I first heard about Bella Trattoria (website) a couple of months ago from some friends – one of whom is from New Jersey where I used to live, so I trust his judgment of Italian food. So when my friend Kimberly and I were looking to try a new Italian restaurant in the area, we decided to check out Bella.
Bella Trattoria is located in the Inner Richmond district, surrounded by Asian food options, right at the corner of Geary Blvd and 3rd Ave. So it was a pleasant surprise to find this cute little restaurant serving tasty homemade Italian food. While Bella Trattoria isn’t my favorite Italian restaurant in San Francisco, it’s a solid option especially if you live nearby. I live near Delfina and Locanda (reviews due on those soon), so I have high standards, but certainly enjoyed my meal that night.
Ambiance
Upon walking in, you awkwardly navigate past the hostess stand, but then are greeted by a small but charming restaurant full of dark wood and dim lighting. With the romantic lighting it’ll be a good spot for dates. I wouldn’t recommend it for large groups though due to the size–not to mention the speed of service. But the noise level is just right — you can have a conversation easily without straining to hear what the other person is saying.
Starters
Our meal started with a simple salad of field greens (Rusticanza), and grilled meatballs with eggplant-tomato caponata (Purpett’ a’ Mammeta). The salad was simple, so nothing exciting, but just a bit of veggies to start our meal. Meanwhile, while the meatballs were good but not spectacular. They were a bit too dense and rubbery for our liking. But… the sauce they came in was to die for. We were busy scraping up every bit of the delicious tomato cream sauce full of zucchini, eggplant and tomato which enrobed each little meatball. I found myself digging into the sauce with the bread because it was that insanely good.
Speaking of which, they did provide complimentary bread and a sundried tomato oil which was nothing that interesting. The bread was a simple soft loaf reminiscent of white bread and was served cold, and the sundried tomato oil was a nice touch but could’ve benefited from a hit of balsamic vinegar.
Entrees
It took quite of bit of time in between starters and the entrees, so not sure if it was the kitchen or the service. But eventually we moved on to two pasta dishes. Both were from the specials menu: fettuccine with osso bucco sauce, and potato gnocchi with a pesto sauce. To be honest, the pesto gnocchi was underwhelming. While the gnocchi was nice and light, but the dish lacked seasoning and the pesto wasn’t anything special.
The osso bucco pasta was heavenly though! Luscious creamy sauce with mushrooms and carrots and chunks of tender osso bucco (veal shanks) coated each delicious al dente strand of fettuccine. It was by far our favorite dish of the night. I would highly recommend an order of that pasta if you can.
Dessert
Despite not ordering dessert, they brought out a complimentary panna cotta, covered with sliced strawberries and balsamic glaze. Apparently complimentary panna cotta is standard for Bella Trattoria, which is a nice touch. The panna cotta was smooth and not too sweet, and the balsamic glaze provided a nice acidic balance for the dessert. If we weren’t so stuffed, we likely would’ve polished it off.
Overall, it was a solid meal with some real gems, but with some opportunities for improvement. But Bella Trattoria provides a nice Italian option in the city, especially if you live near by. Given the small size, reservations are recommended.
My rating of Bella Trattoria
| Overall | 3.5 out of 5 | Some hits and misses |
| Food | 3.5 out of 5 | The osso bucco pasta was a 5, but the rest needed some improvement |
| Service | 3.5 out of 5 | A bit slow but friendly |
| Value | 4 out of 5 | Decent priced for what you get |
| Date potential | 4 out of 5 | Nice intimate setting |
| Group potential | 3 out of 5 | Probably best for 4 people max |
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