Bella Luna Cafe

Doesn't Recommend

kk o.

Joined 1 year ago

Not so much Bella. I had a party of five, the bill came with a hard coded 20% tip and a 20% activity charge adding $50.00 to a buffet meal. Vegetables were cold, the rest of the food was pretty middle of the road. Think of how you would feel dinning in décor that has peace symbols on the table lights. Definitely nothing to write home about. I eat out a lot because my job covers Ohio Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Memphis Tn. To me skip the Bella and go to the Club

Doesn't Recommend

tanyab

Joined 5 years ago

The Owner is rude. Had dinner with a group of 8 for a bachorlette outing. Some of our group got lost due to local construction. The owner was so rude. He scoffed at us that were there, as though is was our fault. Said he'd have to give away our table if they were not there right a way. What a nasty person. He made an a$$ of himself and never apologized.

It seemed as though the other staff was embarassed and tried hard to make up for their rude boss. I feel sorry for anyone that works there.

The food was good, but not worth the hassle. Eating out is so expensive anyway, might as well go where the managment appreciates your business.

Doesn't Recommend

CincyMarc

Joined 3 years ago

I dont know if I have the worst luck, or..... this place has the worst service. Been here 3 times. Had great food three times. Had some of the worst service imaginable three times. The owners a mean drunk, the manager is crude and unapproachable, and the wait staff is poorly trained. The first time here we waited for 90 minutes for a table when we were told 40 minutes. The owner openly complained in front of us when we refused to take a table at the cold and packed bar. The second time we were seated quicker, but it took a waiter 30 minutes to approach our table. And the last time (tonight) it took 39 minutes fo us to get bread, 40 minutes for our appetizer to come out, and we were incorrectly charged for one of our entrees. The waitress refused to adjust our bill for the mischarged entree (about $10 difference). Beware Cincinnati, if you are looking for good food this is the place, but make sure you get it to go. You have been warned..

Doesn't Recommend

Tim Lemke

Joined 4 years ago

Quality is slipping. I used to be a huge fan of Bella Luna. I always looked forward to going and it was a special night out every time we went. But, over the years the prices have gone up while the quality has declined.

I've been disappointed during my past few visits and finally put them on my "do not visit" list. At my last meal there I ordered the cod, which was so overcooked that it was rubbery! It was awful.

If it was a one time bad experience, I'd forgive them... and I did a couple times. But they've got issues in their kitchen that need to be fixed.

Doesn't Recommend

TravisGE

Joined 4 years ago

very poor value. The setting and atmosphere were funky, eclectic and relaxed. We started with a caprese salad ($9.00) which was a meager portion size, dressed with a basalmic reduction that was quite bland. The server suggested we order the "flight" wine sampler ($14.00) comprised of 3 tiny glasses of wine. These were described as 2.5 ounce glasses but seemed much smaller - each was little more than a taste - I would estimate the content closer to1 ounce. I ordered shrimp fra'diavola ($22.59) which was the greatest disapointment. The shrimp was rubbery, very tough and actually tasted fishy and old. My date had veal scallopine in a marsala sauce that was ok to taste but the presentation looked like a brown pile of glop.

The bill was $72.00 before tip. I honestly feel like this is the worst value I have ever had eating out. I am not inclined to write bad reviews or complain about food - this is my first review positive or negative - but I felt obligated to get the word out on this one!

Doesn't Recommend

ecreese

Joined 4 years ago

Will not be back.. We purchased a $25 gift certificate and planed on using it when we dined at this establishment. When ordering we asked the waitress if we could use this coupon. She said that it was fine. After we ordered, appetizers, entrees, and desserts, we gave the waitress our coupon. She took it to the manager and the manager ripped the coupon in half. The waitress explained that it was protocol to do this. After the manager ripped the paper in half, she decided that we could not use the coupon because our entrees combined did not equal $35. Our bill with appetizers and deserts was $53. I have never experienced something so unprofessional.

