Bella Cucina

I've been to Bella Cucina twice now, the most recent being last night. I wish I could give a solid four and half stars, but alas.

My first time I went without knowing much about the place except that it is the new "Italian Cafe". I meet a girlfriend there, and we split a bottle of wine. Limited bar menu, no actual bar...I'm assuming just some bottles in the back. We started with the bruschetta appetizer, and it was the best and most unique one I've ever had. Instead of mozzarella (which, hold back the knives, is tasteless to me), they used fresh goat cheese. They used a combination of sauteed proscuitto and caramelized onions for the topping with the tomatoes and basil. It was awesome. It's my new go-to appetizer I make when friends come over for wine, and it's an absolute hit. She got the pesto and I barely saw it on her plate before it was snarfed up. I got the putanesca, which I loved as well.

This time with Mom we both got a glass of wine. We ate a ton of bread, and the very friendly hostess kept refilling as much as we would eat. She got the scallop dish with angel hair and a pesto olive oil sauce. It was supposed to come with artichokes but unfortunately didn't have any in it. I wanted something spicy, so I got their hot dish, which came in a choice of hot, hotter and hottest. I got hotter, and it had a slight kick. I added a couple ingredients because it seemed pretty plain to me, but with my additions it was awesome.

My only downside here is the iffy service. The sweet hostess sat us, watered us, refilled all our bread and water, checked on us, boxed our leftovers AND ran our bill. I could see our server in the back on her cell phone twice.

Food wise? GO HERE.

This place is such a hidden gem.  I have eaten here several times since my recent move to the Twin Cities.  Everything I have ordered (or tasted off my friends' plates) has been wonderful.  I'm a big fan of the Carbonara.  Such comfort food!  The service here has always been great, even when I order food to go.  Try this place if you're in the mood for really good Italian, comfort food!

Eating here made me want to kill myself as an Italian American I have yet to be to a place in Minnesota that is remotely good.  I felt like I wanted to die misspellings of dishes on the menu and my pasta dish had processed peperoni on it. The chef should go kill himself!  Nothing was remotely good and I had three glasses of wine, also got food poisoning !!!