Ciao Bella

It's always the way on a Bank Holiday Monday...the majority of restaurants decide to close...or do some light decorating work...after walking around the various chains in Covent Garden...we decided to walk to Bloomsbury.

We've been here before and it was OK...just.

We were given a table outside.This is one of the main reasons to eat here.We ordered the bruschetta as a starter and the bread was so hard one feared for our teeth.Not good.

The main course of spaghetti vongola was too salty.

The bottle of white wine(Laguna) was excellent.

This place will continue to thrive...the service is rushed...almost rude at times...but their location on Lamb's Conduit St is ideal...and it's not expensive.

People go for the pleasure of dining with friends outside as the food alone isn't enough.
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5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, August 31, 2010

I work nearby to Ciao Bella and have dropped in pretty regularly over the years. It's an authentic Italian Tratt, in a big city sort of way (think Rome or Naples rather than Florence or Milan).

The food is very average. I like their ludicrously heavy, creamy, massive carbonara. But the quality of their ingredients is quite low, presentation is non-existent. So stick to big and bold.

The staff are often off-hand, sometimes rude, but always brisk.

The wine is usually good (not the house wine though...).

I agree that this place is best enjoyed sitting out on the pavement.

Go to enjoy the company of friends, where the food is fuel and an excuse for another bottle of wine rather than the main event.

This place is always rammed (not sure why really). Someone's making a mint here.
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Kwev
5 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, July 06, 2010

My wife and I live nearby and have been here several times. The food has been very good, the prices reasonable and the service generally good...in an Italian restaurant sort of way.

A tip - if you arrive after 6:00pm they have olives, cheese and bread at your table at no extra charge. Many restaurants place this on your table it and you see a charge on your bill when you get it, but not here. Also don't arrieve too late as they get crowded as it is a very popular local place. Around 6:30-7:00pm would be best.
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Don
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Tuesday, June 01, 2010

We went to this restaurant yesterday as it had been recommended. I had tried making same day reservations on previous occasions but this place gets full quickly, in a sense this only raised my expectations. We were really disappointed, this is an appalling restaurant for a number of reasons. The food is at best indifferent , the bread accompanying our starters was stale, my pasta overly salted and resembling something quick and cheap I used to cook as a student. My friends "Tagliatelle a caio bella" was cloyingly cheesy and had the texture of thick porridge. The portions are big but this just exacerbates the misery. The waiters are surly bordering on rude although you may not be able to hear them grumble as this place get noisy. For the life of me I cant understand why people eat here.
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kanwal
0 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 1
Saturday, May 22, 2010

I was sold the idea of coming to this restaurant by a local regular but I'm having trouble saying I liked it - because I didn't.

The best part of the visit was the food, which wasn't too impressive. The ham was clearly from a supermarket packet and the cheeseboard was more board than cheese. It filled me up, though, so in one regard I can't complain.

Service was brusque, though brisk. Throughout the meal I felt as though I was being rushed through. But I also felt I wouldn't be kept waiting. I'm trying to allow for the fact that I was unfortunately seated in a high-traffic area, but I still felt a few cool heads among the staff would have been of benefit.

The atmosphere was my biggest bugbear. We were seated downstairs where the acoustics were so terrible, I was having to lipread my company. I'm not exaggerating when I say that there were moments the ambient noise reached nightclub levels. Too much for me.

I felt the bill was a little steep for what we had. Probably fine for a corporate event. But I wouldn't bring a date here.
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Alan Ingham - View all reviews by this user
3 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Food is reasonable (not spectacular) but the service is execrable. Along with shooing my friends and me away from an unoccupied table, the staff treated us with contempt.
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3 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 5
Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Love this place. Some of the waiters can be a little snippy but it somehow does not matter as the food is wonderful (don't know what it is called but the seafood spaghetti baked in a huge greaseproof bag is amazing) Brave outside, with the exterior heaters for a lovely, winter dining treat.
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Leeejack - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Thursday, December 17, 2009

4 of us booked for lunch on Saturday 21st November as we had walked past on the Friday night and it was very busy and the gorgeous smells just wafted up the street. We all had different pasta dishes which were absolutely delicious and ridiculously cheap, we were treated like a member of the 'family' and were pampered to the point of staying there for 3 hours! What a warm place with loads of atmosphere and friendly excellent service, 3 of us have booked to go again next week with other friends.
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10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Wednesday, November 25, 2009

A few years ago this place excellent so I was excited to be in the area and make an impromptu visit for dinner.

Whilst it is still buziing with a good atmosphere, that past excellence has now been replaced by rude service (No smile, please or thankyous even after paying the bill), and appalling food.

A cream based pasta dish was not fresh - arrived in 5mins and was off like some dairy ingredient had not been refrigerated properly.

The meat balls do not have taste or texture of meat.

This is certainly not the 'Ciao Bella' of a few years back - Avoid.
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5 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 4
Thursday, August 27, 2009

Egregiously rude waiter spoilt lunch for me and my party
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Oliver Cottingham
2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Sunday, July 26, 2009