Ciao Bella

It is too bad they do not have a zero star option. Do not be fooled by their all you can eat crab sign. Which lured us in. The place smelt fishy. The service was poor, despite being less than crowded. Twenty minutes in we left. No menus. No attention. Didn’t even get a chance to see if the food was any good.
Spend a little more and eat at Windows on the Bay, The House of JuJu or the Seafood Gallery. All have great service and excellent food.

After arriving in Morro Bay for a weekend coast trip, my friends and I walked downtown to find a place to eat. The Galley and Windows on the Water were both recommended, but reported an hour’s wait. We decided to go to Ciao Bella since it had a few Vegetarian options for my friend.
Well, we should have waited the hour for the other places. It took a while before we were able to order our drinks, and even though we had our food choices picked out, they didn’t ask until they brought the beverages.
Then, we waited 45 minutes for our food, while all the tables around us got their meals. Mostly, it was the Calzone we ordered, which takes a while, but they could have said, «The Calzone will take a while»… it wasn’t even that good. Their Marinara sauce was bitter and causes heartburn. Also, the Calzone was burnt on the bottom.
I think they realized how long we were waiting (might have been my unhappy glances at the WHOLE wait staff). They brought us each bowls of clam chowder on the house (which was decent, for the west coast), but my veggie friend had to pass.
My dish, the halibut and broccoli ravioli, was BATHED in the marinara sauce, so i left feeling kind of sick. I think it might have been better with a cream sauce… My veggie friend probably got the best thing on the menu: Butternut Squash tortellini. It was really delicious, and I would recommend it for anyone.
The atmosphere is really nice, they have these cool, glass, sea animal decorations, including some very awesome jelly fish lamps… and the view was great, as the smoke stacks were hidden behind the neighboring restaurant. But I don’t like feeling sick after a meal, and I really don’t like waiting almost an hour for sub-​par food.
Two stars for the atmosphere. One star for the wait. Two stars for the food.

We decided to go Ciao Bella after positive recommendations from my parents. We went there for new years eve 2010.
First, it took the hostess 10 minutes to come and welcome us. Once she did we waited another 15 minutes for a table, we were the only ones waiting.
The bread and bruschetta was very bland, we had to add salt and pepper just for some taste.
My wife ordered the seafood linguini and I ordered a medium-​rare filet. mignon. After waiting for an hour to get our food, it was less then stellar. The linguini was very bland and the seafood was overcooked. My $ 28 filet was served medium to well done with a very, very overcooked risotto. The reduction sauce had been melded into the meat and the blue cheese on top was about the only thing that was served properly on the dish.
I really wanted to like Ciao Bella, since my folks had liked it so much, but in the end, my money would have been spent better at one of the other many eateries on the embarcadero.
When we asked for the check we waited another 20 minutes for it to arrive.
The location is prime, right on the bay. But, the slow service and bland, overcooked food take away from the setting.

My wife and I ate here and we each loved the dinner entrees. The flavors were delicious, and we are still fondly remembering the meal a week later. One of us ordered from the regular menu and one from the specials. Both meals were excellent.
Service was courteous, prompt, and attentive.
We will certainly go back on our next trip to Morro Bay. We have recommended this fine restaurant to our friends.

I forgot the best part! The seafood crackers still have the price tags on them, and not because they are brand new because they look like they have been washed a couple dozen times. Nice.

I ate at this place today for breakfast, and I don’t think I’ll be eating here in the future, for any meal. The main draw for Sunday morning brunch looked to be a pancake and egg combo that didn’t actually look too bad (it’s got to be hard to screw pancakes and eggs up). However, the other orders from our party were pretty awful.
I had a skillet, and while it didn’t taste off, it was very much overcooked; the eggs were completely dried out and it was pretty bland all in all. I’ve had better eggs at buffets.
Another person in my party ordered their Crab Benedict, and the hollandaise looked disgusting; I assume they were making it fresh, because it looked like it was someone’s first attempt at making it. It was still a dark yellow and there were bits of hardened egg yolk in there, as though the chef forgot to whisk it or something. Someone get this guy a better recipe book.
Service was less than stellar; they attempted to give us egregiously dirty mugs when we came in (there were pretty distinct lipstick stains on one of them). They only attempted to replace the one with the lipstick stains (even though all of them looked kinda sketch) and replaced it with another dirty looking mug. I lost my patience and just used what they gave me at this point as it could have only gone downhill from there. The service was not particularly prompt either, though I’ll forgive most places for that.
It has an amazing view when Morro Bay isn’t covered in its usual fog, but you’ll be able to find similar views anywhere on the Embarcadero. And really, you can go outside and enjoy the view after eating at a better restaurant.

I went to this restaurant this past weekend, and it was just awful. Maybe they’ve changed managers?
The wait for our food was over an hour, and my salmon was completely overcooked, with the balsamic reduction having acquired a completely solid state, probably while waiting on the hot plate. The pasta was very bland in every dish we ordered at our table. There was also little reasoning as to why the wait on our food was so long, since the restaurant wasn’t very busy (maybe 3 or 4 other tables on a Saturday evening).
A total let-​down, as I know there are great restaurants in Pismo, and we felt that Unilocal had led us astray on this one!

Really good Itallian seafood with a breath taking view of the bay. The only place my wife and I went to twice while we were in morro bay.
The first time was all you can eat oysters, muscles, and clams. This is a must if you are in morro bay on a monday. The second time we went she got the halibit raviloi and I got the seafood salad. The ravioli was amazing.

I loved this place. First off, it is located on top of Rose’s Landing on Embarcadero and looks out at the water. My husband and I had such a fantastic experience here that we came back two days later.
The servers are very helpful and friendly — this is an Italian place so expect Sinatra and other Italian music in the background. Monday night is All you can eat mussels, clams and oysters for 25.00. Seriously the freshest, tastiest seafood experience of my life. I started out with clams and a pasta with a wine sauce. They brought it out with a BUCKET to put the shells in… there were about thirty or more large clams in my meal! Will got the oysters rockafeller. Then we got the oysters on a half shell and the steamed mussels — again, fantastic!
We topped off the meal with homemade Manhattan cheesecake (old fashioned NY Cheesecake but with cream cheese topping) and it was one of the best desserts ever –and I am a fruit tart/​pie kind of a girl.
Tonight Will had a seafood salad with shrimp and squid. They added in capers, onions and an olive oil/​balsamic redux dressing. I was craving pasta and ordered the halibut and broccoli ravioli in cream sauce. The dish hit the spot and was very tasty, largely because of the homemade ravioli which was thinner than most-​more like a potsticker. For dessert we ordered the flourless chocolate cake with whipped cream. For such a heavy dessert it was light — one of the best chocolate desserts I’ve had to date. Full disclosure — I am not a chocolate girl!
Overall, my husband and I were incredibly impressed by this new place. I believe they are somewhat new, but I would suggest you stop by soon — ESPECIALLY ON A MONDAY!