Ciao Bella

I can’t think why I’ve never reviewed Caio Bella before. I can’t think why no one else has reviewed it either!
It’s a really good modern Italian place which does a pasta/​pizza + soft drink lunch menu for only £5.95, which is a real bargain. There is also an early bird menu at 1 Course for £7.95, 2 Courses for £9.95, Courses for £11.95 as well as the full menu and the blackboard specials.
I’ve been there many times with my family and with friends, at lunchtime and in the evening and it’s always good. The main problem is choosing between the crème brûlée and the tiramisu.
The weather was so good on Sunday that we decided to sit outside (I’m not a great one for pavement tables because I prefer my food without traffic fumes). It was lovely, we had a table by an umbrella which was big enough to keep us all out off the sun, though most other people prefered to sit in the sunlight. the tables are well back ffrom the road, though it may actually be pedestrianised. The food was good, (I went for the linguine pesto; it made me wish I had the patience to make my own), the service was pleasant and friendly and it has nice loos.
Everytthing to keep me happy

As the monetary belt tightens and the country is heading towards a Triple Dip Recession I find myself ever more aware of the lack of the money I have to spare and thus Groupon is becoming my new favourite friend. Having gained a new friend, the relationship starts off fresh and new and wanting to impress. This came in the way of a voucher for Ciao Bella.
So we arrived on a Sunday evening after a quick tipple in The PIn and made our way into an empty looking restaurant. To the right is the bar with the kitchen to it’s right, in front is the reception desk and to the left are a curving bank of seats precariously close to each other.
We where efficiently seated by a wonderful Italian lady with a smile that could break any steely heart. Menus where deposited and the perusal time commenced. A good selection of wine lay before us and the food menu impressed. Granted there are a lot of pages of food (never one to complain about that) and it did reminded me of some of the menus on Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmare, but, the food still sounded good. Now what to chose?
Do I go classic with a Pizza? Do I slip and slide through the gloriously coated pasta strips? Maybe a salad to tickle the taste buds leaving me wanting more? Or do I act upon my hunger and order it all?
Ok, so the last was never going to happen but it was a good thought. After about 3 minutes the waitress returned to take our drinks order and shortly after 2 glasses of wine followed.
After a brief little conversation she gave us a few more minutes to decide. So we ordered and awaited the delights that taunted us from afar. EAT US — EAT US — EAT US.
For Starters, I’d gone for the olives and bread as a top up to the Garlic Tomato Pizza that Kerry, my girlfriend, had ordered and for my Main course I’d ordered the Fiorentina Pizza (Tomato, Cheese, Spinach and Egg).
I always say that assumption is the mother of all mess ups and I fell foul to my own saying. Most places I’ve eaten the I’ve received more slices of bread than olives but this place was different. For a mere £2.50 I received a HUGE bowl, and when I say huge I really mean MASSIVE. Imagine the Velodrome at the Olympic Park. Roughly that size. Subsequently I only had 3 slices of the garlic tomato bread.
Round one, DONE. Next Round two.
I placed the last of the olives in my mouth, chewed, swallowed and within 2 minutes of finishing the same smiley lady had danced over, asked if everything was fine and whisked our plates away. 5 minutes passed, chatter ensued and wine was sipped. Fiorentina pizza? Wow, our mains had arrived. Now this was service. Time to tuck in to one of my favourite pizza combinations.
Hmm…hmm…Ok, well yes. What I had in front of me was a pizza with a delicately light and crispy base. Oh was it crispy. It was a delight. Imagine 30 hairdryers and the amount of air created being crammed in to pizza dough but while keeping the base so thin that I swear if it was held on a side it’d disappear. This was a pure delight. What was troubling me was the topping. Tomato base — Fine. Cheese — Fine. Spinach — Waterery and not dressed. Egg — Massively over cooked. What I should have got was a deliciously oozing egg whose yolk complimented the spinach and cheese leaving a dreamy like state within my mouth.
So we finished up and the restaurant was still empty. About 14 people including the owner with his sullen face. Was he upset at the lack of custom or was it something else? All I know that there are a few ways to improve but some things that don’t need to be changed.
Our night was drawing to a close all too fast for my liking but reluctantly we got the smiley Italian waitress to bring our bill.
To sum up, this place has a lot of potential and the pizza bases are some of the best I’ve had but there are still issues that need looking into. The staff are a credit to this establishment and hopefully they are looked after.

Good service with a very friendly atmosphere. Nice food — early bird dinner menu is very good value! It’s obviously very popular so coming early does allow you to not only enjoy a great deal but also to eat before it is too busy, which will probably slow the service. Restaurants interior is very interesting!

The lunch menu is hard to beat.
Went here with a friend last Friday as a treat to end the week.
For £5.95 each we both had a main course and soft drink
— him a Diavola pizza
–me pasta arribiata
The place was quite busy with 4 big tables of work parties up to ⁸⁄₁₂ people so the staff did well to seat us promptly at a table of our choice and also return to take our order.
We had time to take it the unique décor and ambiance while waiting for the food.
I like to exposed brickwork and large windows looking out onto the outside sitting area.
The art featured in the restaurant is a bit strange but all ads to the charm of the place.
We had a good view over the whole place and could see the staff work hard and are very attentive.
The a la carte menu is very comprehensive with something for everyone.
Our food was very nice and its pleasant to see that even though its a ‘special’ lunch menu that the portions weren’t reduced.
Both dishes had well cooked quality ingredients, nice thin and floury pasta dough and served with a smile.
We were impressed and felt like we were robbing them by only paid £5.95 each!!!
Would definitely make this place a regular lunch spot.

