Casa Bella Ristorante

Great place amazing food! Even our son (who's picky) gobbled up the penne vodka ! We were treated like royalty, sat in the bar area and had a great view of the electric neighborhood. Can't wait to go back, San Gennaro is coming and we'll be there! You won't be dissapointed! more

Bad service, dirty cutlery, the food is not that great... Definitely not worth the money! One of the waiters is particularly rude, he wouldn't answer my question about what vegetables were in the soup and when I made a few polite comments at the end of the meal, he didn't apologize and started getting angry at me! It was cold inside and my friend and I were almost alone in there, we should have interpreted it as a bad omen but the guy at the entrance was insistent... Just say no! There are many other restaurants in the neighbourhood, probably both nicer and cheaper. I have been to countless Italian restaurants, this is one of the priciest and undoubtedly the worst. more

We go out often and Casa Bella is one of our favorite places! The food is amazing and the staff treat us amazing. Sometimes we just go for drinks and dessert at the bar..... If you want true Italian food then go to Casa Bella. Say hi to Vinny at the door!!! more

Fabulous restaurant, fabulous food. We were will taken care of and the atmosphere was quaint. We sat at outside tables and were still able to have conversation. Our group had everything from gnocchi to pizza to spaghetti and meatballs. Don't miss it. This is the real deal. The next time you go to an Italian chain restaurant you'll need to look at it through the lens of this authentic Italian restaurant! more

I went to Casa Bella with my boyfriend for dinner. It was crowded but great atmosphere. To start we had my favorite Caprese salad, the mozzarella was soft and fresh, and the shrimp wrapped in prosciutto, YUM! For dinner I had the rigatoni and my boyfriend had the salmon in Kettle One Vodka...OMG, they were to die for! I almost ate his entire dish, but I was stuffed! The waiter was so nice, he recommended the PERFECT wine to pair with our dinners, and we are not experts on wine, so I'm glad he was there to help. We were both too full for dessert, the portions were so big we took left overs home, but we are going back just to try the dessert this weekend. When we left, my boyfriend said that Casa Bella is his new favorite italian restaurant. So, at least I know where to take him for Valentines Day! You MUST try this place, but try not to eat too much that you don't get to try dessert...save room. more

Casa Bella brings Italy to New York ! This restaurant located in Mulberry St is: authentic, fun, and amazing. Casa Bella is the ONLY place in Little Italy that I can honestly say has the best quality and quantity. The staff at Casa Bella is BEHOND nice, and make my dining experience the one I never forget. They have friendly and devoted, and professional workers, constantly monitoring that we are okay, and well dined. The food is spectacular! There is not one thing on the menu that is not worth trying more than one hundred times! Everytime I go there me dinner is always served perfectly hot, and fresh. I would never go to Little Italy if Casa Bella wasn't around. Trust me when I say I'v been to every single restaurant around there like: Amici, Da Nico, La Bella Ferrara, Pellegrino's and etc...but none of them are worth going to! (They are a waist of time and money). f you are looking for a fun family dinner, girlfriend's night out, or romantic date...Casa Bella is the way to go ! more

If you are looking for a true authentic Italian food experience this is the place to go. The atmosphere is spectacular, very comfortable and inviting. The staff is beyond nice and can not do enough to make your dining experience one you will not forget. Now the food is something to rave about. Apps, entree and desserts are all terrific there is not one thing on the menu I can say is not worth haveing more than once. All of our courses came to us in a timely fashion and everything was fresh and hot. If u are in the NYC area this place is definetly worth your time and money. more

My girlfriends and I went to NYC every year (we're from Los Angeles) and we would always walk from the lower east side to Casa Bella every evening for dinner. This was all throughout the 1990's up to and including 2000. I haven't been back there since 2000, as I haven't been back to NYC. Giovanni, the maitre de (or however you spell it) always made room for us. And Renato always took care of us. I guess you have a good experience there if you get to know the people working and they like you. If you don't know them, or they don't like you, it appears you get treated like crap. After ten years, we finally got ""comp'd"" our tiramisu (which, by the way, is damn good). We never had a bad experience there, ever. In fact, the last time I went in 2000, was told at the door I could not get a table inside. Since I was with a new boyfried, I said, ""Is Giovanni there?"" and was told ""yes."" As soon as he saw me, he shussed away some people and set up a table exactly where I wanted it. Like I said. If they know you, they love you and you have a great experience. I am amazed at the bad reviews this place has received. Pros: Everything Cons: The blonde owner - she IS a bitch more

