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Let me start a raging debate: the best Italian food in the United States is in Lexington, Kentucky at Bella Notte. For a while now, I've heard rumors about this awesome Italian restaurant in Lexington that features fresh, local ingredients, and recipes that expand the boundaries of originality and creativity.
So, while in Lexington, I went there to check it out...
The meal stated with our Server, Maggie, spooning a herb blend consisting of oregano, black pepper, parmesan cheese, rosemary, garlic, basil, red pepper, and sea salt onto a small plate and pouring homemade olive oil onto the dry mix. She provided us with warm homemade Tuscan Peasant Bread to dip into the mixture. The bread was firm and crispy on the outside and wickedly luscious and soft on the inside. The slightly sweet flavor of the bread and the complexity of flavors in the Olive oil and herbs made this a mini-meal in itself. The bread was so light I felt I could eat it forever.
The first course was a colorful variety of dark green, yellow, and red Heirloom Tomatoes topped with Riccotto Cheese and drizzled with olive oil. It was like a work of art so colorful and perfectly presented. The ricotto cheese was homemade and it's light and slightly sweet flavor balanced the acidity and rich flavors from the tomatoes perfectly. Conversation stopped. It all tasted like summer. My mind drifted and I started to remember my childhood days in San Pedro, California playing in Vito's backyard in the summer and eating figs ripening on the branches or blackberries and raspberries heavy with sweet flavor on the vines....
The second course was Arancini, which was risotto, fresh, homemade mozzarella cheese, and saffron rolled, breaded, and deep-fried and served on a bed of sweet 100 tomato jam. This dish presented a wide range of explosive flavors and contrasting textures.
My main course was Salmon Oreganato, which was salmon hand rubbed with oregano, garlic, and olive oil and flashed cooked over a wood-fire grill and later drizzled with fresh lemon. The fish was cooked perfectly, crispy on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside, just the way I like it. It was served on a bed of fresh string beans and almonds and capers. Overall, it was simple but provided a dynamic flavor profile of the fresh ingredients.
For dessert, we shared sorbet. The first was Pear Sorbet over Pear Coulis, which was so rich with intense, authentic pear flavor that it made my cheeks pucker on the first taste. The ripe, succulent flavor and fresh, aromatic scent of strawberries was the prevailing feature in the Strawberry Sorbet over Glazed Strawberry Pieces. My favorite sorbet? was the Lemon Sorbet with Rosemary over Blackberry Coulis, which was refreshing, invigorating, and flavorful. Lemon and rosemary - what a combination!.
The finale was the Panna Cotta, which was creamy and rich and filled with strawberry coulis, which was a fitting way to end the meal - on a high note....
Would I go back to Lexington for another great meal at Bella Notte?
You betcha....who's going with me?
Bella Notte was the best Italian restaurant I've been to in ages. Not only was the Rigotoni Romano the perfect recommendation, but it was something that I wasn't even considering at first. Also, my waitress recommended a perfect pairing of beer, a Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale, that was original and refreshing.
Finally, the coupe de grace was a chocolate souffle that ranks right up there in the top three souffles I have ever had. Even my waitress again made mention that it was possibly the best-looking souffle she's ever served at the restaurant.
It was these two elements--a very helpful waitress and excellent fare--that made this small Italian place in the heart of Lexington my recommendation for top Italian place in all of Kentucky, and possibly the East Coast.
Most of the other reviews all have 'favorite' or 'love' in their first sentence... and I think deservedly so. The food is good [white sauces tend to be slightly heavy, pasta tends to be slightly oily], the bread is delicious [and warm, /and plentiful!!], the menu well-made, the ambiance 'casually romantic sans pretentiousness' ...
... I always enjoy eating here, especially with family! Great value... and there's an indoor tree!
PS I hadn't been here in years and apparently they got rid of the complimentary wax-like candies... :( now they have pretty bad minty chocolates that stain your tongue a random color. grr
One of my favorite places to eat in Lexington. My parents recently had an anniversary, so I treated them to dinner here last Saturday night.
Our total, which came to $96 (including tip) for the three of us included:
-Original Fresh Atlantic Salmon Oreganto good, but typical.