Ordered calzone.
Pillow of garlic goodness.
Dine alfresco too.

Went here today for a meet up with a few friends.
Found the staff to be quite friendly and was impressed by the lunch time special menu, worked out very reasonably indeed.
Really tasty and nicely cooked food and all nicely presented too.
The only down side was that the places was dead apart from one other table which was occupied by a couple.
Think the wet weather must have kept folks away but did notice other places that were open to be far more busy.
Would go again as I was happy with the quality all round, just hope for more company next time)

My partner and I have eaten here a few times before and have really enjoyed it. The location is stunning, and when the beer garden out the back is set up in the sun it’s probably the most tranquil place to be in Leeds on a warm summer evening.
That said, having food their last night was more than a little disappointing. We arrived at just gone 7.30pm realising we’d just missed the early bird menu (two courses for £8.95) but thought we’d be cheeky and ask if we could take advantage of the offer anyway. The manager was really friendly and said she’d happily give us the offer BUT that she couldn’t take our order until 8pm as there was a backlog in the kitchen. This was fine as neither myself or my boyfriend were too hungry at this point, and so we duly purchased drinks and waited.
It was around 8.20pm before we’d grown tired of waiting for our order to be taken before we prompted a waiter to take our order, and as promised giving us the early bird menu option. I ordered the deep-​fried brie to start and pea, mushroom and garlic gnocchetti as main and my boyfriend ordered the duck pâté to start and the tomato and basil pasta as main before realising it had no meat and so asked the waiter if he could wait a second before choosing another dish with meat. The waiter kindly offered to have chorizo put in the tomato and basil pasta dish for my boyfriend, which was a really good offer. It should be pointed out our appetite had grown significantly by this time as it was close to an hour after we’d arrived by now.
Unfortunately when the food arrived my brie was refrigerator cold in the middle, and rock solid on the outside, and my gnocchetti pasta wasn’t gnocchetti at all but was pasta twists, and not very good quality ones at that — some were under cooked and tough to bite through. My boyfriend had similar luck and his tomato, basil and chorizo pasta came without the promised chorizo.
I got the impression that as we’d been cheeky to ask to order from the early bird menu that we’d kind of been side-​lined and prioritised a little lower than those ordering from the main menu — which kind of sucked.
So all in all it was a really poor experience which unfortunately means I won’t be eating there again, which is such a shame as previous experience really was top notch.

Ciao Bella is a great place for dinner. You can either pop in for a quick bite and drink or really relax and spend the evening there.
The food is delicious as is the house red! They do an early bird special during the week, although i think it finishes at 530 so its very early!
In the summer time the outside terrace is lovely, its not the best view in the world (looking at the spa and the back of the adelphi) but it catches the sun and Leeds is lacking in good outside space.
I reccomend the rustica pizza and would steer clear of the calzone unless you are very hungry!
Staff are very friendly and accomodating, the only downside is it currently doesnt do food on a monday.

With only forty five minutes to go before my friend had to catch his train we were really pushing our luck but, starving and rushed, we decided to risk it and grab a quick tea at Ciao Bella before we had to leave for the station. Fearing a lengthy process, we informed the staff straight off of our plight and they couldn’t have been more accommodating.
The waiter swiftly came over and delivered us some complimentary bread and butter, which is always a bonus, and we ordered a couple of drinks. I had an Italian ale of some sort (I’m sure he called it a ‘Madonna’) and asked the advice of the waiter as to what would be the swiftest bite to grab. He said that the pasta would be the best bet, and although I feared something bland might arrive at our table, but we both chose the Penne Arriabatta (forgive the spelling) and awaited our food.
Within about ten minutes our food arrived, which was incredible, and we chomped away with abandon. The pasta, incidentally, was delicious. The spicy tomato sauce was lovely, and not too hot, with plentiful pepperoni and was accompanied by perfectly cooked pasta. Not in the least bit overdone, quite simply, just right. I might have longed for a few vegetables, were I to be really picky, but in all honesty it was great. And for two mains and two bespoke beers, twenty pounds total bill is damn reasonable.
As for décor, this restaurant is beautifully simple. The exposed brickwork of the old canal side building speaks for itself and with the large waterfront windows it is the perfect place for a light, summery evening’s supper. Sophisticated, classic and smart without being pretentious. I know that I’ll have to come back and take in a more luxurious dining experience here, when I have more than forty minutes to spare, and with the early bird menu deal that they have I know I can afford it too.
The whole experience, whilst rushed, was extremely pleasant and warm, with great banter from the staff and lovely food. Highly recommended!

I’ve been to this restaurant twice now calling in for a casual drink and pasta dish at peak time on a Friday night without having to book for a table for two. The location is excellent for the centre of Leeds and close to several great bars. The restaurant has a simple and modern furnishings with that pleasant Italian feel. The staff and service are excellent, efficient and friendly. Whilst I cannot say that I have extensive experience of the menu what we had was excellent enough for a second visit. The only disappointment and reason for the 3* rating is that the desserts are straight from Costco food wholesalers and the other dishes have a striking similarity to their produce too. Whilst I like Costco food I do expect a restaurant to produce it’s own food to get above 3*s. Despite this it wouldn’t stop me visiting the restaurant again for a casual pasta.

Ciao Bella is a recently established Italian restaurant situated in the relatively quiet Dock Street area of Leeds.
The menu is substantial, not especially cheap at prime time but the food is great. Also the staff are very friendly and helpful. There is an early bird offer for £5.95 which includes a main course and glass of wine which is very reasonable.
Nice and quiet, sometimes a little too quiet as the place is quite new it still needs to attract more custom to give it an atmosphere, but they’ll get there!