Arlington, MA 02474
(781) 646-2253
- Hours:
Tue-Wed. 7:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Thu-Fri. 7:30 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Sat. 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Sun. 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
- Parking:
- Street
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dessert
- Alcohol:
- None
11 reviews for Bella Moto
Love their chocolate chip cookies! This is a good place to go when you need something special (i.e, a high-quality cake, cookies, etc.). Their chocolate cake tastes like a giant dark chocolate truffle. Soft, chewy Mexican wedding cookies are very nice with tea. Elephant ears have a nice crispy texture with a generous sugar coating.
Everything sells out around noon, so get here early and bask in the old-fashioned atmosphere. Prices are fair for the quality of the ingredients.
It ain't the prettiest place around, but it's pretty good indeed. The blueberry bars are full of good berries. The shortbread is buttery and sweet. The hot cross buns are so much better than what you'd find at the Stop&Shop right across the street. You can tell that it's quality with a generous amount of golden raisins and candied citron.
I'll have to try the cakes/tarts sometime: maybe it'll boost up my rating more.
Great place, I love it when I have time to stop here early in the morning. Everything I've had here has been great. I'm on a budget so the day-old discount items and the coffee are definitely the right price!
I can't wait to have a party so I can get a cake from here!
It is hard to describe the astonishing quality of the baked goods here except to say I've never had anything better. The meringues own my soul; the lemon tarts tempt me to mawkishly break into song; the cakes....oh, the cakes. I didn't know what chocolate ganache cake was until I had Frances' version.
Frances is not a bubbly extrovert, but neither is she at all unfriendly. Understated, perhaps -- just like the storefront. But she is an artist of the highest caliber, and we are lucky to have her in the neighborhood.
Bella Moto is a rare gem. I enjoy so much about the place I scarcely know where to begin.
I first gave it a try because I live in the area and was curious. The cupcake I got there was so good, so fresh and brimming with delicious rich chocolate that I was immediately hooked.
Since then I've returned to try just about everything else they offer and have been delighted with every choice. That's saying a lot because I am not an easy customer. I find most bakeries to be disappointments, full of dolled-up confections that taste mostly of sugar, meant to please the eye more than the palate. Not so with Bella Moto. This is a bakery that prides itself on flavor, texture, creativity, and high-quality ingredients.
If you're looking for a breakfasty snack, try the croissants which are flaky, buttery and fresh. The scones are also yummy, have just the right amount of sweetness (not too much!) and are often made in a different flavor each day, some in the traditional style and some with whole wheat, which is surprisingly good.
The tarts and galettes burst with fresh fruit, and satisfy with a perfect crust. They are simple, attractive, and delicious.
You can get a great chocolate-chip cookie here too. They're big, have just the right chewiness, and are generous with the chips.
Frances, the owner and baker, is creative and often has some unique items in her case in addition to the staples you expect to find in a bakery. I've found that I can walk into Bella Moto and point almost at random toward the baked-goods case and cannot fail to find something wonderful. For example, her mini green-tea cake was light as air and full of flavor. I tried a mexican chocolate cookie, a tiny "sandwich" of two wafers with some chocolate filling between them, offering a pleasing richness and a hint of spice. It was fantastic!
I've not found a place anywhere that makes better cakes and cupcakes than Bella Moto. Not in Boston, nor in New York. Yes, they're really that good. They are made (and decorated) to order in any size you need, and the ingredients and freshness are first-rate. We've received many compliments on the Bella Moto cakes we've served at our children's birthday parties, and I mean from the *parents*! When the moms and dads are coming back for seconds, you know you've got a winner.
So what if Frances called me an hour before I was to pick up my cake, frantic because she was out of buttercream, and worrying: could I possibly pick it up an hour later?
And so what if the air conditioner over the door let out a big drip -- right into the slightly opened cake box -- as I was walking out the door?
And really, who cares if a 1/4 sheet, simply adorned sheet cake cost me $40?
So what, I say, because the red velvet cake I got from Bella Moto was simply the most delicious thing I've had in a long time. It was perfectly moist.... amazingly dense... the frosting wasn't unbearably sweet, not unbearably fatty tasting, but absolutely, amazingly... perfect.
Oh my. We'll definitely get a cake from there again. Though (ahem) fixing that drippy air conditioner would be appreciated. No fair dripping on someone who's delicately carrying a $40 cake.
I always like to support local, privately owned businesses, and I thought I would do so this morning when I needed to buy some cupcakes to say goodbye to our student worker for the summer.
I stopped by Bella Moto for the first time and selected the 9 frosted cupcakes that were in the case. They were just normal chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with a small gum paste flower on top--nothing special. They were the size of a muffin. Literally--they did not "spill out" of the paper liner, they had nothing fancy on them and no special filling. Just cake with frosting--barely domed. There were two prices - $1.25 for a small cupcake and $2.50 for a large one. I had mistakenly assumed that the cupcakes I purchased were the "small" ones (because there were no others with which to compare and because they were really small). Well, boy was I wrong when it cost me $22.50 for 9 boring cupcakes!!! They really did not taste that great. They were extremely dry, flavourless, especially the vanilla frosting, and just bland. They are WAY overpriced.
