Bellanico Restaurant and Wine Bar

The food here is creative and yummy. Get wine! Service is friendly and welcoming. Don’t miss the beet ravioli or the liver pate.

My husband and I came to Bellanico after we discovered that our gift certificate to Aperto (which had closed) would be honored. Even though we live in San Francisco, it's worth a trip for the delicious food served at Bellanico. I was also impressed by the owner who told us he would honor our gift certificate (it was at least 2 yrs old). We bought another $100 gift certificate for our son and daughter in law who now live in the East Bay and can't wait to try the restaurant after our rave reviews of our experience!

We had the prix fixed meal and it was very good. However, the service was not as good as we have had before. The waiter seemed distracted when I asked him about the dishes. Usually the wait staff explains the wine pairings when they bring the wine, but this time no one offered a description of the wine until I asked. And as I write this I remember that I asked to have my leftovers boxed and no one brought it to me as they have done in the past.

Decent food. Wine flights were subpar. Cozy space. Waitress bumped table almost dropping another parties food onto our table. She was apologetic.

We go to Bellanico's every time we want to "impress someone" or when we have a special occasion. This meal was to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We had a lovely table for two to the side of the room, our service was incredible (with several recommendations made), the different courses came out tasting marvelous, and the wine recommended was nicely paired with the food.

We had the cauliflower fritters, fried squash blossoms and shared the pork chop and prosciutto wrapped petrale sole. For dessert, the doughnuts! We left full and very satisfied!

My wife and I have been here twice and each meal was excellent. All of the dishes that we have had have been excellent, the service and ambiance is very nice and the quality of the food is very good. If you go with a group I would highly recommend making a meal out of the appetizers, just order a whole bunch of them and share.

There were four of us, long time friends, for dinner on a Monday night. Bellanico's was busy, not crowded. Our waitress provided excellent food and wine recommendations, and service throughout the evening. Bellanico is my favorite restaurant; the food and service usually excellent. We had a fabulous time and closed the restaurant. Three of the four meals were excellent, as were both desserts. My entry, beet ricotta ravioli was very good, but missing that something that would make it excellent.
I will definitely will return knowing that service and food will continue to be great.

Bellanico is consistent with excellent, elevated Italian cuisine of local, seasonal ingredients and a very well chosen Italian wine list. Great tasting menu for both food and wine. One of the best values in Oakland for a quality culinary experience.

Reasonably priced, flavorful (though often too salty), wonderful rosemary focaccia and EVOO. Try their dinner and wine pairing option.

We ordered from the week's tasting menu: lovely braised pork and accompaniments, and nice wine pairings. Some things were a little oversalted, but mostly enjoyable. Service was OK: food arrived promptly but our waitress did not seem very familiar with the menu. Sadly, it was so loud on a Saturday night that we could barely converse; it did interfere with the enjoyment of our meal. We will probably go again, but on off hours, and definitely not on Saturday night.

It’s a small restaurant but very comfortable. We had a tasting menu for one person in our group which gave you a choice and she ordered sweet pepper soup which was a 10. It had many layers of flavor. The soup came with a bruschetta with olive tapenade on cream cheese. I could order a big bowl of the soup and the bruschetta and be a happy camper. This was just the beginning of an outstanding meal. Her next dish was a arugula salad with apple and goat cheese. It was very tasty and the apple in the salad went well with the little bitter arugula. Her next dish was her entree. It was a pasta I can’t pronounce with a Walnut creme and brussel sprouts and spinach, it was very earthy and very flavorful, we all shared some Of it. Next was the dessert. Hazelnut and date pudding cake. It was a moaner and I hope I die with it in my mouth. Not yet though. That was the tasting menu. Two of us ordered off the menu. My son ordered Swiss chard malfatti. It was about 5 light Swiss chard pillows with butter and it definitely for us was the best entree. It was very light and so flavorful and not too rich or too much. I ordered the beet ravioli with ricotta and butter. I love raviolis but don’t enjoy meat so this was perfect for me but it was hard to make a choice because of the excellent menu. The raviolis actually tasted like beet, usually when I order raviolis I just taste pasta and cheese but this was so different. It was not heavy, not rich and very flavorful. I would order again. For the dessert I ordered doughnuts with chocolate and vanilla cream to dunk them into. It was like a heavy beignet. I thought it was just ok because I’m not into fried food and I could taste a little bit of the grease. The sauces were yummy. Now this is just my opinion but I think anybody who visits the restaurant will leave very satisfied. Bon Appetit!
Yes we are going back very soon.
Thank you to the chef and his assistants.

Delicious salad and gnocchi... perfect balance of sauce

Every dish at Bellanico is carefully crafted! Thank you for the amazing pállate experience!

Impeccable service, delicious food, comfortable environment.

Wonderful time at Bellanico. Food was unique and very well cooked. Great for late lunch as it was very quiet, yet felt like part of the local neighborhood. Definitely enjoyed everything and will return.

