Very kind and gracious staff for our celebration of 80th birthday Food did not live up to expectations based on other reviews and references. Apps were flavorless- bruschetta and flatbreads. Entree portions are substantial but gravy lacked homemade flavor. Abundance of food but not impressive
Marissa
Bella Monica really impressed me overall with their 5-Star service and delicious Italian cuisine. As a native New Yorker from Long Island, I know Italian food. I visited late this evening with a friend after making a 7:45 reservation on OpenTable. Karen was our waitress and she provided excellent service. There were several other waitstaff working our table who really contributed to an enjoyable dining experience. We decided on both a Beet Goat Cheese salad and the Pear Salad to start. Focaccia bread was brought to the table along with the salads. Our waitress recommended the Aragosta Verme white wine and it was excellent. We both had the Meat Lasagna which was perfect. Almost as good as mine :) Perfectly garnished with all the Italian herbs and baked beautifully. For dessert, I helped myself to the Toffee Bundt Cake which comes with vanilla ice cream and garnished with mint leaves. I also had a decaf espresso. Everything was perfect. This was a girl dinner gone right for once in the area. Overall beautiful presentation of the cuisine and excellent service. My new favorite restaurant in the Raleigh area.
Opentable Diner
Wonderful experience. Great service, food was amazing. We celebrated a friends birthday and she had a blast!! It was a fun evening out and an awesome time! Definitely going back!!!
Kim
Great management recognition of the birthday celebration. Management personally came to our table. Food was very good as always.
Tim
The food was delicious and the service was friendly as well as prompt.  A great place to get amazing Italian food. 
cmQ5672ND
When your review begins with the cleanliness of the restaurant and the friendliness of wait staff . . . which I appreciate, of course. Thank you. As to the food, it was middling. We went for the GF menu, which we were glad to see they had. Thank you again. The party had the shrimp and grits, eggplant rollatini, pear gorgonzolla salad, and a pizza. They were all OK. The only mixed drinks available have vermouth. Bleh. It was overall OK, maybe a little underwhelming. Probably not going back.
Kuv Sekhon
This is like stepping into an Italian American grandmother's kitchen. She's going to make sure that you ate, that you ate well, that you never needed anything more, and that you enjoyed every moment. You may find yourself doing a scarpetta with their warm toasty focaccia! The lasagna is delectable with the attention to detail and the cheese being toasted to perfection. Getting those charred boils absolutely correct. Chicken parmesan enjoys like you would expect it to. House wine is meh but that have a good selection of nebbiolo on the list.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cynthia Wright
Lots of gluten free options. Focaccia was great and the chicken parm (gluten free) was HUGE and incredibly tasty
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Katie
When we are in town, we always hit up this spot. Convenient parking, excellent food and service.
Barry K Wellman
Great Food, Great Service and was able to catch up with Julie before the Thanksgiving Holiday...Great Italian Food!
The food was very poor. Our bruschette bread was burned horribly into a cracker, and the beans were flavorless. My entree, the salmon, was in a really bad sauce. The lemon and cream were poorly combined and tasted like sour cream covering the entire plate. That sauce is supposed to be made with a thick butter, not with a liquid. Pretty much inedible and my stomach was not happy the next morning. Appearance of the plate was nice, but I should have stopped the meal with my eyes if I wanted to enjoy it. My wife got the baked ziti, which was so burned the ricotta wasn't even sticking to the shells anymore. It was a $19 plate of salty noodles. Safe to say, this was one of the poorest meals I have ever had. I spent over $100, and didn't find a flavor of food there would recommend to any one ever. Turn the ovens down, and see if a server can visit the table more frequently than 20 minutes. Very nice and attentive host though.
Sam
Bella Monica is an all around excellent restaurant, always. Their regular menu and specials are all extraordinary. Special thanks to server Lauren for her excellent service.
Matt
As always, the staff at Bella Monica delivered a fantastic dining experience. Friendly as we came into the restaurant and the overall experience only improved from there from start to finish. I highly recommend the pumpkin ravioli if you go there in the Fall as it is a popular staple on their menu and one I look forward to every Fall/Winter season. Bella Monica is my favorite Italian restaurant in the Triangle area and highly recommend it for both locals and out of towners alike!
