I visited Bella Bleu last Saturday at a time when the 50% occupancy rule was in effect as a result of the coronavirus . The restaurant was packed to 90% capacity. I spoke to the manager and asked why they were not complying with the 50% rule and he told me “it was an economic decision” not to comply. Shocking that they risked the health and well-being of their patrons and staff to satisfy their greed. Will never return.

A true neighborhood gem that consistently makes you feel like family and never disappoints with everything on the menu from the sautéed artichokes, the home made pasta to the tiramiso and all in between!

a strictly neighborhood gem. decent pizza and pastas, good wine list but overpriced as one would expect for the neighborhood. meatball so so. can't compare with Carbone
pizza ok but not great, pasta was quite good (fettuccini with a duck ragu)
this was our second visit. -in an upscale neighborhood full of moderately priced (for the area!) Italians this is in the middle

Great meal can’t beat the hospitality and atmosphere. The veal p,pasta and fish all were great. The wine was perfectly matched and our large group had an excellent experience will be back soon!

No need to go to Italy.Italy comes to the UES. It is lively and a choice for any taste.

Delicious pasta perfectly cooked with mushrooms branzino. The appetizers with artichoke are spectacular. Warm lovely atmosphere. Service is wobderful

I have only been to Bella Blu for lunch meetings. Excellent food and service, great environment.

Great value and excellent service and food!!

Always wonderful for lunch and dinner

Great time. Marcelo was an excellent waiter. Will come back just to have him wait on us

It’s our go-to restaurant on our arrival to New York!!

Excellent meal. Huge menu full of so many great choices. We had the frisée and Gorgonzola salad, artichoke ravioli and veal ravioli.

Loved it! Food incredible staff excellent service!

Service is great. Menu is amazing. Food is fab. Love this place. Tables are very tight though so be prepared to be tempted by dining neighbors food when it comes out before yours!

Great food greAt service greAt atmosphere! Will definitely go again!

I was looking for a place to meet a friend for lunch that was midway between our work locations. We are both walking distance to Bella Blu and decided to give it a try after hearing rave reviews from many other friends. Fabulous food, stellar service...so glad we tried it. We both had the beet salad and a Quattro Stagioni pizza...both were superb. Can wait to back and try other menu selections. Great place, eat there!

Bella blu has been a favorite for many years. Still a most popular restaurant at all hours. I guess that’s why they’ve added so many two tops in the aisle. Difficult to get around and increased noise levels. Not their fault, but because tables are so close, rude customers are even more annoying. We couldn’t get away from woman who kept lifting her long hair over our table. Food remains delicious, interesting and plentiful. Food also came as requested. Definite difference between rare and medium rare salmon. I do miss the chopped salad of yore. We had a 5:45 reservation and place was packed. When we left at 7:30, crowds were out the door. Speaks well of this old stand by.

Too cramped. Too noisy. Too expensive. (e.g., we asked for some garlic bread and received 4 thin, tiny ovals of bread dusted with garlic, for which we were charged $10)

Great! Would recommend

Just ok. Food was undercooked

Wonderful!!!! Life is Chula!!!! #lifeischula

Title of review... DON'T GO TO BELLA BLU ON A HOLIDAY. My husband and I went for lunch to Bella Blu on Valentine's Day, one of our favorite restaurants when we go to the museums nearby. We were looking forward to their pizzas, which are always delicious and we were told that they were not making them that day. We overheard a conversation at a nearby table between a waiter and a customer (who was also looking forward to the pizza and was disappointed when told there would be none) where the waiter pretty much indicated that on holidays they don't offer the pizza. Lunch cost us $187 (including a bottle of wine), so I gather this is the reason behind the "no pizza on holiday" rule.. customers will spend more money if the pizza is unavailable. I am going to think twice about lunch at Bella Blu again. Too expensive!

Outstanding service, amazing food, great wine section!

My husband’s birthday.

Always good!

I love Bela Blue. It’s a spot that never disappoints - there is good energy and the food is authentic. Love the murals

$25 a glass of wine. I assume they made a mistake on the bill. Fish was terrible- should have been sent back. Otherwise fine meal

Bella Blu was more like Bella Blaaah. While the staff were very accommodating, the digs are fun and the food is passable, it would be a fair value if it were half the price. For a price point $130 for 2 people: 2 simple salad appetizers, a mushroom fettuccine, a single size pizza and 2 beers, I expect a whole lot more. The ingredients were standard fare, the execution nothing special. They need to kick up the food significantly if they're expecting people to shell out $33 for a mushroom pasta. We have a pick of Italian restaurants with far better food for half the price. That said, the service is notch higher than places for half the price, but after all we didn't go to eat the service! This one's a pretender rather than the real deal.

While Bella Blu is usually a dependable and delicious choice in my neighborhood, I found the service and noise level quite unpleasant this time. Not up to par unfortunately

The chicken Paul lard was rubbery

A reunion with a high school friend was made so pleasurable—the pasta was perfect and service attentive and kind.

A great luncheon!

The waiter kept coming over to have us pay the bill and we felt we were being rushed out

They are so rude. Always make you feel unwelcome always make you wait after they’ve made you guarantee with a credit card. Better values in the neighborhood

Fabulous meal, excellent service, great location

Waited 30 minutes even though we had a reservation
Found a piece of plastic in our pizza but they gave us a new one. I didn’t like my entree and they removed it from the bill. Overall, the food was great and the customer service was good because they righted their wrong. Not running back but would probably try it again.

The service was inattentive. My tuna main dish had to be sent back. My friends veal was tasteless.

Super food amazing service able to satisfy a picky eater. Bravo to all

As noted, the lunch was wonderful. My one issue was that I had specified “birthday” on my opentable reservation, expecting something special when our dessert arrived. Sadly there was nothing, not even a candle.

Service was pretty chaotic. Waiter obviously forgot our wine order, so the bottle came after out appetizers and after we reminded him. Bread came at the same time as the appetizers. Food was good with one exception - half the roman artichoke appetizer was too tough to chew and it was swimming in olive oil. Bill was pretty steep too.

Fun atmosphere
Good food
Friendly service
Important institution on the UES!