I guess being an experienced home-baker, I just don't find their baked goods that impressive. Their portions are not generous, and there's just nothing that makes them truly "stand out". I'm so disappointed!
My co-worker bought a cake from them for another co-worker's birthday, and I also think that was over-priced for what we got and it was just ok.
I feel like this place is still trying to get its feet on the ground, and they could really use an injection of creativity, higher standards, inspiration, and a little pizazz (a.k.a. a signature) because it's kind of a boring place, and they could really do so much more and be wildly successful with their location and opportunity in a town like Arlington that is staving for local hangouts and cute businesses. Staying open until 7 or 8 p.m. would also be great because people who work could stop by to pick up that cake they need for the company that hubby just invited over for dinner.... Such a missed opportunity there!
I think they need to examine the "value for money" principle, especially with regard to their cupcakes!
The only place in Boston willing to bake a sugar free cake, and a superb one, sugar or not! It was so chocolaty and yummy, with real rasberries. She used Agave Nectar as a substitute, not that Splenda crap. No difference in flavor from a non-sugar cake, except for cake being moister than one made with dry sugar. Petsi pies in Somerville recommended Bella (they do sugar free pies). My diabetic mom was able to have her favorite flavor birthday cake! Thank you Frances!
Running errands before work, and on a whim, I bought a huge strawberry pie from Bella Moto to share with coworkers. It was awesome!
"Uh, I just wanted to bring something into work."
"How about this strawberry pie?"
"Sounds good."
GitRDone.
I'll be back.
The only downside is the place is only open early. By the time I get home from work, it's closed. Too bad they can't piggy back off Blue Ribbon and open at night to serve that clientele dessert...
UPDATE 2/29: Recently bought some vanilla and chocolate cupcakes. So good. You. Now. Quick. Buy cupcakes.
UPDATE 4/13: Taking away a star for overall unfriendliness. Don't you hate it when businesses make you--the customer--feel like a pest? With bakeries you expect warmth and smiles. Well, don't expect that here. The food is top-notch, but the environment is as cold as the showcase should be.
Update: I now work here, so maybe this review is a little biased...
Run by Frances Grandinetti, formerly of the Nashoba Brook Bakery and the Blacksmith House Bakery, Bella Moto Baking is currently a one-woman show. Frances cooks everything from scratch.
It's a little hard to spot since she doesn't have a real sign yet - look for next door to the Blue Ribbon BBQ, on the corner of the building.
I haven't eaten every last thing available, but no stinkers yet:
Sacristan [cinnamon twist] - mmm! Flaky and cinnamony.
Yellow Cake - tender, moist
Chocolate Mousse Cups - mmmmmm!
Bailey's Irish Cream Mousse Cake - for St. Pat's. I hope she brings it back.
Apple Streusel Muffin - moist, subtly spiced, and she doesn't skimp on the apples; the streusel is less like gritty cinnamon sugar and more like crunchy cookie
Arborio Rice Pudding - creamy, with nice, fat, toothsome rice
Lemon Cornmeal Bar - corn cakes with a thick layer of lemon jelly inside; if you take your cornbread with jam, this one's for you
and my personal favorite:
Almond Anise Biscotti - nice flavor, softly crumbly instead of tooth-crackin' hard - here and there you bite into an aniseed...mmm.
She rotates through a lot of new recipes - a plus for high-frequency regulars, a minus for devoted fans of one particular pastry. For instances, that entire list above was about 3 visits' worth of stuff, and some items were new/replaced each visit. But you can always find (and should always try!) the almond anise biscotti.
She also offers special occasion cakes, Friday night challah, and some gluten-free stuff.
I was suspicious of this place. It just looks sneaky. It's hanging out on a corner. It's not conspicuous, it's just hanging there and while it's a bakery, I only smell barbecue deliciousness coming from this area (Blue Ribbon is nearby) not baked good deliciousness and the decorations are all in muted colors. Nothing about Bella Moto screams: EAT HERE! PICK ME! I'M NOT A DRUG FRONT! nothing except for their goods, that is. We stopped in here last weekend on a whim and drunk off barbecue sauce. Jeff Buckley poured from overhead speakers and we looked at each other and knew: goodness abides here. Unfortunately we were such gluttons at Blue Ribbon that we could only afford to fit meringues into our bellies mint/chocolate and almond. They were as light, sweet, and delicate as cloud babies should be. We also tested the brownies. AMAZING. They weren't even from a box (that's the only way I can make decent brownies). So, it's been decided, more investigations into this suspicious place are required before I can come to an entirely conclusive decision but four stars for now.
