Bella Italia - Plymouth Barbican Leisure Reviews Summary

Service

Pros:

• "The service was excellent, & I have nothing but praise for the lady who was working alone."
• "Service from our waitress was fantastic, no messing, apologetic and she made sure the bill was amended for our inconvenience."
• "All staff are great, especially Leigha, who cannot give enough to her customers and has a beautiful smile"
• "Service was excellent, friendly, helpful and quick."
• "Staff polite and efficient."
• "Everyone was extremely friendly and the staff provided excellent service."
• "The waitress was attentive and efficient"

Cons:

• "Waitress rushed away after asking her questions without her listening for the answers"
• "Service was very slow - even though the restaurant was empty."
• "running staff didnt have a clue what they were doing"
• "Very poor service when we were seated no one took our order for half an hour."
• "The staff were very blunt and took a long time to come to our table."
• "Poor customer service from my waiter, sharp response whilst ordering."
• "Service was awful. Waitress didn't clear the table between courses, no sense of professionalism."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "garlic bread with caramelised onion was next level"
• "The pasta dish I had was yummy, & so was the passionfruit desert."
• "The food was amazing"
• "Fantastic food cooked to order, lovely atmosphere."
• "The food that was presented was delicious and so full of flavour."
• "The food was excellent, everything served was cooked perfectly and was piping hot!"
• "Our food was delicious, the house wine was amazing."

Cons:

• "Ordered food then sat for 1 hour to be told the starter was out of stock"
• "The Mini Calzone starter was frozen in the middle then someone else's order was delivered to our table by mistake"
• "food was waiting at serving hatch for over 10-15 mins each order so consequently food was cold when you finally got it"
• "Children's fish came out raw and we only noticed when it was half eaten, put us all off our food."
• "Found sauce very bland and couldn't find a single piece of pancetta in the entire dish."
• "The pizzas were small and thin like tortillas."
• "Food was bland, pasta sauce that was under seasoned."

Atmosphere

Pros:

• "Always have a fantastic time when I eat here."
• "The whole atmosphere is friendly and we enjoyed our evening."
• "Overall Bella Italia had a lovely atmosphere and great food!"
• "Lovely atmosphere in the restaurant particularly when busy."
• "The place wasn't rammed but still had an good atmosphere."
• "atmosphere is nice and relaxing"
• "What an amazing place with absolutely amazing staff."

Cons:

• "Walked in at 1pm on a Saturday, only to be told we weren’t really welcome as there was a table of 15 already so there would be a big wait on food."
• "Also the decor at this one isn't as traditional and cosy as most other Bella's I've been too."
• "It was very dark in there too and not a professional restaurant at all."
• "The room had an odd smell to it, like an old wet cloth?"
• "Place smelt funny also."
• "There were lots of customers so it was a bit noisy."
• "The service was seriously slow and there was a door open somewhere as it was freezing cold."

Value

Pros:

• "I used the Tastecard 2 for 1 offer, it was really good value"
• "Our meal only cost £16 with. Would have been over £60 without."
• "Had my work colleagues hen party there it was lovely and friendly the waitress was very helpful and the food was good lucky enough to have downloaded a voucher for 50% off the bill."
• "You can get vouchers online for money off online for every day except Saturday."
• "Meerkat meals (2 for 1) is accepted here."
• "The parking at Barbican Leisure Park is also free, which makes life way easier."
• "We received a discount for the wait, which was volunteered by the restaurant manager."

Cons:

• "Bill came to £190 for four so not cheap"
• "The coke @ £4-50 a pint was over priced"
• "The food was overpriced and COLD!!!"
• "Nearly £74 for 2 pasta dishes, 3 flatbreads, 1 portion of fries, 3 soft drinks and 3 alcoholic drinks! Ridiculous!"
• "The prices were over inflated to take account of the 30% discount they offer."
• "A little pricey if you're on a budget."
• "The bill came to £40 with a 2-1 discount. And it was not even worth that."

Management

Pros:

• "The service was good, and the new manager was excellent and very passionate about bella italia."
• "Jamie did everything he could to get us seated and served as soon as possible"
• "The manager I believe was called Jamie was wonderful with our two little girls and the service provided was second to none."

Cons:

• "Under staffed with people waiting and tables empty."
• "Not their fault but the manager's for letting it get to that state"
• "I think the owners need to get a grip"
• "The manager needs to consider how many members of staff they have on the weekend because it was chaos."
• "Well understaffed poor management, no one told us there would be a long wait."
• "We never got the opportunity to sample the food. The booking system is flawed and not fit for purpose."
• "your poor staff are overworked, this restaurant is so busy and there are only two of them!"