-Baked Rigatoni Romano I asked for 1/2 the amount of cheese and it was perfect.
-Fresh Catch of the day, which was Marlin. Light and cooked just right.
-two Salad Rusticas
-Three Stoli & Tonics. (only $5 a drink, such a deal)
-Bottle of Pellegrino
-Long Island Iced Tea
-Mela Dolce. A nice dessert to end your meal.
And, last but not least the best bread I've ever had at an Italian restaurant...The Tuscan Peasant Bread. So gooood!
Busy in dependant restaurant that competes head on with Macaroni Grill. Excellent choice if you only have one night in Louisville.
My favorite Italian place in the city. The food is excellent, and very reasonably priced. Its an all-around great place to eat.
This is probably my favorite restaurant in Lexington. We eat here every time we go back to visit family.
The food is excellent. We're usually here for lunch, and they may have a different menu for that, but my favorite dish is the penne arrabiata with shrimp or sausage. The portions are perfect. You can eat your meal without feeling like a 400lb whale walking out.
The bread is also fantastic. Actually, that might be my favorite part. It's actually so good you could eat the entire loaf without realizing what you've done. They mix these herbs in oil to dip the bread in... ::mouth watering:: I think when I was last there they were selling the herb packets so you could have the 'bella note experience' at home.
I miss you Bella Note. Looking forward to seeing you again on my next trip to Kentucky.
Always a good time and a good meal. This is a laid back place, great ambiance, wonderful value. Seafood Diavolo is to die for.
Lexington needs more restaurants like Bella Notte! Good, independent, casual dining. Independent, people! Out by Nicholasville road, you don't have to dress up, but the food is actually planned by a real chef, not a franchise headquarters.
The food is great, nothing too fancy, really just home-style Italian. Their sauces aren't greasy, the pasta isn't overcooked, and they make great soups.
If you like cool decor, though, Bella Note needs a visit just for that. There is a *tree* in the dining room. I'm not talking like a ficus in the corner, I mean a full-size *tree* coming out of the floor in the middle of the room. It's so charming, I love it. You can ask for a table under the tree - It's like sitting inside and outside at the same time.
Service is always good, even when the restaurant is busy, and the prices are right for casual dining.
My family of reptiles have been going to this establishment for over 200 years. It takes that long for a den to established a long inhabitation era (See UK School of Snake Studies, Vol 2, 1968).
Anyway, we slithered in the other day and had a tortellini sousa pegroratte and it was magnifico! Also the wine list was impressive. We ordered 17 bottles of White Zitherfandel, 1996. Most excellent.
I would recommend this establishment to anyone interested in fine dining other than the local Taco Bell. Even a local well-known football coach would find the menu challenging.
U.B.
This has to be my favorite Italian place in the area. No other place in Lexington compares. They do the simple things well and they do the special things even better. When ever i want Italian, this is the first place i think of and i compare all other restaurants with it.
Good Italian, good prices, but nothing spectacular. I'd take this over Olive Garden just down the road any day. Owned by the same people who started the Fazoli's fast food Italian chain which is decent, but changes its entire menu/style way too often, Bella Notte suffers from the same whims as the dishes seemed to vary and as soon as you'd find something you like it wouldn't be there anymore, though the change can be a good thing here, not so much with Fazoli's
I must admit that I am in love with Bella Notte. I mean, I knew it was going to be kind of like Olive Garden, but this restaurant surpasses anything that Olive Garden could dish out. The portions are huge on the loose pasta dishes, so if you have a group of three or four, one family size pasta will satisfy everyone at the table. Their caesar salad ROCKS and serves four if you order the family size. I am not sure on their size for an individual meal, but if it reflects the sizing of their family style, I would presume the individual could feed two people. One thing that I found unique and I'm not sure if other restaurants do this, but there were about five or six dishes on a table when you entered the restaurant, we, of course, thought it was for display purposes only but later found out that those dishes were for patrons to sample a bite. How cool is that? YUM-O!
Lexington, KY
Category: Restaurants
Lexington, KY
Category: Barbeque
Lexington, KY
Category: Restaurants
Lexington, KY
Category: Southern
Lexington, KY
Category: Delis
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