We visited this establishment on Valentine's Day! What a treat! We literally had the best service & awesome food! You can't beat it! This was a special weekend for us as it was the weekend we got engaged. Thank You so much for helping making it such a special day! Def don't skip this place!! Pros: Atmosphere,service,everything more

I was having a glass of wine at the bar when an older women with blonde hair, a manager, came up to the bar and cleaned her eye glasses with vodka. I said I never saw that before. She responed in such a rude manner I can't say it here. I didn't know what to say. I said something polite thinking she may have misunderstood me becauseI wear glasses too. She said more very very rude things to me..I was so upset. I paid my bill and left. I have no idea why someone would attack a customer like that out of no where. Not only is the food average and expensive but the management there is so horrible!!! Pros: average food Cons: very rude and expensive more

we agreed to go here because we were tired of dealing with the restaurant people on the street harassing us... we should have kept going. staff were rude and meals were unimpressive .. worked out to be $60 per person. there's always a catch with the special prices isn't there? i feel like the whole neighborhood exist just to take advantage of the ""stupid nj tourist"" well.. not anymore. i'll stay home next time thanks. Pros: food is warm Cons: where do i start more

I'm sorry but I have never been treated so horrible at any restaurant in my entire life, as iIwas at the Casa Bella in Little Italy. I'm from the city, live in Astoria and frequent a lot of restaurants, all over the city...and I cant say i've ever been on citysearch to write a bad reveiw until now. \r \r Honestly, forget the fact that the food is extremely overpriced for what they give you, the portions were very small, the ingredients cheap, and normally for 20 bucks you get salad, pasta, and an entree and at this place, you pay 20 bucks for a small piece of eggplant with sauce from a can.... forget those facts, becuase all of it doenst even compare to the fact that the waitstaff can afford to be rude and not fill water, and take their time because apparently they add 20% gratuity to every check.... They not only added on 20 percent gratuity for our bill of two people.... but when we gave him our credit cards to split the bill...the old italian waitor came back with a piece of blank paper for us and goes ""write your signitures on this"" .....we were liek...huh?! and he goes i want to see if they match the back of your card. ""WHAT?!!?!""..... never. ever. have i been so insulted in my entire life! If your wondering if we signed it...yeah we did..because we were in such shock...and we were following directions... will I ever understand how this makes any sense at all since our cards are pretty worn in from using them so much and you cant even really see our signitures... no. I could almost understand if this was standard procedure....but really? I've never had this happen anywhere in New York City. \r \r Theres nothing like bad service to make a horrible meal even worse. What a scam. Pros: the setting being little italy..... Cons: overpriced, bad quality of food, insulting waitstaff more