The food was average at best, not that great for the price. Though I will admit that the bread pudding was very good. That being said after being treated the way we were, I will not step foot back into that establishment. And I will tell everyone I know about our experience.

Recommends

LittleItalyGirl

Joined 5 years ago

Holy Italian!. I have been to Bella Luna four times now. The food is fantastic, great appetizer selection (the calamari is not your typical fried calamari, it is sauteed and in an amazing spicy marinary sauce) an ever changing menu (they have a house menu but every so often they get a completely new "regional" menu that tastes different parts of Italy on top of the house), and the dessert....OMG I cannot even give words on how good their dessert is. The service is great, very very hospitable and friendly. The server answered all of my questions and I ended up letting her pick my dinner which turned out to be amazing! I had the baked ziti with shrimp. I cannot tell you how delicious and hot it was! They had live music, a really oddly but cool decorated dining room. Definitely get a reservation because the place was slammed!

Recommends

chloe6

Joined 5 years ago

One of the best ever. We went toBella Luna on Sat night. We did not have a reservation but were told we could eat in the bar area if we didn't want to wait for a table in the dining room. The place was jumping, they had a trio playing but no to loud. It added to the atmosphere. Our server, Lynete, gretted us promptly and with a smile. She got us started with cocktails and explained the menus..they give you two, a wine list and a drink menu.? She took time to answer any questions we had and seemed to have excellent knowlege of the food. After taking our order she told to "sit back and relax, she would take care of everything". She never dissapointed us! Are appetizers, entrees and dessert were all outstanding. When Lynette brought us check she thanked us invited us to ask for her anytime we came in and she would take great care of everytime. The atmosphere was cozy and fun, the service was the best we had ever had and the food was delicious! We found our new favorite place!!

Recommends

scazifava69

Joined 5 years ago

comedy, coziness and comfort food!. we went to Bella Luna on a busy saturday and were greeted by the owner with a hand shake and a funny wisecrack, great stuff.. our party of 4 all had different meals but ended up sharing everything because of all the different flavors in each meal. I recommend the pork Calabrese!! and the scallops!! overall, great food and service.. we even got a free birthday dessert with three different items on it!! BREAD PUDDING! Bella Luna is a great romantic restaurant.. A+

Recommends

ldhitch

Joined 5 years ago

Wine cost issues. I loved the building and the atmosphere and decor were so much fun! The server couldn't have been nicer nor more attentive. I loved what I saw on the menu and couldn't wait to eat.

I do have to say when I eat at Italian restaurants, I am rather picky as I grew up in an Italian home where the language was spoken and the pasta was always homemade. Perhaps because of that, nothing was really outstanding although my veal piccata was good as were the lobster ravioli.

My biggest disappointment came with the wine. They serve these "flights" of wine, cute wine holder with 3 small glasses of reds or whites, each a different kind of wine and price range. Each person has their own flight. After finishing the 3 (they are small), we decided we would just have a bottle of the one we liked best, which was the middle priced wine. Well at this point, there are no wine lists around you are just saying "I liked the middle one, Bring a bottle of that." We ended up having a bottle that we have purchased many times and really enjoyed it. Until we saw the cost on the bill. They charged 4 times what we normally pay. WOW! that's a bit over the top. 2 times, maybe 3 but 4 TIMES! THEN...this is the kicker....when we didn't finish the second bottle we ordered we asked if we could take it home and she said sure and "corked it" which was basically taking the cork from the bottle, shoving back in the bottle and putting it in a plastic bag for us to carry. THAT COST US $8.00!!!!!!!! Now we eat out alot and generally always finish the wine on the table. This is the first time we ever took a bottle home.....are we uneducated in these things? Maybe. but I kind of expected that the waitress would have clued us in the the cost of re-corking....we would have downed the rest of the bottle on the premises.

Will I return? perhaps...I still liked the choices I saw on the menu and would like to try a few more things.

But the wine costs issues are something to be aware of.