Marry Mills
The Ziti and Focaccia bread are so good! I love their choices of sweet wines (Red and the White Moscato D’Asti). I have a friend who loves their lasagna, although I can’t help but always get the Ziti when I go. It has always been served hot (temperature), and is so saucy and cheesy…yum! The portion size they give you is great. I can usually get two nice sized meals out of it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baked Ziti, Lasagna Dinner
Denise
Our book club loves going to Bella Monica for the food, service, atmosphere. We have a group that has different dietary restrictions and it's amazing that an Italian restaurant can accommodate vegan diets, gluten-free, and dairy-free. On this night, I had the Pumpkin Ravioli and it was divine. I definitely recommend this if you want to try something new. We will be back
Very kind and gracious staff for our celebration of 80th birthday Food did not live up to expectations based on other reviews and references. Apps were flavorless- bruschetta and flatbreads. Entree portions are substantial but gravy lacked homemade flavor. Abundance of food but not impressive
Bella Monica really impressed me overall with their 5-Star service and delicious Italian cuisine. As a native New Yorker from Long Island, I know Italian food. I visited late this evening with a friend after making a 7:45 reservation on OpenTable. Karen was our waitress and she provided excellent service. There were several other waitstaff working our table who really contributed to an enjoyable dining experience. We decided on both a Beet Goat Cheese salad and the Pear Salad to start. Focaccia bread was brought to the table along with the salads. Our waitress recommended the Aragosta Verme white wine and it was excellent. We both had the Meat Lasagna which was perfect. Almost as good as mine :) Perfectly garnished with all the Italian herbs and baked beautifully. For dessert, I helped myself to the Toffee Bundt Cake which comes with vanilla ice cream and garnished with mint leaves. I also had a decaf espresso. Everything was perfect. This was a girl dinner gone right for once in the area. Overall beautiful presentation of the cuisine and excellent service. My new favorite restaurant in the Raleigh area.
Wonderful experience. Great service, food was amazing. We celebrated a friends birthday and she had a blast!! It was a fun evening out and an awesome time! Definitely going back!!!
Great management recognition of the birthday celebration. Management personally came to our table. Food was very good as always.
The food was delicious and the service was friendly as well as prompt.  A great place to get amazing Italian food. 
When your review begins with the cleanliness of the restaurant and the friendliness of wait staff . . . which I appreciate, of course. Thank you. As to the food, it was middling. We went for the GF menu, which we were glad to see they had. Thank you again. The party had the shrimp and grits, eggplant rollatini, pear gorgonzolla salad, and a pizza. They were all OK. The only mixed drinks available have vermouth. Bleh. It was overall OK, maybe a little underwhelming. Probably not going back.
This is like stepping into an Italian American grandmother's kitchen. She's going to make sure that you ate, that you ate well, that you never needed anything more, and that you enjoyed every moment. You may find yourself doing a scarpetta with their warm toasty focaccia! The lasagna is delectable with the attention to detail and the cheese being toasted to perfection. Getting those charred boils absolutely correct. Chicken parmesan enjoys like you would expect it to. House wine is meh but that have a good selection of nebbiolo on the list.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lots of gluten free options. Focaccia was great and the chicken parm (gluten free) was HUGE and incredibly tasty
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
When we are in town, we always hit up this spot. Convenient parking, excellent food and service.
Great Food, Great Service and was able to catch up with Julie before the Thanksgiving Holiday...Great Italian Food!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
The food was very poor. Our bruschette bread was burned horribly into a cracker, and the beans were flavorless. My entree, the salmon, was in a really bad sauce. The lemon and cream were poorly combined and tasted like sour cream covering the entire plate. That sauce is supposed to be made with a thick butter, not with a liquid. Pretty much inedible and my stomach was not happy the next morning. Appearance of the plate was nice, but I should have stopped the meal with my eyes if I wanted to enjoy it. My wife got the baked ziti, which was so burned the ricotta wasn't even sticking to the shells anymore. It was a $19 plate of salty noodles. Safe to say, this was one of the poorest meals I have ever had. I spent over $100, and didn't find a flavor of food there would recommend to any one ever. Turn the ovens down, and see if a server can visit the table more frequently than 20 minutes. Very nice and attentive host though.
Bella Monica is an all around excellent restaurant, always. Their regular menu and specials are all extraordinary. Special thanks to server Lauren for her excellent service.
As always, the staff at Bella Monica delivered a fantastic dining experience. Friendly as we came into the restaurant and the overall experience only improved from there from start to finish. I highly recommend the pumpkin ravioli if you go there in the Fall as it is a popular staple on their menu and one I look forward to every Fall/Winter season. Bella Monica is my favorite Italian restaurant in the Triangle area and highly recommend it for both locals and out of towners alike!
The Ziti and Focaccia bread are so good! I love their choices of sweet wines (Red and the White Moscato D’Asti). I have a friend who loves their lasagna, although I can’t help but always get the Ziti when I go. It has always been served hot (temperature), and is so saucy and cheesy…yum! The portion size they give you is great. I can usually get two nice sized meals out of it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baked Ziti, Lasagna Dinner
Our book club loves going to Bella Monica for the food, service, atmosphere. We have a group that has different dietary restrictions and it's amazing that an Italian restaurant can accommodate vegan diets, gluten-free, and dairy-free. On this night, I had the Pumpkin Ravioli and it was divine. I definitely recommend this if you want to try something new. We will be back
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