I'm a frequent restaurant go-er in NYC and this is possibly the WORST RESTAURANT I'VE EVER BEEN TO. If I could give it a negative rating, I would. I don't know how this restaurant got 3 stars unless the owners/managers themselves or their friends/family are writing reviews to boost ratings. The lunch special sign with a ""great deal"" of 10.75 or something like that was what drew us in but don't fall for it! It's definitely not a deal considering how bad the food is and how small the portions are. It's not worth it if you think you're saving yourself a few dollars cause in actuality you're wasting any money you spend here. I'm not usually a nit picky person and that would be bearable if only the service were good, or even OK. Also, they try to charge you $5 for some BALSAMIC VINEGAR! That is just absolutely ridiculous! I live in New York and frequent new restaurants throughout Manhattan on a weekly basis and I have never, ever heard of any restaurant charging its customers for balsamic vinegar, much less $5! You can buy a bottle of it at the supermarket for that price. The food itself is mediocre at best (and that is being polite). Presentation is HORRIBLE, bland, unappealing while the taste is just OK. What makes this place horrible, however, is the people. As someone had mentioned the greeter was rude to them, but that was the least of our aggravations--the entire place was rude to us. Although ironically, the greeter was the least offensive during our visit. First, the waiter didn't even appear while we were sitting for 10-15 min and I had to go inside to find him. When he finally did appear, he had a snobbish attitude and seemed irritated to even take our order. Throughout the meal, he maintained the same irritated, restless attitude. At the end of the meal, we were presented with a check with gratuity added although I had already vowed to not tip because the service was that rude (and out of the hundreds of restaurants I've visited, not ONCE have I done this or even considered it despite any mishaps or less than stellar service). Not surprisingly, I went in to speak with a manager/owner or whoever was the cashier only to find out he was just as rude if not more so. He seems absolutely apathetic to the fact that I was unsatisfied with the service and rudeness I received and even gave me a ""good for you, I don't care"" attitude, actually saying those words at one point. Furthermore, after the whole ordeal he even tried to take my boyfriend's credit card when we were paying because it said ""SEE ID"" rather than a signature AND my boyfriend showed his ID when he requested. IN A NUTSHELL--if you don't want to read all of the above: RUDE SERVICE, HORRIBLE MANAGEMENT, MEDIOCRE/BLAND FOOD! SAVE YOURSELF THE TROUBLE, eat across the street as another reviewer suggested or anywhere else down the block. There are plenty of places to choose from, don't subject yourself to this place cause you'll surely regret it! Pros: NOTHING Cons: rude service, rude management, horrible food more

Casa Bella is HORRIBLE. The glasses and silverware were oily and dirty, the bread was stale, and the food bland and mushy. (Imagine eating TV dinner at a restaurant.) The service is disorganized and staff seems overwhelmed, which indicates bad management. Skip this tourist trap and walk just one or two more blocks for a superior experience. Pros: Location Cons: Bland food, stale bread, dirty ware more

One of the worst dining experiences ever. Our waiter was rude, unattentive, & very unfriendly. My linguini with clams was completely awful. The linguini was completely dry, cold, and had only a little cream sauce underneath it on the bottom of the bowl, as if they had put some sauce in and thrown dry pasta on top. The clams were so bad that I am pretty sure I've had better in a canned soup! I had chocolate cake for dessert, giving them a chance to redeem themselves- but the cake was not moist at all & the frosting was hard.\r \r Our waiter never came over to check on us, ask if things were okay or if we needed anything. We had to ask a bus boy if he could find someone who we could order some drinks from because our waiter was again no where in sight. The 4 of us were shocked to be treated so poorly. We didn't understand how you could give such a lack of service and still make good tips. We literally saw our waiter only 2 times during the hour and a half we were there, once to take our order & once to bring the check. Both times he was completely rude and unfriendly.\r \r When the check arrived, we finally realized why the service was so terrible and he treated us so badly- he had added on his own gratuity. Guess he figured he didn't have to even do the bare minimum, let alone be a friendly server, since he would tip himself anyway. We were so disgusted that we went to the host stand and asked why the tip had been included (I know it's sometimes added for larger parties, but we were just a party of 4) - he informed us it is stated on the menu that gratuity is included. I asked to see a menu because I was positive it did not say that. He showed us where it is stated on the dinner menu - the only problem was, we never saw the dinner menu - it was 1pm and we ordered from the lunch menu, on which it was not stated at all. We had to pay anyway, they insisted. This place treats you like dirt, and forces you to tip them as if you had been given attentive and friendly service. Pros: It was nicely decorated for the holidays Cons: Really bad food with even worse service more

