La Bella is not so bella.

So Scott and I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day and our anniversary (on the 16th) last night at this little Italian food place called La Bella in Bedford. Usually hole-in-the-wall places like that are pretty good on several levels but not this place. We were definitely disappointed, and here's why. I made reservations earlier in the week through the website of the man who plays the piano at La Bella. I wasn't too concerned about it because shortly after I received a confirmation telephone call from a man at the actual restaurant...he confirmed the date and time and gave me additional information about the restaurant. So Scott and I got all dressed up and headed to La Bella last night...I even wore pantyhose and high heels people! I'm way too pregnant to wear either of those right now. Anyways, so the first disappointment came when we walked in, gave our name, and were then told that they didn't have us down. They weren't too terribly busy and had several open tables but somehow we received the small table at the very front of the restaurant...so close to the front door that I could feel a draft every time the door opened. And so much for a candlelight dinner either...every other table had a nice candle on it but not ours. We actually took one of the candles on the 'hostess' stand and put it on our table...no big deal since we were literally seated right behind the stand and just had to reach up and grab it. The next problem we encountered was the very S-L-O-W service. It took FOREVER for a waiter to finally take our drink order...and we weren't alone either...the table right next to us was having the same problems. I really wish I had timed how long it took everything to come out...from our drinks, appetizer, salads, and eventually our meal. What was really sad was that people who came in after us actually finished eating and left before we did. Our "reservation" was for 7:00 pm and in most cases we would have been done probably no later than 8:30, however we got out of there a little before 10:00 pm. THREE HOURS PEOPLE...THREE HOURS IN PANTYHOSE! (sigh) So that gives you a little idea of how slow the service really was last night. The entertainment was semi-decent...the piano man did a good job for the most part, though it was pretty comical when he would noticeably mess up. Scott and I enjoyed naming that tune though. This place was also a lawsuit waiting to happen...I went to the ladies room and there was water all over the floor. You could tell that they knew there was a problem because there was also a mop in the bathroom. After some investigating I determined that the water was coming from underneath the toilet bowl, so every time someone flushed water would seep out the bottom. Lovely. As for the food, nothing was spectacular, especially for the price. The evening was definitely not what I was hoping for...we totally should have gone to Cafe Italia for our hole-in-the-wall romantic dinner. So I pretty much was not impressed with La Bella. Now I know (and as we learned a long time ago) and knowing is half the battle.

Happy Valentine's Day!
Cass