Went for our anniversary and got the tasting menu with wine pairings. We ordered one of each option between us and everything was outstanding. Highlight for me was the perfectly cooked sardine that melted off the bone.

We hadn't been to Bellanico for a while, although we have been many times in the past. This time we were disappointed. The food nor the presentation was anything special. We had the burratta which had a texture much more like goat cheese than any burratta we've had before. The accompanying cabbage grapes and olives were a strange combination. The roast chicken breast looked lost on the plate and the corn, onions and zucchini were hard to recognize as the were completely black with charring which was not a good pairing. We were also charged for a much more expensive glass of wine than we ordered and had to get that corrected on the bill. Probably will not be back.

Very tasty food. It’s a special Glenview neighborhood restaurant. Parking isn’t too difficult.

Great food as usual. Hadn’t been there in awhile forgot how good the experience and food

Every time I eat at Bellanico , I’m reminded again how good the food and service are. Highly recommend this place.

Delicious food and wine! I love being able to get a 1/2 pour of wine, as that’s the perfect amount for me . Normal wine lovers can get tasting flights of 3 wines.

The food was very good and interesting with a different take on everyday items. The wine list was good too. We tried at least three wines and they were all excellent. I would definitely go back for another visit!

Inspired cooking. Never disappoints. We love Bellanico. Reasonably priced wine list. Wine flights were outstanding, tasting menu is great also.

Our party of 4 really loved the dinner -- creative, delicious and good value. Only drawback, which goes with most small restaurants these days, is noise level, esp. as it gets more crowded. But definitely would return again and recommend.

Been here before but it has a been a long time but the food and sevice was just as good as we remember. Weill certainly be back.

Bellanico is our go-to restaurant for special occasions. They never disappoint. The menu varies by the season, so we always get opportunities to enjoy new combinations. I'd call this the best Italian restaurant in the east bay.

Great food. This was my second visit. I am not a big eater and I often leave food on my plate. I had the gnocchi and my husband had the beet ravioli. We cleaned the plates and even ordered a small dessert of date pudding ( forget what it was called) with gelato. All gone as well!! A little pricey but we'll be back!

Great food/fantastic service
would have given 5 stars except the casarecce pasta was a little dry

We dined at Bellanico many times before, but this meal was the slowliest yet. I also never noticed the noise level before, but since I was dining with my 80-year-old mother-in-law, I noticed how loud the dining room was. I had to raise my volume quite a bit for her to hear me. On the other hand, the food was delicious, but it took a long time between the appetizer course and the main course. We decided to forego the dessert course because of the slowness in service. I will go back again, but prefer to sit at the bar.

I love this place! I have been here for romantic dinners, with a crowd for dinner, and for cozy lunch with friends - all configurations worked well. The atmosphere is cozy, friendly, modern. The food is absolutely great, with many choices, and options for all diners. We had a savory panna cotta that was amazing and a pork belly/brussels sprouts dish that we loved, just to name a couple of stars. Beverages are creative and yummy (a great wine list, wine+apertif-based cocktails, and a wide variety of unique soft drinks). The service is very efficient and friendly, with helpful descriptions of dishes. We had a savory panna cotta that was amazing and a pork belly/brussels sprouts dish that we loved, just to name a couple of stars. I will return again - there are so many great options to choose from. Don't miss it!

We go to Bellanico a few times a year. and usually love it. This visit was less excellent. Server was good, but the wait between courses was very long. And the food was not as good as we expected. White chicken breast was flavorless and a bit dry, and the polenta that came with it was too salty to eat. Ravioli were small and undistinguished. Only the appetizers were really good: fried olives were crisp and not at all greasy; pork belly was yummy.

I can walk to this restaurant which is my favorite in the neighborhood and it's nice to be recognized by the owner, Elizabeth. I always enjoy the delicious food!

Lovely service, from first cordial greeting to closing the place out at end of night. Exquisite food & wine. Neighborhood restaurant far exceeds its humble setting.

Seems to get better every time I go there. Even as a non-drinker the wine list is always excellent and the pairings are always so tempting.

First time visiting and it was excellent. From very tasty appetizers to wonderful duck entre and beef cheeks with pasta. Will be back soon.

Good food but after many years of going there from time to time I think the menu needs a revamp and to be honest I never see desserts that sound very interesting.

Very nice tasting menu with interesting choices. Good idea for two to have different choices and share tastes. Pork chop wonderful flavor, but had to take it home to leave room for dessert. Wonderful date night or special occasion.

Everything our group ordered was wonderful.

What a wonderful experience! We ordered the 4-course meal and an extra two dishes. Everything was great! The food was presented beautifully and was served in appropriate portions. The service was outstanding.

Great food. Variety of options for everyone, even the health conscious. I had the panini and it was delicious and filling for a moderate price. I’d go again when I’m in the area.