I will keep it simple: \r 3 pm on a recent Sunday afternoon. \r No wait to be seated. Waiter took 7 minutes to come to the table & was not very friendly. Bread arrived shortly after & it was stale, second batch of bread was stale too. Portions are really small. Had the pasta with clam sauce ~ very salty, pasta was undercooked & clams were cut up into small pieces, the garlic pieces were bigger. Wife had manicotti & again portion was small & temperature was warm - very disappointed to say the least. This is not ""italian"" food. \r \r Advice - food is terrible, portions are small, service is below average, final tab is determined by the waiter when you get the bill (tax, tip etc...). Best advice is to keep walking & spend your hard earned pennies elsewhere ~ trust me. Pros: Quick Seating. Bottled water was the highlight. Cons: Everything else was bad. more

This experience left our party of 4 upset and angry for the rest of the evening, ruining my husband's birthday. \r \r First, the waiter was gruff and denied requests that were slightly different than the menu, even though the restaurant prides itself in accommodating any special requests (from website, ""Casa Bella has a very high standard for catering to all their guests, to satisfy each and every one""). They didn't have many beer options, so my husband did not get to have his choice of beer. I then had to beg the waiter to ask the bartender to add some grenadine to Coke to make Cherry-Coke, my husband's favorite non-alcoholic beverage. \r \r Second, our food was not good. My linguini was undercooked (tough to chew), my husband's gnocci was overcooked, and our friend's veal was difficult to cut through and chew. For the price, meal portions were small. \r \r Third and most irritating is that a 20% MANDATORY GRATUITY FEE was surprisingly added to our bill. When we spoke with the waiter, the manager, and another restaurant employee (not sure of his title), all three argued with us and insisted that the gratuity choices were not an option for the customer to make at their restaurant. They used excuses such as needing to pay the expensive NYC rent for the restaurant property, and making sure that tourists don't under-tip the waitstaff, particularly because Europeans are notorious for not tipping because a 15% service is included in their bill at home. We pointed out that we are not Europeans and that we are usually generous tippers. Even with the bad service, we planned on tipping 15%. \r \r Overall, we were extremely upset that (1) after crappy service and expensive crappy food, we were forced to pay an additional 20% on top of the food bill and city/state tax, and that (2) we were treated very rudely by the waiter and the manager to whom we issued our complaints. They seemed to have a too-bad-for-you and we're-going-to-rip-you-off-anyway attitude. Cons: poor service, bad food, mandatory gratuity policy, rude management more

My boyfriend and I have been anticipating our one year anniversary for the longest. I wanted it to be perfect and for him to show me how much he loved me. Sooo..he took me down to Little Italy. Now, I've never been one to go down to Little Italy unless it was for the San Genarro Feast, so I was a little skeptical. He took me to Casa Bella and I was amazed at how beautiful and spacious it was. We went on a Tuesday night and I was happy it wasn't crowded. I was greeted by a nice waiter inside and when I told him it was our anniversary, he seated us in a very cozy romantic corner across from the bar. We started off with appetizers. (The caesar salad was huge! I had to split it with my fiance) I ordered veal milanese which the waiter recommended and it was FABULOUS. After the meal, we had drinks at the bar. These guys have the fullest bar I have ever seen. The bartender was very friendly and we exchanged jokes all night. \r This is a wonderful restaurant and I'm glad that I came here for my anniversary. I'll definitely be frequenting this place :) Pros: Food, service Cons: none! more

IT WAS A RAINY NIGHT BUT WE STILL HAD A GOOD TABLE. WERE A GROUP OF 21. THE WAITER MADE FAMILY STYLE RECCOMENDATIONS OF APPETIZERS AND PASTAS AND WE CHOSE OUR MAIN COURSES. WE WERE VERY IMPRESSED THOUGH THE PLACE WAS BUSY, WE HAD EVERYTHING PLUS MORE. GREAT FOR PARTIES. BROCK Pros: A LOT OF DIFFERENT AREAS TO SIT FOR LARGE GROUPS, GOOD SERVICE & FOOD Cons: NO PARKING more

I was there with th my children- we had to wait for a table outside . The waiter accomodated are childrens request and we loved the food and the extensive Martini menu. Pros: a lot of choices on menu, FULL BAR, knowledgable waiters Cons: a bit noisy more